Michigan
Michigan State
Michigan Defeats Michigan State for First Win of Season
10/27/2004 12:00:00 AM | Women's Swimming & Diving
EAST LANSING, Mich. -- The No. 16 University of Michigan women's swimming and diving team earned its first victory of 2004-05, defeating Michigan State 159-133 Wednesday night (Oct. 27) at McCaffree Pool. The Wolverines claimed first place in 12 of 14 swimming events en route to a win in the Big Ten Conference opener for both teams. With the victory, Michigan claims the first half-point in the Pontiac Challenge Cup winter standings.
Michigan opened the meet by edging the Spartans in the 200-yard medley relay. U-M's "A" quartet of junior transfer Carolina Sierra (Medellin, Colombia/Colegio Palermo de San Jose), freshman Ashley McLaughlin (Monroe, Mich./Monroe HS) and sophomores Kaitlyn Brady (Wilmington, Del./Mount Pleasant HS) and Lindsey Smith (Dexter, Mich./Dexter HS) clocked in at 1:45.66 to put the Wolverines on the scoreboard. Michigan State's "A" relay team touched in at 1:45.72 for second place.
For the second straight meet, sophomore Susan Gilliam (Los Angeles, Calif./Bolles HS) captured top honors in the 1,000-yard freestyle with a time of 9:52.62, nearly 29 seconds ahead of the second-place finisher. Gilliam later added a win in the 500-yard race(4:57.60) to complete a sweep of the distance freestyle events.
Smith continued Michigan's dominance in the freestyle with a victory in the 100-yard (51.83) and 200-yard (1:52.72) races. Brady was also a multiple-event winner for U-M , winning the 100-yard (57.33) and 200-yard (2:03.31) backstroke races, and the 100-yard butterfly (57.20).
Fifth-year senior Erica Watts (Carmel, Ind./Carmel HS) provided the Wolverines with another first-place finish, touching in at 2:08.11 in the 200-yard butterly for her first individual title of the season. Senior Tracy Egnatuk (Albion, Mich./Albion HS) also captured her first victory of the year, winning the 50-yard freestyle (24.34).
Freshman Justine Mueller (Monroe, Mich./Monroe HS) kept the momentum in Michigan's favor with a close victory in the 400-yard individual medley (4:27.05). Fellow classmate Valeria Silva (Lima, Peru/Alexander von Humboldt) posted a pair of runner-up finishes in the 100-yard (1:05.37) and 200-yard (2:23.22) breaststroke races.
The Maize and Blue closed out the dual meet in winning form, slipping by the Spartans in the 200-yard freestyle relay. U-M's "A" team of Brady, junior Abby Seskevics (Grand Haven, Mich./Grand Haven HS), Egnatuk and Smith claimed the top time at 1:35.16. MSU's runner-up relay touched in at 1:35.29.
The Wolverines return to the pool on Nov. 5-6 when they travel to West Lafayette, Ind., to compete in the Purdue Invitational at the Boilermaker Aquatic Center. Competition will begin Friday evening (Nov. 5) at 6 p.m. and continue Saturday morning (Nov. 6) at 11 a.m.
Contact: Marc Ressler (734) 763-4423
Players Mentioned
