Weekly Release #5
11/16/2004 12:00:00 AM | Women's Swimming & Diving
Upcoming Schedule
Fri-Sun., Nov. 19-21 -- at Indiana Invitational (Bloomington, Ind.), 9 a.m./6 p.m.
Thu-Sat., Dec. 2-4 -- at U.S. Open (San Antonio, Texas), 9:30 a.m. CST
Fri-Sat., Dec. 3-4 -- at Eastern Michigan Invitational (Ypsilaniti, Mich.), 6 p.m./9 a.m.
This Week
The No. 17 University of Michigan women's swimming and diving team (2-1) will travel to Bloomington, Ind., this weekend to compete in the Indiana Invitational at the Counsilman Billingsley Aquatic Center. Competition will run Friday through Sunday (Nov. 19-21), with preliminary heats beginning at 9 a.m. and finals starting at 6 p.m. The Wolverines will compete against the host and No. 21-ranked Hoosiers, Illinois, Kentucky, Miami (Ohio), Toledo and Utah.
Schedule of Events
Friday, Nov. 19
200-yard freestyle relay
500-yard freestyle
200-yard individual medley
50-yard freestyle
One-meter diving
400-yard medley relay
Saturday, Nov. 20
200-yard medley relay
400-yard individual medley
100-yard butterfly
200-yard freestyle
100-yard breaststroke
100-yard backstroke
Three-meter diving
800-yard freestyle relay
Sunday, Nov. 21
1,650-yard freestyle
200-yard backstroke
100-yard freestyle
200-yard breaststroke
200-yard butterfly
400-yard freestyle relay
Last Time in the Pool
Michigan posted the fastest time in 10 of the 11 swimming events en route to a 126-112 victory over Ohio State last Friday (Nov. 12) at Canham Natatorium. The Wolverines won eight of the first nine swimming events before exhibitioning their competitors in the final two races. Leading the way for U-M were two-event winners Kaitlyn Brady (Wilmington, Del./Mount Pleasant HS), Susan Gilliam (Los Angeles, Calif./Bolles HS) and Lindsey Smith (Dexter, Mich./Dexter HS), with each achieving at least one NCAA 'B' standard.
Brady Named Big Ten Swimmer of the Week
Kaitlyn Brady was named the Big Ten Conference Swimmer of the Week on Tuesday (Nov. 16). after posting two NCAA consideration times in Michigan's dual meet victory over Ohio State last Friday (Nov. 12). She swam to a pair of first-places finishes in the 50-yard freestyle (23.47) and the 200-yard backstroke (2:01.50) and swam on the butterfly lef on the victorious 400-yard medley relay (3:51.21). It marks Brady's first career conference weekly accolade and the second straight for the Michigan this season.
Gilliam Nearly Breaks School Record
Susan Gilliam's winning time of 9:45.89 in the 1,000-yard freestyle against Ohio State (Nov. 12) nearly eclipsed Emily-Clare Fenn's (2001-04) school record of 9:45.29 set last season. Gilliam also met an NCAA provisional standard with her victory in the 500-yard freestyle (4:49.44) against the Buckeyes.
Freestyle Domination
Lindsey Smith took home top honors in a pair of freestyle races against Ohio State (Nov. 12), winning the 100-yard (51.42) and 200-yard (1:48.98) events. Her time in the 200-yard races is an NCAA consideration mark. It is the second time this season that she has captured both titles in one meet, as she achieved the feat at Michigan State on Oct. 27.
Lee is Diving Well
Freshman Elyse Lee (Albion, Mich./Albion HS) turned in an impressive performance against Ohio State (Nov. 12), as she posted U-M's tops scores on both the one-meter and three-meter boards. Lee was the runner-up on the one-meter with an NCAA zone qualifying total of 278.78 before taking fifth on the three-meter with a score of 241.88.
Welcome Back!
Three-time NCAA All-American Amy McCullough (West Bloomfield, Mich./Mercy HS) made her season debut against Ohio State (Nov. 12) after sitting out the first month while recovering from mononucleosis. In her first meet of the year, McCullough placed third in the 50-yard freestyle (24.10) and helped the 400-yard freestyle relay team to the top time (3:29.39).
2003-04 Season in Review
The Wolverines finished last season with a 13th-place showing at the NCAA Championships after claiming their 14th Big Ten Conference title on Feb. 21, 2004. The Maize and Blue also finished with a remarkable 8-1 record during the regular season. In additon, seven school records were broken throughout the course of the year.
In one of the most exciting championships in recent history, Michigan placed first in the meet's final event, the 400-yard freestyle relay, to clinch the team title over Penn State, 604.50-590-50. Graduated senior Anne Weilbacher (2000-04), Amy McCullough and Lindsey Smith won individual conference championships, while U-M won Big Ten titles in the 400- and 800-yard freestyle relay. Following the meet, Jim Richardson was named the Big Ten Swimming Coach of the Year for the sixth time in his career.
Following Big Ten's, Michigan finished with 114.5 points at the national meet behind All-American performances in the 400-meter medley and 800-meter freestyle races. Susan Gilliam was Michigan's top individual finisher with an eighth-place showing in the 400-meter freestyle. In addition, Michigan swimmers earned a total of 10 All-America honorable mention accolades at the championships.
Outside of the pool, eleven Wolverines earned Academic All-Big Ten distinctions, while the College Swimming Coaches Association of America (CSCAA) selected six athletes as Academic All-Americans and two as honorable mention Academic All-Americans.
Olympic Dreams ...
Eight current and former members of the Michigan women's swimming and diving team took part in the 2004 U.S. Olympic Team Trials (July 7-12) at the Long Beach Swim Stadium, but none was able to secure a spot on the national roster for the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, Greece. Graduated senior Kelli Stein (2001-04) was the only Wolverine to move past a preliminary round, as she placed 16th in the 200-meter breaststroke with a time of 2:34.06 to reach the semifinals. Stein, who earned NCAA All-America honorable mention and was the Big Ten Conference champion in the event in 2003, was unable to advance to the finals after placing 15th (2:33.41) in her second swim later that evening.
Welcome to Ann Arbor
Michigan welcomes 15 newcomers to its 2004-05 roster. Ginn Choe (Troy, Mich./Troy HS), Danielle Eibler (Pinckney, Mich./Pinckney HS), Kayla Hack (Chelsea, Mich./Chelsea HS), Erica LaBont (Amherst, Mass./Amherst Regional HS), Elyse Lee, Ashley McLaughlin (Monroe, Mich./Monroe HS), Samantha Montroy (Trenton, Mich./Trenton HS), Justine Mueller, Kaitlin Roach Centerville, Ohio/Centerville HS), Wendy Shieh (Ann Arbor, Mich./Huron HS), Carolina Sierra (Medellin, Colombia/Colegio Palermo de San Jos), Valeria Silva (Lima, Peru/Alexander von Humboldt), Katie Skendrovic (Spring Lake, Mich./Spring Lake HS), Katie Smith (Plano, Texas/Hebron HS) and Michelle Uhlig (Boalsburg, Pa./State College Area HS) all join the U-M swimming and diving program this season.
Introducing the Captains ...
The Wolverines have named three captains for the 2004-05 season. Fifth-year senior Erica Watts (Carmel, Ind./Carmel HS), senior Alexis Goolik (Highland, Ind./Highland HS) and junior Abby Seskevics (Grand Haven, Mich./Grand Haven HS) have been elected by their teammates to lead the team as tri-captains in 2004-05. Watts, Michigan's most experienced swimmer at the butterfly position, will be looked upon for leadership during her final season as a Wolverine. Goolik, Michigan's most accomplished returning diver, is serving her second straight season as captain. Seskevics, a freestyle specialist, is carrying the honor for the first time after collecting one NCAA All-American nomination and four NCAA Honorable Mention All-America awards during her first two seasons in Ann Arbor.
The Leader of the Wolverines
Michigan head swimming coach Jim Richardson is entering his 20th year at the helm of the Wolverines. Over that time, his teams have dominated the Big Ten, winning 12 consecutive league titles from 1987-98 and adding the team's 13th in 2001 and 14th last season. Since taking over the program in 1985-86, Michigan has finished in the NCAA top 10 all but eight years. In 1995, U-M finished in second place as a team and followed that in 1996 by hosting the NCAA Championships and finishing third. He holds a career record of 140-46 in dual meet competiton, including an impressive 91-11 mark in Big Ten action.
Richardson has coached seven individual national champions, 120 NCAA All-Americans and 149 Honorable Mention All-Americans. On the conference level, he has guided 135 individual and relay champions and has been named the Big Ten Coach of the Year six times. A two-time NCAA Coach of the Year (1993, '95), Richardson's athletes have excelled in the classroom as well as the pool, with 20 CSCAA Academic All-Americans and 170 Academic All-Big Ten nominations.
On the Horizon ...
Michigan will be back in action in two weeks at the Eastern Michigan Invitational (Dec. 3-4) in Ypsilanti, Mich. Several members of Wolverines will take part in the U.S. Open that same weekend (Dec. 2-4) in San Antonio, Texas.
Contact: Marc Ressler (734) 763-4423
Players Mentioned
