Weekly Release #3
11/2/2004 12:00:00 AM | Women's Swimming & Diving
Upcoming Schedule
Fri-Sat., Nov. 5-6 -- at Boilermaker Challenge (West Lafayette, Ind.), 6 p.m./11 a.m.
Fri., Nov. 12 -- vs. Ohio State (Canham Natatorium), 5 p.m.
This Week
The No. 17 University of Michigan women's swimming and diving team (1-1) will travel to West Lafayette, Ind., to compete in the Boilermaker Challenge this Friday through Saturday (Nov. 5-6) at Purdue University's Boilermaker Aquatic Center. Competition will begin Friday evening at 6 p.m. and continue at 11 a.m. on Saturday. The Wolverines will compete against host Purdue, Virginia, Florida, Texas A&M, Texas, UCLA and Tennessee. Defending national champion Auburn will also send its divers to the meet. Results can be found at www.purduesports.com.
Last Time in the Pool
The Wolverines captured their first win of the season in their Big Ten Conference opener, defeating Michigan State 159-133 last Wednesday (Oct. 27) at McCaffree Pool. Michigan claimed first place in 12 of 14 swimming events en route to victory. With the win, U-M claims the first half-point in the Pontiac Challenge Cup winter standings. Sophomore Kaitlyn Brady (Wilmington, Del./Mount Pleasant HS) was Michigan's top individual performer after claiming three event titles and swimming on two victorious relay teams.
Consider It Done (three times)
Michigan concluded its season-opening meet against Florida (Oct. 16) with three NCAA considerations times under its belt. Sophomore Lindsey Smith (Dexter, Mich./Dexter HS) achieved the "B" standard with her second-place finish in the 200-yard freestyle (1:50.64), and then added another consideration time with a runner-up finish in the 100-yard freestyle (51.26). Sophomore Susan Gilliam (Los Angeles, Calif./Bolles HS) earned an NCAA consideration mark of 4:53.95 with her runner-up finish in the 500-yard freestyle event.
Brady Earns a Bunch of Wins
Kaitlyn Brady picked up her first three victories of the season against Michigan State (Oct. 27). After sweeping both the 100-yard (57.33) and 200-yard (2:03.31) backstroke events, Brady touched in first in the 100-yard butterfly (57.20). She also swam on the winning 200-yard medley and 200-yard freestyle relay teams.
She Can Sprint
Senior Tracy Egnatuk (Albion, Mich./Albion HS) placed first in the 50-yard freestyle (24.34) against Michigan State (Oct. 27) for her first victory of the year. She also swam on the first-place 200-yard freestyle relay team.
Go the Distance
Susan Gilliam continued her dominance in the distance freestyle events againt the Spartans (Oct. 27), claiming the top time in the 1,000-yard (9:52.62) and the 500-yard (4:57.60) races. Gilliam now has three individual titles this season.
IM a Freshman
Freshman Justine Mueller (Monroe, Mich./Monroe HS) has made a splash in the individual medley races so far this season, winning the 200-yard IM (2:06.00) against Florida (Oct. 16) and the 400-yard IM (4:27.05) against Michigan State (Oct. 27).
Set Her Free
Lindsey Smith collected her first two wins of 2004-05, sweeping the freestyle events against Michigan State (Oct. 27) with a victory in the 100-yard (51.83) and 200-yard (1:52.72) races. She also swam anchor on the winning 200-yard medley and 200-yard freestyle relay teams.
Senior Leadership
Fifth-year senior Erica Watts (Carmel, Ind./Carmel HS) earned her first individual victory of the season against Michigan State (Oct. 27), winning the 200-yard butterfly with a time of 2:08.11.
Get Well, Get Well Soon, We Want You To Get Well
Three-time NCAA All-American Amy McCullough (West Bloomfield, Mich./Mercy HS) will sit out part of the season with mononucleosis. McCullough, the Big Ten champion in the 100-yard freestyle in 2004, will be cleared by doctors to return to the pool after a full recovery.
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 (Albion, Mich./Albion HS), 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 139-46 in dual meet competiton, including an impressive 90-11 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 returns home to host Ohio State next Friday (Nov. 12). The dual meet with the Buckeyes is set to start at 5 p.m. at Canham Natatorium.
Contact: Marc Ressler (734) 763-4423
Players Mentioned
