Weekly Release #6
11/30/2004 12:00:00 AM | Women's Swimming & Diving
Upcoming Schedule
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. 15 University of Michigan women's swimming and diving team (2-1, 2-0 Big Ten) closes out 2005 by competing at the Eastern Michigan Invitational this Friday through Saturday (Dec. 3-4) at the Jones Natatorium in Ypsilanti, Mich. U-M will also send three swimmers to the U.S. Open this Thursday through Saturday (Dec. 2-4) at the Palo Alto College Natatorium in San Antonio, Texas.
U.S. Open -- Fifth-year senior Erica Watts (Carmel, Ind./Carmel HS) and sophomores Susan Gilliam (Los Angles, Calif./Bolles HS) and Lindsey Smith (Dexter, Mich./Dexter HS) will represent the Wolverines at the national meet this weekend in San Antonio. Gilliam will compete in the 200, 400 and 800-meter freestyle events, Smith will swim the 50, 100 and 200-meter freestyle and Watts will participate in both the 100 and 200-meter buttferfly races. For in-depth meet information and updated results, visit www.usaswimming.org.
EMU Invitational -- The remaining Wolverines will travel up the road to Ypsilanti to compete in the Eastern Michigan Invitational. Michigan turned in a dominating event at last year's meet, claiming the top time over eight other teams in 16 of 20 swimming events for a winning total of 1,010 points. Eastern Michigan on the Internet: www.emich.edu/goeagles.
Last Time in the Pool
Michigan had a commendable showing at the eight-team Indiana Invitational (Nov. 19-21), earning a second-place finish with 823.5 points after three days of competition. U-M's performance was highlighted by three first-place finishes from both Susan Gilliam and classmate Kaitlyn Brady (Wilmington, Del./Mount Pleasant HS). Freshman Justine Mueller (Monroe, Mich./Monroe HS) also claimed another event title, while sophomore Ellen Van Cleve was the top U-M scorer in two of three diving events. Michigan also placed second in each of the five relay races at the meet.
Still Going Strong
Susan Gilliam continues to excel in the distance freestyle events, as she swept the 200, 500 and 1,650-yard races at the Indiana Invitational (Nov. 19-21). After achieving a pair of NCAA consideration times in her victories in the 200-yard (1:48.84) and 500-yard (4:46.30) competitions, Gilliam surpassed her season-best in the mile race with an NCAA automatic qualifying mark of 16:17.43, over 27 seconds ahead of the runner-up. It was the second time this season that Gilliam has swam to the NCAA 'A' standard in the event.
Another Super Soph
Kaitlyn Brady also collected three event titles to help Michigan to a runner-up finish at the Indiana Invitational (Nov. 19-21). After claiming the top time in the 50-yard freestyle (23.09), Brady kept rolling with victories in the 100-yard butterfly (55.10) and the 200-yard backstroke (1:59.91). She also placed third in the 100-yard backstroke (55.98). It was Brady's best overall performance of the season, as she achieved NCAA consideration and season-best marks in each of the four individual races she competed in.
An Impressive Debut
Freshman Katie Smith (Plano, Texas/Hebron HS) made her career debut at the Indiana Invitational (Nov. 19-21) and qualifed for consolation finals in both backstroke races. Smith placed ninth in the 200-yard race (2:05.50) and 12th in the 100-yard event (59.43). Her time of 2:05.50 is currently the second fastest time for Michigan this season, while her mark of 59.43 is the fourth fastest time this year.
Van Cleve Continues to Shine
Ellen Van Cleve continued her strong sophomore campaign with three top-six finishes at the Indiana Invitational (Nov. 19-21). After a pair of sixth-place finishes on the one-meter (241.50) and three-meter (404.05) spring boards, Van Cleve closed out the meet with an impressive third-place showing on the platform diving board with a total of 330.90.
Fast Times at the IU Invite
In addition to Gilliam and Brady, a number of U-M swimmers swam to season-best times at the Indiana Invitational (Nov. 19-21):
After winning the 200-yard individual medley with an NCAA consideration time of 2:02.58, Justine Mueller also set a season-best and NCAA provisional mark of 2:17.69 to place third in the 200-yard breaststroke.
Lindsey Smith took fourth in the 100-yard freestyle with an NCAA 'B' and season-best time of 51.14.
Senior Tracy Egnatuk (Albion, Mich./Albion HS) set season-best marks in both the 50-yard (23.87) and 100-yard (53.16) freestyle races.
Junior Carolina Sierra (Medellin, Colombia/Colegio Palermo de San Jose) and freshman Wendy Shieh (Ann Arbor, Mich./Huron HS) both achieved season-bests in the butterfly events. Sierra swam the 100-yard race in 57.39 and the 200-yard event in 2:06.10. Shieh swam the 100-yard event in 57.57 and the 200-yard race in 2:07.28.
In addition to her season-best marks in the butterfly races, Carolina Sierra also turned in her top performances in both backstroke events. Sierra clocked in at season-bests of 57.97 in the 100-yard race and 2:06.17 in the 200-yard competition.
Freshman Valeria Silva (Lima, Peru/Alexander von Humboldt) set season-bests in the both the 100-yard (1:04.90) and 200-yard (2:21.42) breaststroke races.
Michigan achieved season-bests in four of the five relay events at the meet.
Let's Look at the Polls
The Wolverines received the No. 15 ranking in the most recent College Swim Coaches Association of America Top 25 dual meet poll, released Nov. 17. The Wolverines have already competed against a number of squads in the poll. After losing to Florida in its season-opener on Oct. 16, Michigan showed it belonged among the nations best by finishing ahead of three ranked foes (Virginia, Purdue and Tennessee) at the Boilermaker Challenge (Nov. 5-6).
CSCAA Top 25 Dual Meet Poll (Nov. 17)
Rank, Team Pts. 1. Georgia (8) 200 2. Auburn 192 3. Florida 184 4. Texas 172 5. Arizona 171 6. Stanford 161 7. SMU 151 8. Califonia 145 9. Texas A&M 135 10. Wisconsin 125 11. UCLA 124 12. Southern Cal 110 13. Maryland 105 14. Virginia 95 15. MICHIGAN 87 16. North Carolina 80 17. Penn State 75 18. Arizona State 61 19. Hawaii 53 20. Purdue 45 21. Notre Dame 43 22. Florida State 33 23. Tennessee 17 24. Washington 16 25. Indiana 13
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), senior Amy McCullough (West Bloomfield, Mich./Mercy HS) 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, Carolina Sierra, Valeria Silva, Katie Skendrovic (Spring Lake, Mich./Spring Lake HS), Katie Smith 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. Erica Watts, 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 compete against Notre Dame in an exhibition relay meet in St. Lucia on Jan. 1, 2005, before returning to regular season action at the Notre Dame Invitational on Jan. 14-15 in South Bend, Ind.
Contact: Marc Ressler (734) 763-4423
Players Mentioned
