Michigan
Big Ten Championships
McCullough Powers U-M to 14th Big Ten Championship
2/21/2004 12:00:00 AM | Women's Swimming & Diving
MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. -- The University of Michigan women's swimming and diving team captured its 14th conference title Saturday evening (Feb. 21), edging out Penn State 604.50-590.50 to win the 2004 Big Ten Championships at the University Aquatic Center. The outcome was decided in the final event of the championships, as Michigan's 400-yard freestyle relay team placed first and the Nittany Lions' squad came in seventh. Junior Amy McCullough (West Bloomfield, Mich./Mercy HS) was the main catalyst in U-M's victory, claiming her first career Big Ten title in the 100-yard freestyle before swimming the anchor leg on the winning relay team.
With Penn State leading Michigan by two points (566.50-564.50), freshman Lindsey Smith (Dexter, Mich./Dexter HS), senior Anne Weilbacher (Columbus, Ohio/St. Francis DeSales HS), sophomore Abby Seskevics (Grand Haven, Mich./Grand Haven HS) and McCullough touched in 3:18.95 to win the 400-yard freestyle relay and clinch the championship for the Wolverines. The quartet's mark hit the NCAA automatic qualifying standard right on the head, just ahead of the runner-up team of Wisconsin (3:19.11). Michigan's win in the race gave them 40 points, while PSU's seventh-place finish (3:23.49) was good for just 24 points.
Senior Emily-Clare Fenn (Westport, Conn./Staples HS) was Michigan's top finisher in the first race of the evening, the 1,650-yard freestyle. Fenn's personal best and school-record time of 16:12.43 was good for third place, while Wisconsin's Carly Piper took top honors (16:06.90). Freshman Susan Gilliam (Los Angeles, Calif./Bolles HS) touched in right behind Fenn at 16:14.35 for fourth. Freshman Annie Stein (Longmont, Colo./Germantown Academy) came in 10th place (16:39.19) and senior Lori Eberwein (Maple Glen, Pa./Upper Dublin HS) finished 14th (16:48.33). Both Fenn's and Gilliam's times automatically qualify them for the NCAA Championships, while Stein and Eberwein earn NCAA consideration with their finishes.
Senior Sara Johnson (West Bloomfield, Mich./Lahser HS), Michigan's lone representative in the 200-yard backstroke final, clocked in with an NCAA "B" standard of 1:58.59 for third place. Johnson's time gave the Wolverines 16 points and eclipsed her previous personal best of 1:58.62, set at last year's Big Ten meet. Despite Johnson's finish, U-M still trailed leader Penn State 501.50-453 after 16 events.
McCullough became Michigan's third individual champion of the weekend with a first-place finish in the 100-yard freestyle. McCullough's winning time of 49.34 surpassed her previous personal best of 50.65 and automatically qualified her for the NCAA Championships. Smith nearly beat out McCullough and earned her second individual crown of the weekend, but she fell just 0.02 seconds behind at 49.36 for second place. Sophomore Abby Seskevics (Grand Haven, Mich./Grand Haven HS) rounded out the U-M performers with a personal-best and NCAA consideration time of 50.60 for 11th place. Michigan's one-two finish in the race brought it within striking range of Penn State's overall lead (512.50-495.50).
Michigan nearly picked up another first-place finish in the next race, the 200-yard breaststroke, but senior Kelli Stein's (Columbus, Ohio/Bishop Waterson HS) NCAA automatic qualifying mark of 2:12.78 fell just shy of winner Amali Sarnecki of Wisconsin (2:12.37). Stein gave a valiant effort in trying to make up a 0.46 second deficit halfway through the race by swimming the fastest in the final two laps, but Sarnecki was still able to touch the wall first. Stein's second-place finish surpassed her previous personal best of 2:12.90, set last season at the 2003 Big Ten Championships. Sophomore Elsa Larson (Portland, Ore./Lincoln HS) also set a new personal best in the race, clocking in with an NCAA consideration time of 2:17.42 for 10th place.
The Nittany Lions were able to extend their lead over Michigan to 566.50-532.50 with two events remaining thanks to Amberle Biedermann, who set a Big Ten record of 1:57.87 to win the 200-yard butterfly. Senior Erica Watts (Carmel, Ind./Carmel HS) was U-M's top finisher at 11th place with a personal best of 2:02.50. Annie Stein finished right behind Watts at 2:02.65, while freshman Amanda Johnson (West Bloomfield, Mich./Lahser HS) placed 15th with a time of 2:04.38.
A quartet of divers supplied Michigan with the necessary points to bring the Wolverines within two points of Penn State's lead heading into the final event of the championships. Senior Tealin Kelemen (Riverton, N.J./Moorestown Friends School) scored 383.00 in the platform diving finals to take sixth place and gain 13 points for U-M. Junior Alexis Goolik (Highland, Ind./Highland HS) helped the Wolverines inch 12 points closer to the lead with a seventh-place score of 379.00. Freshman Ellen Van Cleve (Ann Arbor, Mich./Pioneer HS) and senior Emily Koglin (Heyworth, Ill./Normal University) placed 11th and 16th, respectively, to account for the other seven points. Without a platform diver, the Nittany Lions scored no points in the event.
Michigan's divers who have qualified will take part in the NCAA Zone C Diving Meet Friday through Sunday, March 12-14, in Bloomington, Ind., while the swimmers will switch focus to the NCAA Championships, which will be held March 18-20 at Texas A&M University's Student Recreation Center Natatorium in College Station, Texas.
Final Team Standings
1. Michigan 604.50 2. Penn State 590.50 3. Indiana 563.50 4. Wisconsin 503 5. Minnesota 412.50 6. Purdue 337.50 7. Northwestern 222 8. Ohio State 196 9. Iowa 152 10. Michigan State 123 11. Illinois 107.50
Event Winners/U-M Finishes (Day 4)
(Preliminary time in parentheses if faster than finals time)
1,650-yard Freestyle
1. Carly Piper, Wisconsin 16:06.90* 3. Emily-Clare Fenn, U-M 16:12.43*! 4. Susan Gilliam, U-M 16:14.35* 10. Annie Stein, U-M 16:39.19# 14. Lori Eberwein, U-M 16:48.33#
200-yard Backstroke
1. Susan Johnson, Wisconsin 1:55:93* 3. Sara Johnson, U-M 1:58.59# 23. Kaitlyn Brady, U-M 2:04.39
100-yard Freestyle
1. Amy McCullough, U-M 49.34* 2. Lindsey Smith, U-M 49.36* 11. Abby Seskevics, U-M 50.60# 17. Anne Weilbacher, U-M 51.06# 40. Tracy Egnatuk, U-M 52.17 70. Elaine Shalla, U-M 53.39 79. Nikki Starr, U-M 54.08 80. Maya Mandel, U-M 54.11
200-yard Breaststroke
1. Amali Sarnecki, Wisconsin 2:12.37* 2. Kelli Stein, U-M 2:12.78* 10. Elsa Larson, U-M 2:17.42#
200-yard Butterfly
1. Amberle Biedermann, PSU 1:57.87*$ 11. Erica Watts, U-M 2:02.50 12. Annie Stein, U-M 2:02.65 15. Amanda Johnson, U-M 2:04.38 (2:04.13) 18. Lesley Barnet, U-M 2:05.83 29. Clinique Brundidge, U-M 2:10.36
Platform Diving
1. Carrie McCambridge, Purdue 413.50^ 6. Tealin Kelemen, U-M 383.00^
7. Alexis Goolik, U-M 379.00^ 11. Ellen Van Cleve, U-M 323.25 16. Emily Koglin, U-M 291.50 17. Courtney Larson, U-M 288.30 19. Kristen Metzger, U-M 267.25
400-yard Freestyle Relay
1. Michigan 3:18.95* (Lindsey Smith, Anne Weilbacher, Abby Seskevics, Amy McCullough) ! Michigan school record
$ Big Ten record * NCAA automatic qualifying time # NCAA consideration time ^ NCAA zone diving qualifying mark
Previous Results: Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3
Contact: Marc Ressler (734) 763-4423
Players Mentioned
