Hurd, Vanderkaay Double Up in Win Over Northwestern

Friday, January 21

Ann Arbor, Mich.

5:00 PM

Michigan

135

106

Northwestern

1/21/2005 12:00:00 AM | Men's Swimming & Diving

ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The eighth-ranked University of Michigan men's swimming and diving team earned a 135-106 victory over No. 14 Northwestern tonight (Friday, Jan. 21) in front of a near-capacity crowd of more than 1,400 fans at Canham Natatorium. Andrew Hurd (Oakville, Ontario/Trafalger) and Peter Vanderkaay (Rochester, Mich./Adams HS) each scored a pair of individual victories to pace the Wolverines. Hurd won the 500- and 1,000-yard freestyle races, while Vanderkaay claimed titles in the 100- and 200-yard freestyles.

Hurd swept the distance freestyle races, finishing first in the 500 and 1,000.

After Northwestern won the 400-yard medley relay to start the meet, U-M answered with a 1-3-4 finish in the 1,000-yard freestyle. Hurd led the way with a time of 9:11.29, the fastest by a Wolverine this season. Zayd Ma (Ann Arbor, Mich./Clonlara HS) finished third at 9:17.83 and Brendan Neligan (Briarwood, N.Y./Archbishop Molloy) came in fourth with a time of 9:22.99.

Following the 1,000-yard freestyle, Vanderkaay won a much-anticipated matchup with Northwestern's Matt Grevers in the 200-yard freestyle. Last season's Big Ten co-Swimmer of the Year award winners were neck-and-neck throughout the race, but Vanderkaay was able to steadily pull away through the final 100 yards to notch the victory.

Northwestern won the following three events to take a 60-51 lead heading into the 200-yard butterfly. Davis Tarwater (Knoxville, Tenn./The Webb School) led Michigan to a 1-2-3 finish in the event to give the Wolverines a 67-63 lead. Tarwater touched the wall in 1:49.03 followed by Nicholas Douville (Dayton, Ohio/Archbishop Alter HS) in second at 1:50.63 and Alex Vanderkaay (Rochester, Mich./Adams HS) with a time of 1:52.75 good for third place.

Peter Vanderkaay secured his second victory of the evening with a win in the 100-yard freestyle. Vanderkaay trailed Northwestern's Kyle Bubolz after the first 50 yards of the race, but was able to out-touch him at the wall to win by 0.02 of a second.

In the 200-yard backstroke, Chris DeJong (Holland, Mich./Holland HS) won the event to extend his unbeaten streak in the backstroke this season. DeJong touched the wall in 1:44.09 to lead a U-M contingent that finished 1-3-4 in the event. Dane Grenda (Hockessin, Del./Salesianum HS) earned a third-place finish with a time of 1:50.09 and Chuck Sayao (Mississauga, Ontario/Cawthra Park) took fourth in 1:50.62.

Hurd gave the Wolverines their fourth straight victory with a win in the 500-yard freestyle. Hurd swam his fastest time in the event this season, touching the wall in 4:27.10 to score the win. Neligan also had a strong showing in the event, placing runner-up in 4:28.30.

With the meet in hand, Michigan closed out the competition with a victory in the 400-yard freestyle relay. The team of DeJong, Tarwater, Hurd and Peter Vanderkaay combined to finish in 3:02.15.

In addition to Michigan's victory over the Wildcats, eight-time Olympic medalist and U-M volunteer assistant coach Michael Phelps swam a pair of one-man exhibitions prior to each diving break. Phelps set Canham Natatorium records with a time of 1:43.05 in the 200-yard individual medley and 46.48 in the 100-yard backstroke.

The Wolverines will return to Canham Natatorium tomorrow (Saturday, Jan. 22) to take on No. 14 Indiana in dual-meet action. The meet is set to begin at 1 p.m.

Contact: Paul Dickerson (734) 763-4423