Weekly Release #2
11/1/2005 12:00:00 AM | Women's Swimming & Diving
Upcoming Schedule
Saturday, Nov. 5 -- vs. Georgia (Canham Natatorium), Noon
Friday, Nov. 11 -- at Ohio State (Columbus, Ohio), 3 p.m.
Thu-Sat., Nov. 17-19 -- at Texas A&M Invitational (College Station, Texas)
This Week
The University of Michigan women's swimming (1-1, 0-0) and diving team will host the third-ranked Georgia at Canham Natatorium on Saturday (Nov. 5) at noon (note new time; meet was originally scheduled for 1 p.m.).
Scouting the Opponents
Georgia -- Michigan will take on its most challenging opponent of the entire season in the defending National Champion Georgia Bulldogs (3-0). The Bulldogs are coming off of a 176-116 thrashing of the top-ranked Florida Gators last Thursday. Georgia finished last season with 609.5 points at the 2005 Swimming and Diving NCAA Championships, 117.5 more points than second-place Auburn. Georgia returns 23 letterwinners from last season's squad. Georgia returns two, three-time 2005 NCAA Champion swimmers, Kara Lynn Joyce and Mary DeScenza. Joyce captured the 50-yard and 100-yard freestyle titles, in addition to racing as part of the 200-yard medley relay team title. DeScenza took the 100-yard and 200-yard butterfly championships in addition to also racing as part of the 200-yard medley relay team title. Head coach Jack Bauerle is in his 27th year as head coach of the Georgia women's swimming and diving program. Bauerle, who also has coached Georgia's men's program for 23 years, has four national titles under his belt and has coached 30 individual NCAA champions. He worked as an assistant on the men's team for seven years prior to become the leader of the women's program at Georgia for the 1979-80 season. Georgia on the Internet: www.georgiadogs.com.
U-M 15th in CSCAA Poll
The Wolverines hold the 15th spot in the most recent CSCAA Division I poll. Michigan's opponent, Georgia, holds the third spot. Florida (No. 1) and Auburn (No. 2) hold the top two spots.
Wolverines Sweep Swimming Events, Thump Spartans
The No. 15-ranked University of Michigan women's swimming and diving team earned its first victory of the 2005-06 season with a commanding 158-128 decision over Michigan State Friday evening (Oct. 28) at Canham Natatorium. The Wolverines (1-1, 1-0 Big Ten) captured the top time in all 14 swimming events.
Wolverines Drop Season Opener to Eighth-Ranked Cal
The 15th-ranked University of Michigan women's swimming and diving team fell 167-128 to the eighth-ranked California Golden Bears in its season opener Thursday (Oct. 27) at Canham Natatorium. The Wolverines swept the diving events with sophomore Elyse Lee (Albion, Mich./Albion) coming in first in the one-meter springboard event with a score of 200.70 and junior Ellen Van Cleve (Ann Arbor, Mich./Pioneer) taking the top spot on the three-meter board with a score of 203.60. Junior Susan Gilliam (Los Angeles, Calif./Bolles) highlighted the swimming events with a top time in the 1,000-yard freestyle (9:56.36).
First Place Wolverines
Susan Gilliam earned the first top finish of the season for the Wolverines with a time of 9:56.36 in the 1,000-yard freestyle against California (Oct. 27). Gilliam then earned the top time in the 200-yard freestyle (1:51.74) against Michigan State (Oct. 28).
The quartet of Kaitlyn Brady (Wilmington, Del./Mount Pleasant), Hannah Smith (Dexter, Mich./Dexter), Noelle Martin (Winston-Salem, N.C./Reynolds), and Lindsey Smith (Dexter, Mich./Dexter) nabbed first in the final race against California (Oct. 27). The foursome clocked in at 3:26.72 in the 400-yard freestyle relay. The next night against Michigan State (Oct. 28), Brady, Ashley McLaughlin (Monroe, Mich./Monroe), Payton Johnson (Champaign, Ill./Centennial), and L. Smith started the meet off with a first-place finish in the 400-yard medley relay (3:47.58).
Emily Brunemann (Crescent Springs, Ky./Notre Dame Academy) finished first in the 1,650-yard freestyle with a time of 16:48.41. Hannah Smith (Dexter, Mich./Dexter) grabbed her first career first-place time with a 57.56 finish against Michigan State (Oct. 28) in the 100-yard backstroke.
McLaughlin clocked in at 1:05.04 to take first place in 100-yard breaststroke against Michigan State (Oct. 28). Wendy Shieh (Ann Arbor, Mich./Huron) earned her first top finish of the season with a 2:08.11 time in the 200-yard butterfly. Brady then took first in the next two individual events against MSU, swimming a 23.60 time in the 50-yard freestyle and a 51:45 time in the 100-yard freestyle. Justine Mueller (Monroe, Mich./Monroe) collected her first top finish of the season after clocking in at 2:07.07 in the 200-yard backstroke against MSU. In the next event (200-yard backstroke), Elsa Larson (Portland, Ore./Lincoln) nabbed her first first-place finish of the year with a time of 2:24.35. Michigan swam the final four events exhibition, but took the top time in all four unscored events. Gilliam in the 500-yard freestyle (4:57.43), P. Johnson in the 100-yard butterfly (56.56), Brunemann in the 400-yard individual medley (4:35.46), and Brady, H. Smith, N. Martin, and L. Smith in the 200-yard freestyle relay (1:34.28).
Divers Deliver
Elyse Lee took first place in the one-meter dive with a score of 200.70, with Ellen Van Cleve finishing second just behind Lee (180.05) against California (Oct. 27). The two traded places in the three-meter dive, with Van Cleve finishing first (203.60) and Lee grabbing second (185.90). Lee (282.15) and Van Cleve (273.15) were number one and two in the one-meter dive scoring against Michigan State (Oct. 27).
Just Considering...
Lindsey Smith touched the wall just .02 seconds behind the top finisher from California (Oct. 27) in the 200-yard freestyle with a NCAA 'B' standard time of 1:49.29. Kaitlyn Brady missed first place in the 50-yard freestyle with an NCAA 'B' standard time of 23.45 against the Golden Bears (Oct. 27). Brady then eclipsed another 'B' standard time, this time in the 200-yard backstroke (2:00.80). Emily Brunemann earned her first-career NCAA 'B' standard time with her 16:48.41 finish in the 1,650-yard freestyle against MSU (Oct. 28).
Fantastic Freshmen
Along with her first place time in the 1,650-yard freestyle against Michigan State (Oct. 28), Emily Brunemann took second in her first ever race against California (Oct. 27), touching the just under five seconds behind first-place finisher Susan Gilliam in the 1,000 yard freestyle. Brunemann then took second again in the 500-yard freestyle, finishing less than a second behind the first-place winner from California with a time of 4:56.06. Brunemann earned first place in the 1,650-yard freestyle (16:48.41) against the Spartans. Payton Johnson earned her first career second-place finish with a time of 56.03 in the 100-yard butterfly, less than a second behind the top time in the race against California (Oct. 27). Johnson followed that up with the quickest time of any Wolverine in the exhibition heat in the 200-yard individual medley (2:08.14). Johnson then took second in the 100-yard freestyle against Michigan State (Oct. 28) then next night, with a time of 53.15. Hannah Smith finished first in the 100-yard backstroke, just under a second faster than sister Lindsey Smith. Smith's quartet in the 400-yard medley relay against Michigan State finished second behind Michigan's 'A' quartet. In addition to her first-place finish in the 400-yard freestyle relay against California (Oct. 27), Noelle Martin took second in the 200-yard freestyle relay (1:55.04) against Michigan State.
Almosts
In the first race of the season for Michigan, the quartet of Carolina Sierra (Medellin, Colombia/Colegio Palermo de San Jose), Valeria Silva (Lima, Peru/Alexander von Humboldt), Kaitlyn Brady, and Lindsey Smith finished just .5 seconds behind first place finishers from California (Oct. 27) in the 200-yard medley relay. Smith touched the wall just .02 seconds behind the top finisher from California in the 200-yard freestyle. Brady missed first by .01 in the 50-yard freestyle race with California.
2004-05 Season in Review
The University of Michigan women's swimming and diving team provided many stellar individual and group performances during the 2004-05 season. The Wolverines earned their third straight winning season after posting a 4-2 record overall and a 3-1 record in the Big Ten. Last season, Michigan placed fourth at the Big Ten Conference championships and finished in a tie with Texas A&M for 14th-place at the NCAA Championships.
The highest ranking the Wolverines held in the CSCAA Top 25 Dual Meet Poll during the season was 13th, which the Maize and Blue held for three consecutive weeks (Jan. 11-Feb. 1). The unranked Wolverines began the season at home against Florida on Oct. 16, but dropped the meet 164-131 despite finishing the meet with five first-place finishes.
In their first road meet of the season, the Wolverines took first place in 12 of the 14 events at Michigan State on October 27 on their way to a 159-133 victory. Susan Gilliam swept the distance freestyle events, finishing nearly 29 seconds ahead of the second-place holder in the 1,000-yard freestyle, with a time of 9:52.62.
The Maize and Blue finished in fifth place out of eight teams at the Boilermaker Challenge (Nov. 5-6). Gilliam ensured her trip to the 2005 NCAA Championships after earning qualifying times in both the 500-yard freestyle (4:45.02) and 1650-yard freestyle (16:20.85) races. The Wolverines then won their second home meet on Nov. 19 with a 126-112 win over Ohio State. Gilliam (500-yard and 1,000-yard freestyle), Lindsey Smith (100-yard and 200-yard freestyle) and Kaitlyn Brady (50-yard freestyle and 200-yard backstroke) each took first place in two individual events.
The Wolverines faired well in the Indiana Invitational (Nov. 19-21), placing second out of eight teams in the three-day event. Gilliam and Brady nabbed first place finishes each day. The Wolverines won their first invitational of the year at the Eastern Michigan Invitational with an outstanding 1,091 points, besting second-place Eastern Michigan's 976 points. Brady set a Jones Natatorium pool-record time of 2:01.45 in the 200-yard backstroke on the first day. Both Ellen Van Cleve, in the three-meter, and Elyse Lee, in the one-meter springboard, earned individual titles for the first time.
Two weeks after a 209-170 exhibition win over Notre Dame, the Wolverines defeated Illinois and Notre Dame at the Notre Dame Invitational tri-meet (Jan. 14-15) 204-163. Michigan dropped a 168-132 decision at No. 23-ranked Northwestern (Jan. 22). Brady, Justine Mueller and Amy McCullough each won two individual races. The Wolverines defeated Notre Dame 161-138 in the season finale at home on Jan. 28. McCullough captured a top finish in her final race at Canham Natatorium with a season-best time of 1:51.31 in the 200-yard freestyle. Alexis Goolik, in her final appearance as well, surpassed NCAA zone qualifying standards in the one-meter board (313.50) and the three-meter board (300.30).
The Wolverines claimed fourth place at the Big Ten Championships in Bloomington, Ind. (Feb. 16-19). The Maize and Blue won eight Big Ten titles during the four-day event. Brady won the 50-yard freestyle and Smith had wins in both the 100-yard and 200-yard freestyle races, including a record-breaking time of 1:45.26 in the 200-yard freestyle. Mueller attained a team-best and Big Ten Championship-best three individual titles of her own. She won the 200-yard breaststroke and set pool record times in both the 200-yard and 400-yard individual medleys. The Michigan relay teams grabbed the 400-yard and 800-yard freestyle relay titles. Mueller earned Big Ten Conference Swimmer of the Championship and Freshman of the Year honors.
Michigan finished in a tie for 14th-place at the NCAA Championships in West Lafayette, Ind. (March 17-19). The quartet of Brady, McCullough, Abby Seskevics (Grand Haven, Mich./Grand Haven), and Smith held the best finish for Michigan, placing fifth in the 200-yard freestyle relay. Smith gave Michigan its only individual All-America honor in the 200-yard freestyle, while the 200-yard freestyle relay quartet earned All-America honors in both the 200-yard and 400-yard freestyle relays.
Brady (50-yard freestyle), McCullough (200-yard freestyle) and Mueller (200-yard and 400-yard individual medley) each earned NCAA Honorable Mention All-America Honors.
Going International ...
Two members of the University of Michigan women's swimming and diving team competed at the 2005 U.S. World Championship Trials at IUPUI's University Natatorium (April 1-6). Freshman Justine Mueller qualified for the finals in three events, including a 10th-place finish in the 200-meter individual medley, and was named to this summer's World University Games roster. Sophomore Lindsey Smith qualifed for "C" finals in a pair of freestyle events.
Mueller's top finish came on the first day of the trials (Friday, April 1), as she touched in 10th in the 200-meter IM at 2:16.74.
At the 23rd World University Games (Aug. 13), Mueller touched the wall in 2:21.48 to earn seventh place in the "B" final (15th overall) after clocking in at 2:20.91 in her preliminary heat.
The World University Games, or "Universiade," is an Olympic-style sporting and cultural festival for student-athletes. Approximately 9,000 athletes from 170 countries participate in 14 different sports throughout the competition. The inaugural Universiade took place in Turin, Italy, in 1959 and the Games have been staged in a different city every two years since then. The United States hosted the 17th World University Games in Buffalo, N.Y., in 1993.
Welcome to Ann Arbor
Michigan welcomes nine newcomers to its 2005-06 roster. Aubriana Ard (Wheaton, Ill./Warrenville South), Courtney Beyer (Los Altos Hills, Calif./Los Altos), Emily Brunemann (Crescent Springs, Ky./Notre Dame Academy), Payton Johnson (Champaign, Ill./Centennial), Melissa Karner (Dundee, Mich./Dundee), Noelle Martin (Winston-Salem, N.C./Reynolds), Lori Morton (Portage, Mich./Central), Christine Nichols (Fairfax, Va./Woodson), and Hannah Smith (Dexter, Mich./Dexter) all join the U-M swimming and diving program this season.
Introducing the Captains ...
The Wolverines have named two captains for the 2005-06 season. Senior Elsa Larson and junior Lindsey Smith have been selected by their teammates to lead the team as captains in the 2005-06 season. Both swimmers also garner the accolade for the first time in their respective careers at Michigan. Larson, Michigan's most experienced breaststroker, is one of three returning Wolverines in their fourth year at Michigan. Larson was one of two Wolverines, graduated senior Tracy Egnatuck being the other, to earn CSCAA Honorable Mention Academic All-America honors in 2005. Smith had the best showing of any Wolverine at the NCAA Championships last season, earning the only individual NCAA All-America honor (200-yard freestyle) for the Wolverines last season to go along with her two relay NCAA All-America honors (200-yard and 400-yard freestyle relay). Her sister, Hannah Smith, is a freshman swimmer on this year's Wolverine squad.
The Leader of the Wolverines
Michigan head swimming coach Jim Richardson is entering his 21st 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 in 2004. Since taking over the program in 1985-86, Michigan has finished in the NCAA top 10 all but nine 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 142-47 in dual meet competiton, including an impressive 92-12 mark in Big Ten action.
Richardson has coached seven individual national champions, 121 NCAA All-Americans and 150 Honorable Mention All-Americans. On the conference level, he has guided 139 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 22 CSCAA Academic All-Americans and 179 Academic All-Big Ten nominations.
On the Horizon ...
Michigan will stay at home to face Georgia at Canham Natatorium on Saturday, Nov. 5. The dual meet with the Bulldogs is slated to start at 1 p.m. in Ann Arbor.
Contact: Matt Baumer (734) 763-4423
Players Mentioned
