Weekly Release #3
11/8/2005 12:00:00 AM | Women's Swimming & Diving
Upcoming Schedule
Friday, Nov. 11 -- at Ohio State and vs. Purdue (Columbus, Ohio), 3 p.m.
Thu-Sat., Nov. 17-19 -- at Texas A&M Invitational (College Station, Texas)
Thu-Sat., Dec. 1-3 -- at U.S. Open (Auburn, Ala.), 6 p.m./9 a.m.
Fri-Sat., Dec.2-3 -- at Eastern Michigan Invitational (Ypsilanti, Mich.), 6 p.m./9 a.m.
This Week
The No. 14-ranked University of Michigan women's swimming and diving team (1-2, 0-0) will travel to Columbus, Ohio on Friday (Nov. 11) for a double dual against Ohio State and No. 21 Purdue at 3 p.m.
Scouting the Opponents
Ohio State -- Ohio State has only swam one meet so far this season, a 171-124 win over Bowling Green. Ohio State returns 18 letterwinners from last year's team that finished 6-6 (1-5, Big Ten) and 32nd at the 2005 NCAA Championships. Griet Buelens (200-yard butterfly Big Ten champion in 2005) returns as the the top swimmer for the Buckeyes. Head coach Jeanne Fleck (36-40-1) is in her seventh season as head coach at Ohio State. Michigan is 14-1 all-time against the Buckeyes, winning the last 11 meets between the two teams from 1985-2005. The Wolverines defeated Ohio State last year 153.5-146.5. Ohio State on the Internet: www.ohiostatebuckeyes.com.
Purdue -- The No. 21-ranked Purdue Boilermakers are coming off a tri-meet win over Michigan State and Northwestern. The Boilermakers return 32 letterwinners from last season's squad that finished 4-4 (3-3, Big Ten) and 17th at the 2005 NCAA Championships. Diver Carrie McCambridge, a member of the bronze-medal winning team at the World University Games, is the top returner for Purdue. Susan Hentschel is the top returning swimmer for the Boilermakers, earning Honorable mention All-America honors in the 200-yard and 400-yard freestyle relay in 2005. Cathy Wright-Eger is in her 19th season at the helm for Purdue. She holds a 135-78-2 record all-time and has taken Purdue to the NCAA Championships in 17 out of her 18 years as head coach. The Wolverines hold an 8-0 record all-time against Purdue. Michigan faced Purdue in each of the first three years of the program's existence, winning all three meets from 1974-1977. The last time the Maize and Blue competed against Purdue in a dual or tri-meet came in 1998-99 in a 131-111 Michigan victory. Purdue on the internet: www.purduesports.com.
U-M 15th in CSCAA Poll
The Wolverines hold the 14th spot in the most recent CSCAA Division I poll. Michigan's upcoming opponent Purdue is ranked 21st, while upcoming opponent Ohio State is unranked.
CSCAA Top 25 Dual Meet Poll (11/7/05)
Rank, Team Pts. 1. Georgia 197 2. Auburn 195 3. Stanford 183 4. Florida 172 5. California 164 6. Arizona 160 7. UCLA 155 8. SMU 150 9. Texas 132 10. USC 126 11. Wisconsin 125 12. Penn State 107 13. Texas A&M 98 14. MICHIGAN 90 15. Indiana 86 16. Florida State 84 17. Tennessee 65 18. Virginia 60 19. Hawaii 60 20. Washington 41 21. Purdue 41 22. North Carolina 36 23. Virginia Tech 23 24. Kansas 16 25. Arizona State 12
Lee Wins Both Diving Events in Loss to No. 1 Bulldogs
The No. 14 University of Michigan women's swimming and diving team dropped a 170-122 decision to the top-ranked Georgia Bulldogs on Saturday afternoon (Nov. 5) at Canham Natatorium. The Wolverine diving duo of Elyse Lee (Albion, Mich./Albion) and Ellen Van Cleve (Ann Arbor, Mich./Pioneer) grabbed first and second, respectively in the one-meter diving, with Lee also taking first on the three-meter board. Emily Brunemann (Crescent Springs, Ky./Notre Dame Academy) and Susan Gilliam (Los Angeles, Calif./Bolles) each earned an NCAA 'B' standard time in the 1,650-yard freestyle, while Kaitlyn Brady (Wilmington, Del./Mount Pleasent) nabbed 'B' standard times in the 50-yard freestyle and 200-yard backstroke, both for the second time this season.
First Place Wolverines
Payton Johnson (Champaign, Ill./Centennial) took first place in the 100-yard butterfly with a time of 55.77 against Georgia (Nov. 5). Johnson swam the fastest time of all eight swimmers in the event, despite Georgia swimming the event exhibition. Emily Brunemann swam the fastest of any Wolverine in the 400-yard individual medley (4:25.65), a race that Georgia decided to swim exhibition. The quartet of Kaitlyn Brady, Hannah Smith (Dexter, Mich./Dexter), Noelle Martin (Winston-Salem, N.C./Reynolds), and Lindsey Smith (Dexter, Mich./Dexter) swam the quickest time in the 200-yard freestyle relay, despite Georgia once again swimming the relay race exhibition.
Divers Deliver
Elyse Lee took first place in both the one-meter dive (282.52) and three-meter dive (296.33) against Georgia (Nov. 5). Lee also took first 0n the one-meter board against California (Oct. 27) and against Michigan State (Oct. 28) in the Wolverines' first two meets. Her two scores against Georgia both surpass zone-qualifying marks. Ellen Van Cleve also surpassed a zone-qualifying mark with her second-place, career-best score of 266.17 in the one-meter dive.
Just Considering...
Susan Gilliam (16:45.15) and Emily Brunemann (16:47.07) each surpassed the NCAA 'B' standard in the 1,650-yard freestyle against Georgia (Nov.5). This is the second time this season that Brunemann has surpassed the mark in this race. Her first-place time of 16:48.41 against Michigan State (Oct. 28) also qualified her for a NCAA 'B' standard. Kaitlyn Brady earned two NCAA 'B' standard times against Georgia. Brady touched the wall at 23.39 in the 50-yard freestyle and clocked in at 2:00.05 in the 200-yard backstroke.
Almosts Against Georgia
The quartet of Carolina Sierra (Medellin, Colombia/Colegio Palermo de San Jos), Valeria Silva (Lima, Peru/Alexander von Humboldt), Kaitlyn Brady, and Lindsey Smith clocked in at 1:43.73 in the 200-yard medley for a second-place finish. Payton Johnson took second with a time of 2:03.37 in the 200-yard butterfly. Brady's NCAA 'B' standard time (23.29) in the 50-yard freestyle missed first place by .29. Brady finished just behind Georgia's first-place winner in the 200-yard backstroke with her NCAA 'B' standard time (2:00.05). L. Smith's also swam a second-place time of 51.16 in the 100-yard freestyle.
Fast, Fast McLaughlin
Ashley McLaughlin (Monroe, Mich./Monroe) set a new career-best time in the 100-yard breaststroke against Georgia (Nov. 5). Her time of 1:05.35 bested her previous best of 1:05.73, which she set in her first career meet against Florida (Oct. 16, 2004) last year.
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 (Monroe, Mich./Monroe) 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 142-48 in dual meet competiton, including an impressive 93-12 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 travel to College Station, Texas next weekend (Thu.-Sat., Nov. 17-19) for the Texas A&M Invitational.
Contact: Matt Baumer (734) 763-4423
Players Mentioned
