Michigan
Ohio State
DeJong Sets Pool Record as U-M Crushes Ohio State
1/28/2006 12:00:00 AM | Men's Swimming & Diving
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- On the day honoring its six-member senior class, the sixth-ranked University of Michigan men's swimming and diving team dominated Big Ten Conference foe and 18th-ranked Ohio State 164-77 Saturday (Jan. 28). Senior Chris DeJong (Holland, Mich./Holland) set the pool record in the 200-yard backstroke in front of Canham Natatorium's largest crowd of the season, touching the wall in 1:42.73, more than a half-second faster than the previous record of 1:43.37 set by former Wolverine Derya Buyukuncu in 1996.
Senior captains DeJong, Davis Tarwater (Knoxville, Tenn./Webb School) and Peter Vanderkaay (Rochester, Mich./Adams) each notched two individual victories, while senior Andrew Albright (Carmel, Ind./Carmel) earned an individual win of his own. Jorge Carral (Mexico City, Mexico/The Bolles School) also made a notable appearance in his final home meet as a Wolverine, taking second and third in the 500- and 1,000-yard freestyle events, respectively.
U-M jumped quickly out of the blocks, as the quartet of DeJong, Albright, Tarwater and Bryan Vessels (Dexter, Mich./Dexter) earned 11 points with a first-place finish in the 200-yard medley relay with a time of 1:30.03.
In the second event of the day, sophomore Alex Vanderkaay (Rochester, Mich./Adams) led a 1-2-3 finish for the Wolverines in the 1,000-yard freestyle. Vanderkaay touched the wall in 9:08.65, with Johnny Austermann (Huntington Woods, Mich./Berkley) and Carral rounding out the top three. Michigan posted another 1-2-3 finish in the 200-yard freestyle, this time led by DeJong. The Holland, Mich., native just beat the NCAA 'B' standard with his 1:38.28, followed by Sal Barba (Hudson, Mass./St.John's) (1:40.05) and Bobby Savulich (Edison, N.J./Saint Joseph) (1:40.09) in second and third.
Tarwater and Peter Vanderkaay posted Michigan's fifth and sixth consecutive victories. Tarwater clocked in with a time of 20.71 in the 50-yard freestyle, while Vanderkaay earned a team season best and NCAA 'B' standard time of 1:48.30 in the 200-yard individual medley. Vanderkaay later earned his second victory of the day as he finished in 44.79 in the 100-yard freestyle.
Not to be upstaged by his fellow captains, Tarwater took first and posted his own NCAA consideration time in the 200-yard butterfly with a time of 1:46.10. Alex Vanderkaay also hit an NCAA 'B' time, meeting the mark exactly in 1:48.07.
In the most impressive swim of the day, DeJong broke the Canham Natatorium pool record in the 200-yard backstroke. The senior beat his next closest competitor, sophomore Dane Grenda (Hockessin, Del./Salesianum) by more than 5.5 seconds.
For the second time of the meet Michigan swam to two consecutive 1-2-3 finishes. Austermann swam to his season best in the 500-yard freestyle. The sophomore clocked a time of 4:29.16, followed closely by Carral and Christian Sprang (Sicklerville, N.J./St. Augustine Prep) in second and third, respectively. Then in the 200-yard breaststroke, Albright placed first in a team season best of 2:03.30. Sophomores Grant Burtch (Holland, Mich./Holland) and Dane Rook (Metamora, Mich./Cranbrook Kingswood) rounded out the top three.
Kyle Howard (Ann Arbor, Mich./Huron) led the way off the springboards in the diving pool. The junior's 310.65 off the three-meter bested the team's season mark of 305.85, which he set against Purdue.
Michigan's only defeat came as it swam exhibition in the day's final event, the 200-yard freestyle relay. U-M volunteer assistant coach Michael Phelps swam an individual exhibition oh his own, posting a pool-record 46.03 in the 100-yard butterfly.
The Wolverines will jump right back into the pool, as they travel to Indiana to take on the 11th-ranked Hoosiers on Sunday (Jan. 29) in Bloomington Ind.
Q U O T E S
Michigan Head Coach Bob Bowman
Opening statement ... "I was very pleased with our meet today. I thought everybody stepped up and we had a lot of seasonal best times It really sets us up well for our meet tomorrow at Indiana. It gave us a little feel for where everybody is, and I feel very confident that we will swim a good meet. Indiana is an excellent team, and I look forward to seeing how we match up. It will be very close and it should be fun."
On Chris DeJong's record swim ... "That was exceptional, considering he was basically swimming by himself. He really had no pressure and it really makes me feel good about the NCAA Championships. He just kind of did it. I think he just felt like going fast and making sure his name was on the record board before he left."
Contact: Jed Shein (734) 763-4423
Players Mentioned
