Weekly Release #2

Upcoming Schedule
Friday, Oct. 20 -- at Eastern Michigan (Ypsilanti, Mich.), 6 p.m.
Fri-Sat., Nov. 3-4 -- at Georgia (Athens, Ga.), 6 p.m. / 1 p.m.
Saturday, Nov. 11 -- vs. Princeton and Michigan State (Canham Natatorium) 11 a.m.

This Week: Eastern Michigan Dual
The University of Michigan men's swimming and diving team returns to the pool against Eastern Michigan this week. The meet will be Friday (Oct. 20) at 6 p.m. at Michael H. Jones Natatorium in Ypsilanti, Mich. The meet format will be short-course yards.

Michigan vs. Eastern Michigan
There isn't a non-Big Ten Conference opponent more familiar to the Michigan men's swimming and diving program than Eastern Michigan. Dating back to their first meeting in the 1970-71 season, the two teams have competed against each other in dual meets 26 times. The Wolverines are perfect in those meets with a 26-0 record, including a 155-58 victory last year at Canham Natatorium.

Scouting the Eagles
This week's meet marks the season opener for Eastern Michigan. Led by 2004-05 NCAA qualifier Dan Wohl, the Eagles posted a 7-2 overall record and a 4-0 conference record last season. The Eagles placed second at the MAC Championships in 2005, marking the first time in eight years EMU did not capture the conference title. Under 19th-year head swimming coach Peter Linn, Eastern Michigan is 138-38 overall and 87-6 in MAC action. Eastern Michigan on the Internet: www.emueagles.com.

Last Time In The Pool
Michigan opened its 2006-07 season with a 135-106 loss to Florida (Saturday, Oct. 14) at Canham Natatorium. The defeat marked the first time in 38 years that the Wolverines have opened a season with a loss. Michigan now holds a 5-2 all-time record against the Gators. The Wolverines were able to take the top time or score in three of 13 the events. Sophomore Bobby Savulich (Edison, N.J./Saint Joseph HS) touched the wall in 45.76 in the 100-yard freestyle, sophomore Matt Patton (Matthews, N.C./Butler HS) completed the 500-yard freestyle in 4:28.21 and freshman Scott Spann (Austin, Texas/Westlake) earned a victory in his collegiate debut, clocking 2:02.39 in the 200-yard breaststroke.

New Faces
The Wolverines welcome eight newcomers on their 2006-07 roster. Chris Brady (Wilmington, Del./Mount Pleasant), Adam DeJong (Holland, Mich./Holland), Chris Dukatz (Troy, Mich./Birmingham Brother Rice), Charlie Houchin (Raleigh, N.C./William G. Enloe), Alon Mandel (Netanya, Israel/Eldad), Andr Schultz (Sao Paulo, Brazil/Colegio Palmares), Scott Spann and Shaun Weinberg (Phoenix, Md./Dulaney) made their collegiate debuts in the dual meet with Florida. Alon Mandel was the only freshman who did not swim against Florida.

Introducing the Captains
Juniors Grant Burtch (Holland, Mich./Holland) and Alex Vanderkaay (Rochester, Mich./Adams) have been selected to lead the Wolverines as captains during the 2006-07 season. Last season, Burtch earned NCAA All-America honorable mention for his performance in the 400-yard medley relay. Vanderkaay earned four NCAA All-American citations in 2005-06 (500-yard freestyle, 200-yard butterfly, 400-yard individual medley, and the 800-yard freestyle relay) and honorable mention in 2004-05 (400-yard individual medley). Vanderkaay also has two 2006 Big Ten championships to his name (400-yard individual medley and the 800-yard freestyle relay).

Leader of the Pack
Head coach Bob Bowman returns for his third season at the helm of the U-M men's swimming and diving program, claiming a 14-3 overall record in dual meets. Bowman brings an undefeated Big Ten Conference dual meet record into the 2006-07 collegiate season. During his first two seasons, Bowman led Michigan to two third-place finishes in the Big Ten Championships and two top 10 finishes in the NCAA Championships, taking eighth place last season and sixth in 2004-05.

2005-06 Season Recap
Michigan went undefeated in 2005-06, posting a 7-0 overall record and 5-0 mark in the Big Ten Conference with a schedule that featured five dual meets against ranked teams. With the undefeated showing in conference action, Michigan extended its Big Ten winning streak to 35 meets, dating back to the 1998-99 season.

The team was led throughout the year by its senior captains: five-time NCAA All-American Chris DeJong, three-time NCAA champion Davis Tarwater, and five-time NCAA champion and 16-time All-American Peter Vanderkaay. After earning his third Big Ten Swimmer of the Year award, Vanderkaay was named not only Michigan's 2006 Male Athlete of the Year, but the 2006 Big Ten Conference Jesse Owens male Athlete of the Year as well. Tarwater was named U-M's Male Big Ten Medal of Honor winner.

After finishing third in a tightly contested conference championship, the Wolverines were the highest finishing Big Ten team at the NCAA Championships (eighth), placing among the top 10 for the sixth straight year and 17th occasion in the last 20 years.

Peter Vanderkaay's victory in the 500-yard freestyle made him the first Wolverine to win back-to-back NCAA titles in the event since Tom Dolan in 1995 and '96. Dating back to 1993, the win marks the seventh time in 13 years that a Maize and Blue swimmer has captured the NCAA middle distance title (500-yard and 400-meter). Vanderkaay's time of 4:08.60 broke the U.S. Open, American, NCAA and Michigan records of 4:08.75 set by Dolan at the 1995 NCAA Championships.

Also joining the record books was Davis Tarwater, who broke his own Big Ten and school mark en route to his second consecutive 200-yard butterfly national title (1:41.84) and Chris DeJong who set the pool record for the 200-yard backstroke (1:42.73).

Summer Success
Many Michigan swimmers had a very productive summer this year. Andr Schultz participated at the 2006 Mutual of Omaha Pan Pacific Championships, held Aug. 17-20 in Victoria, British Columbia. Representing Brazil, Schultz was part of the 800-meter medley relay team that finished sixth overall (7:29.74). He also placed fifth (13th overall) in the consolation final of the 200-meter individual medley (2:05.31), and sixth (14th overall) in the 200-meter backstroke consolation final (2:05.32).

At the 2006 ConocoPhillips USA Swimming National Championships (Aug. 1-5), members of the University of Michigan men's swimming team helped the U-M club team, Club Wolverine, win the title. Alex Vanderkaay and Matt Patton combined with former Wolverine Davis Tarwater (2003-06) and Club Wolverine's Klete Keller to win the 800-meter freestyle relay (7:26.35). Michigan had swimmers on each of the top three teams in the distance relay, with sophomores Bobby Savulich, Evan Ryser (Katy, Texas/Taylor HS) and Sal Barba (Hudson, Mass./St. Johns HS) combining to finish runner-up, and incoming freshman Charlie Houchin swimming on the third-place relay with the YMCA of the Triangle Area.

With their success in USA Swimming National Championships, several Wolverines were selected for international competition. Alex Vanderkaay will swim for Team USA in the 2007 World University Games in both the 200-meter butterfly and the 400-meter individual medley in Bangkok, Thailand (Aug. 8-18). Both Matt Patton (400-meter freestyle) and Scott Spann (200-meter breaststroke) will swim at the 2007 Pan-American Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (July 13-29).

On the Horizon
Following a two-week hiatus, Michigan gets back into action against the University of Georgia at Gabrielsen Natatorium in Athens, Ga. The dual meet with the Bulldogs starts at 6 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 3, and 1 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 4.

Contact: Tim Trunzo (734) 763-4423