Michigan
U.S. Open (Day 3)
Michigan Places First in College Division at U.S. Open
12/2/2006 12:00:00 AM | Men's Swimming & Diving
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. -- The No. 12-ranked University of Michigan men's swimming and diving team wrapped up the final day of competition at the U.S. Open on Saturday (Dec. 2) at the Boilermaker Aquatic Center. The Wolverines dominated the college division, scoring 293 points, 149 more than second-place University of Florida. All events were held in a 50-meter long course.
Juniors Alex Vanderkaay (Rochester, Mich./Adams) and Dane Grenda (Hockessin, Del./Salesianum) both captured NCAA "B" standard times in the 200-meter butterfly. Vanderkaay took first place in the C final with a time of 2:04.11 while Grenda finished fourth with a time of 2:04.70. Sophomore Curtis Dauw (St. Charles, Ill./St. Charles) just missed the NCAA "B" time when he finished seventh (2:05.59) in the C final.
Freshman Scott Spann (Austin, Texas/Westlake) also captured an NCAA "B" time, in the 200-meter breaststroke. Spann took fifth in the 200-meter breaststroke with a time of 2:17.91. Both his final time and his preliminary time of 2:17.26 were just short of the NCAA automatic standard of 2:16.71.
Sophomore Matt Patton (Matthews, N.C./Butler) had a very strong showing in the 1,500-meter freestyle, finishing fourth overall with a personal-best time of 15:30.64. Freshman Charlie Houchin (Raleigh, N.C./William G. Enloe) took 12th overall in the event with a time of 15:51.56 while sophomore Christian Sprang (Sicklerville, N.J./St. Augustine) finished 22nd (16:12.75).
Sophomore Bobby Savulich (Edison, N.J./St. Joseph) swam in the 100-meter freestyle and placed sixth in the B final, touching the wall in 52.03. He also swam on a 4x100-meter freestyle relay team with sophomore Evan Ryser (Katy, Texas/James E. Taylor), freshman Chris Brady (Wilmington, Del./Mount Pleasant) and freshman Andr Schultz (Sao Paulo, Brazil/Colegio Palmares) that placed fifth overall (3:30.84).
U-M volunteer assistant coach Michael Phelps also competed at the U.S. Open, along with former Michigan stars Peter Vanderkaay (2003-06) and Davis Tarwater (2003-06). The trio swam under Michigan head coach Bob Bowman for Club Wolverine, which took first place in the club division of the meet. Phelps finished first in both the 100-meter freestyle (49.16) and the 200-meter butterfly (1:55.77). Tarwater also swam in the 200-meter butterfly, taking third overall (1:59.99). Vanderkaay took sixth in the 1,500-meter freestyle with a time of 15:38.83.
Future Wolverine Dan Madwed of the North Baltimore Aquatic Club capped off a strong weekend, taking fourth in the 200-meter butterfly, touching the wall in 2:00.27.
Michigan will have a month off before getting back into action against the Mexican National Team on Jan. 2 at La Loma, Mexico.
College Team Standings (Top Five)
1. MICHIGAN 293 2. Florida 144 3. Northwestern 118 4. Alabama 104 5. Auburn 91.5
Event Winners/U-M Finishes (Day 3)
Preliminary time in parentheses if faster than finals time
"CW" denotes Club Wolverine
100-meter Freestyle A-Final (1-8 overall) 1. Michael Phelps, CW 49.16 B-Final (9-16 overall) 6. Bobby Savulich, U-M 52.03 (51.90) C-Final (17-24 overall) 1. Klete Keller, CW 51.54 Prelims 38. Evan Ryser, U-M 53.15 50. Charlie Houchin, U-M 53.56 200-meter Breaststroke A-Final (1-8 overall) 1. Eric Shanteau, Swim Atlanta 2:13.46 5. Scott Spann, U-M 2:17.91# (2:17.26#) 200-meter Butterfly A-Final (1-8 overall) 1. Michael Phelps, CW 1:55.77 3. Davis Tarwter, CW 1:59.99 C-Final (17-24 overall) 1. Alex Vanderkaay, U-M 2:04.11# 4. Dane Grenda, U-M 2:04.70# 7. Curtis Dauw, U-M 2:05.59 (2:05.39) Prelims 39. Charlie Houchin, U-M 2:08.02 -- Matt Patton, U-M DQ 1,500-meter Freestyle 1. Robert Margalis, St. Petersburg Aquatic 15:21.17 4. Matt Patton, U-M 15:30.64 6. Peter Vanderkaay, CW 15:38.83 12. Charlie Houchin, U-M 15:51.56 22. Christian Sprang, U-M 16:12.75 39. Johnny Austermann, U-M 16:37.60 400-meter Freestyle Relay 1. Scotland 3:26.40 (Andrew Hunter, Craig Houston, Scott Houston, Robbie Renwick) 5. Michigan 3:30.84 (Evan Ryser, Bobby Savulich, Chris Brady, Andre Schultz) # NCAA consideration time
Previous Results: Day 1 | Day 2
Q U O T E S
Michigan Head Coach Bob Bowman
On the team's performance over the three-day event ... "I think everything went according to best expectations. We weren't fully prepared for this meet because we were in the middle of our season and we're looking forward to the NCAA Championship meet. However, we were able to put up some personal best times for some of our guys and compete against some of the best college teams, club teams, and the international field and really do well. We're really pleased with how things went."
On some of the top individual performances ... "Matt Patton's 1,500-meter freestyle tonight was a lifetime best for him and it was a super performance. Bobby Savulich's 200-meter freestyle and his split on the 4x100-meter medley relay were awesome. Scott Spann's 200-meter breaststroke was outstanding as well."
Contact: Tim Trunzo (734) 763-4423
Players Mentioned
