Weekly Release #6

Upcoming Schedule
Tuesday, Jan. 2 -- at Mexican National Team (La Loma, Mexico)
Friday, Jan. 5 -- at Arizona with California; exhibition (Tucson, Ariz.), 2 p.m.
Saturday, Jan. 6 -- at Arizona State with California (Tempe, Ariz.), Noon

This Week: at Mexican National Team
The No. 12-ranked University of Michigan men's swimming and diving team returns to the pool for the first time in a month in La Loma, Mexico to face the Mexican National Team on Jan. 2.

Last Time In The Pool
The Wolverines sent 17 swimmers to the U.S. Open on Nov. 30 C Dec. 2, held at the Boilermaker Aquatic Center in West Lafayette, Ind. Michigan dominated the college division, scoring 293 points, 149 more than second-place University of Florida. Over the three day event, U-M swimmers combined to capture 16 NCAA Consideration 'B' Times.

Six other Wolverines swam at the EMU Invitational on Dec. 1-2 at Jones Natatorium in Ypsilanti, Mich. Despite sending six athletes and not having a participant in 10 of the 20 events, U-M was able to tally 200 points to finish in seventh place out of nine teams at event. Every Wolverine that swam in an event was able to place in the top 10 spots.

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 (Austin, Texas/Westlake) and Shaun Weinberg (Phoenix, Md./Dulaney) have all made their collegiate debuts this year.

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).

Division I Men's Poll

Rank, Team Points 1. Texas 297 2. Stanford 290 3. Auburn 273 California 273 5. Arizona 263 6. USC 260 7. Minnesota 241 8. Northwestern 229 9. Georgia 223 10. Florida State 208 11. Florida 193 12. Michigan 189 13. Tennessee 184 14. Ohio State 174 15. Indiana 158 16. Notre Dame 146 17. Virginia 136 18. Alabama 133 19. Purdue 119 20. West Virginia 115 21. Arizona State 102 22. North Carolina 83 23. UNLV 80 24. BYU 25 25. LSU 24

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 17-4 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.

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 swimming team helped the U-M club team, Club Wolverine, win the title. Alex Vanderkaay and sophomore Matt Patton (Matthews, N.C./Butler) 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 (Edison, N.J./St. Josephs), Evan Ryser (Katy, Texas/James E. Taylor) and Sal Barba (Hudson, Mass./St. Johns) combining to finish runner-up, and 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
Michigan will only have a few days off before getting back into action in an exhibition match with Arizona and California on Friday, Jan. 5 in Tucson, Ariz. The very next day, Saturday, Jan. 6, Michigan will face both Arizona State and California in Tempe, Ariz.

Contact: Tim Trunzo (734) 763-4423