Vanderkaay Named Big Ten Male Athlete of the Year
6/26/2006 12:00:00 AM | Men's Swimming & Diving
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- University of Michigan senior swimmer and team tri-captain Peter Vanderkaay was named the 2006 Big Ten Conference Jesse Owens Male Athlete of the Year as announced by the Big Ten office on Monday (June 26). The Big Ten has recognized a Jesse Owens Athlete of the Year since 1982. Penn State soccer player Tiffany Weimer was named the 2006 Big Ten Suzy Favor Female Athlete of the Year.
Vanderkaay
A five-time NCAA national champion and 16-time All-American, Vanderkaay repeated as the 500-yard freestyle NCAA champion and earned four All-America honors in 2006. In winning the 500, he broke an 11-year-old NCAA, American and U.S. Open record, a mark held by U-M's Tom Dolan. Vanderkaay finished no lower than second in his three individual events at the NCAA Championship, winning the 500 and finishing runner-up in the 200 and 1,650 freestyle. He also led off the second-place 800-yard freestyle relay and was part of two additional All-America honorable mention relay teams. For the third consecutive year, Vanderkaay was named the Big Ten Swimmer of the Year after winning titles in all three of his individual events (200-, 500- and 1,650-yard freestyle), as well as the 800-yard freestyle relay.
Vanderkaay is the seventh U-M student-athlete to be named the Big Ten Male Athlete of the Year and is the third U-M swimmer, joining a pair of fellow Olympic gold medalists in Mike Barrowman (1991) and Tom Dolan (1995), both of whom are members of the International Swimming Hall of Fame. The last Wolverine to earn the Jesse Owens Award was football's Charles Woodson in 1998 when he won the Heisman Trophy and led Michigan to the Associated Press national title. Three Wolverines have also earned the Big Ten Suzy Favor Female Athlete of the Year award, including softball's Jennie Ritter in 2005.
A 2004 Olympic gold medalist in the 800-meter freestyle relay, and a gold medalist in the same event at the 2005 World Championships, Vanderkaay is the third-fastest American man ever in the 400-meter freestlye and the fifth-fastest in the 200-meter freestyle. He majored in general biology and is continuing to train with U-M's club team, Club Wolverine, and head coach Bob Bowman for the 2008 U.S. Olympic Team trials.
Big Ten Conference Release (6/26/06)
Contact Barbara Cossman (734)763-4423
Players Mentioned
