Michigan
Big Ten Championships
Wolverines Edged Out by Golden Gophers at Big Tens
2/18/2007 12:00:00 AM | Men's Swimming & Diving
COLUMBUS, Ohio -- The 12th-ranked University of Michigan men's swimming team finished with a total of 608.5 points to take second place at the Big Ten Championships, which concluded Sunday (Feb. 18) at McCorkle Aquatic Pavilion. U-M was only four points shy of first-place Minnesota (612.5), which captured its fifth Big Ten title in seven years.
For the second straight night, the Wolverines and Golden Gophers jockeyed position for first place, with the Wolverines taking a 578.5-572.5 lead into the final event, the 400-yard freestyle relay. Michigan's relay squad of sophomores Bobby Savulich (Edison, N.J./St. Joseph), Evan Ryser (Katy, Texas/James E. Taylor) and Curtis Dauw (St. Charles, Ill./St. Charles East) and junior Alex Vanderkaay (Rochester, Mich./Adams) placed fourth in the event with an NCAA consideration time of 2:54.81, but Minnesota captured its only event victory of the meet with an NCAA automatic time of 2:52.83.
The Wolverines opened up the night by dominating the 1,650-yard freestyle. Sophomore Matt Patton (Matthews, N.C./Butler) claimed his second Big Ten title this season when he posted a facility record and NCAA automatic time of 14:54.27. With Patton's other victory being in the 500-yard freestyle on day one, he becomes only the ninth swimmmer in school history to win both events in one season. A Wolverine has now won the event in 14 of the past 15 seasons. Michigan also had two other swimmers in the championship final. Freshman Charlie Houchin (Raleigh, N.C./Willam G. Enloe) placed third in the event with an NCAA consideration time of 15:07.71, and sophomore Christian Sprang (Sicklerville, N.J./St. Augustine) took fifth place with an NCAA consideration time of 15:09.68.
Other scoring performances from the Wolverines in the 1,650-yard freestyle came from junior Johnny Austermann (Huntington Woods, Mich./Berkley) and freshman Adam DeJong (Holland, Mich./Holland), each grabbing an NCAA consideration time. Austermann clocked 15:26.00 while DeJong touched the wall in 15:33.03 for 13th and 16th place, respectively.
Vanderkaay also earned his second individual Big Ten title of the year when he clocked a pool record and NCAA automatic time of 1:43.29 in the 200-yard butterfly. Vanderkaay's time is the fastest in the nation in the event and is just 0.03 seconds behind the Big Ten meet record set by former U-M star Davis Tarwater (2003-06) in 2004. Vanderkaay earned a total of 57 points for the Wolverines in the meet; only Mike Alexandrov of Northwestern earned more points for his team (60).
Dauw also captured an NCAA automatic time in the 200-yard butterfly when he clocked 1:44.84 to finish third. Also competing in the championship final for the Wolverines was junior Dane Grenda (Hockessin, Del./Salesianum), who placed fifth with an NCAA consideration time of 1:46.27. Freshman Chris Brady (Wilmington, Del./Mount Pleasant) earned points for U-M as he placed 15th (1:49.02) after swimming an NCAA consideration time of 1:47.92 in prelims.
In the 100-yard freestyle, Savulich tied for third with an NCAA consideration time of 43.39, while Ryser finished seventh with an NCAA consideration time of 43.81. Both swimmers had faster prelim times, with Savulich earning an NCAA automatic mark of 43.40.
Other strong scoring performances for the Wolverines came in the 200-yard breaststroke and the 200-yard backstroke. Freshman Scott Spann (Austin, Texas/ Westlake) placed third in the 200 breaststroke as he touched the wall in an NCAA consideration time of 1:57.88, while junior Grant Burtch (Holland, Mich./Holland) took 10th place in 1:59.69, also an NCAA consideration time. Freshman Andr Schultz (Sao Paulo, Brazil/Colegio Palmares) finished the 200-yard backstroke in sixth place with a NCAA consideration time of 1:44.46 after recording an NCAA automatic time of 1:43.58 in prelims. Freshman Alon Mandel (Netanya, Israel/Eldad) also scored in the event, placing 14th with a time of 1:49.92.
In the awards ceremony, Michigan head coach Bob Bowman was awarded Big Ten Conference co-Coach of the Year, sharing the honor with Bob Groseth of Northwestern. Sophomore Jamie Martone (Troy, Mich./Troy) was named U-M's Big Ten Sportsmanship Award honoree.
Qualified Maize and Blue divers will return to the diving pool for the NCAA Zone C Diving Championships on March 2-4 at Canham Natatorium in Ann Arbor, Mich. In the lanes, the Wolverines will take a month off as they prepare for the NCAA Championships on March 15-17 in Minneapolis, Minn.
Final Team Standings
1. Minnesota 612.5 2. MICHIGAN 608.5 3. Ohio State 495 4. Indiana 494 5. Northwestern 470 6. Purdue 375.5 7. Penn State 295 8. Wisconsin 245.5 9. Iowa 118 10. Michigan State 106
Event Winners/U-M Finishes (Day 3)
(Preliminary time in parentheses if faster than finals time)
1,650-yard Freestyle 1. Matt Patton, U-M 14:54.27*@ 3. Charlie Houchin, U-M 15:07.37# 5. Christian Sprang, U-M 15:09.68# 13. Johnny Austermann, U-M 15:26.00# 16. Adam DeJong, U-M 15:33.03# 17. Gunnar Schmidt, U-M 15:34.97 200-yard Backstroke 1. Matt Grevers, Northwestern 1:39.53*! 6. Andre Schultz, U-M 1:44.46# (1:43.58*) 14. Alon Mandel, U-M 1:47.36 (1:47.16) 20. Sal Barba, U-M 1:49.92 (1:48.42) 24. Shaun Weinberg, U-M 1:50.94 (1:49.63) 100-yard Freestyle 1. Bruno Barbic, Northwestern 43.14*@ 3. Bobby Savulich, U-M 43.49# (43.40*) 7. Evan Ryser, U-M 43.81# (43.76#) 41. Jamie Martone, U-M 46.05 200-yard Breaststroke 1. Mike Alexandrov, Northwestern 1:52.93*!@ 3. Scott Spann, U-M 1:57.88# (1:57.73) 10. Grant Burtch, U-M 1:59.69 23. Dane Rook, U-M 2:04.83 (2:03.72) 200-yard Butterfly 1. Alex Vanderkaay, U-M 1:43.29*@ 3. Curtis Dauw, U-M 1:44.84* 5. Dane Grenda, U-M 1:46.27# (1:45.97#) 15. Chris Brady, U-M 1:49.02 (1:47.92#) 20. Chris Dukatz, U-M 1:50.26 (1:49.68) 24. Christian Sprang, U-M 1:53.34 (1:49.56) Platform Diving 1. Weston Wieser, Ohio State 394.80^ 17. Jon Donadee, U-M 218.10 18. Kyle Schroeder, U-M 202.00 400-yard Freestyle Relay 1. Minnesota 2:52.83*@ 4. MICHIGAN 2:54.81# (Bobby Savulich, Evan Ryser, Curtis Dauw, Alex Vanderkaay) * NCAA automatic qualifying time # NCAA consideration time ! Big Ten Championships record @ McCorkle Aquatic Pavilion record ^ NCAA zone qualifying mark
Previous Results: Day 1 | Day 2
Q U O T E S
Michigan Head Coach Bob Bowman
On being in such a tight race with Minnesota for all three days ... "I've never been in a meet that close. It was terribly exciting and I could not be more proud of our guys. The swimmers swam their heart out."
On Matt Patton's performance ... "I think Matt has a very bright future in collegiate swimming and in international swimming. He's put in the work and he's getting more experience every day. That's what he needs to really make a breakthrough."
On winning co-Coach of the Year ... "This honor speaks to what our team did and how well they swam. It also recognizes our staff and how hard they worked this year, and I am honored to accept it on behalf of them."
U-M Junior Alex Vanderkaay
On winning the 200-yard butterfly ... "I just wanted to carry on Michigan's tradition of winning this event. I went out as hard as I could and everything went well."
U-M Sophomore Matt Patton
On becoming only the ninth Wolverine to win both the 500-yard freestyle and 1,650-yard freestyle ... "It's a real honor. For my name to be mentioned with those other names, it's something that I never thought would happen. Being at Michigan and winning the mile is something that's going to be going on for a long time and I'm just really happy to do it."
Contact: Tim Trunzo (734) 763-4423
Players Mentioned
