Michigan
Maize and Blue Intrasquad
Maize Team Wins Intrasquad Meet With Strong Finish
9/29/2007 12:00:00 AM | Women's Swimming & Diving
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The University of Michigan women's swimming and diving team held its annual intrasquad meet Saturday morning (Sept. 29) at Canham Natatorium. Strong performances in the final three events propelled the Maize team past the Blue, 159-120.
Blue got a boost from sophomore Margaret Kelly (Ann Arbor, Mich./Pioneer) and fifth-year senior Melissa Jaeger (Ann Arbor, Mich./Pioneer), the day's only two-event winners, but was unable to hold onto its early lead. Kelly took her wins in back-to-back races, while Jaeger divvied up hers on either side of the break.
Blue got the first points of the afternoon, turning in a time of 1:46.70 in the 200-yard medley relay. In a battle of the 'B' squads, the Maize 'B' and Blue 'B' relay teams were within two-tenths of a second of each other until the final leg, when Mary Grace Godfrey (South Bend, Ind./St. Joseph's) stormed ahead to give the Blue team almost a two-second margin of victory.
The teams exchanged races, with Emily Brunemann (Crescent Springs, Ky./Notre Dame Academy) taking the 500-yard freestyle for Blue and Maize's Jaeger grabbing the top spot in the 100-yard breaststroke by edging out Valeria Silva (Lima, Peru/Alexander von Humboldt) by 0.32. Blue rattled off two more wins -- by Hannah Smith (Dexter, Mich./Dexter) in the 100-yard freestyle and Kelly in the 200-yard individual medley -- to carry a commanding lead into the break.
Blue continued its hold on the top spot with a win in the 100-yard backstroke from Kelly, who touched the wall in 57.94. Maize began to surge in the final three races, taking the 50-yard freestyle and 100-yard butterfly. Freshman Natasha Moodie (Miramar, Fla./Miramar) had more than a one-second advantage in the 50-yard freestyle. The 100-yard butterfly proved to be a repeat of last year, with Jaeger and Payton Johnson (Champaign, Ill./Centennial) vying for the win. In the end, Jaeger once again emerged with the victory, clocking in at 57.85.
Sophomore Emily Hanson (Bloomington, Ill./Normal Community) put Blue back in the win column in the 200-yard freestyle, but it was not enough to stave off Maize.
Michigan opens the regular season next month against Florida (Oct. 19) in Gainesville, Fla.
Top Event Finishers
200-yard Medley Relay 1. Blue 'B' 1:46.70 (Leigh Cole, Ashley McLaughlin, Emily Christy, Mary Grace Godfrey) 500-yard Freestyle 1. Emily Brunemann, Maize 4:53.39 100-yard Breaststroke 1. Melissa Jaeger, Blue 1:06.09 2. Valeria Silva, Blue 1:06.41 100-yard Freestyle 1. Hannah Smith, Blue 51.87 2. Natasha Moodie, Maize 52.78 200-yard Individual Medley 1. Margaret Kelly, Blue 2:03.98 2. Justine Mueller, Maize 2:08.67 100-yard Backstroke 1. Margaret Kelly, Blue 57.94 2. Hannah Smith, Maize 58.90 50-yard Freestyle 1. Natasha Moodie, Maize 24.18 2. Leigh Cole, Blue 25.76 100-yard Butterfly 1. Melissa Jaeger, Maize 57.85 2. Payton Johnson, Blue 58.53 200-yard Freestyle 1. Emily Hanson, Blue 1:56.15 2. Claire Tyler, Blue 1:56.99
Players Mentioned
