Michigan
Michigan State
Wolverines Double Up Spartans, Continue Series Dominance
1/18/2008 12:00:00 AM | Men's Swimming & Diving
Site: Ann Arbor, Mich. (Canham Natatorium)
Score: #4 Michigan 154, Michigan State 77
Records: U-M (7-1, 5-0 Big Ten), MSU (3-5, 0-4 Big Ten)
Attendance: 1,062
Next U-M Event: Friday, Feb. 1 -- vs. Penn State (Canham Natatorium), 6 p.m.
Complete Results | Photo Gallery
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The No. 4 University of Michigan men's swimming and diving team made easy work of the Michigan State Spartans to keep the program's series 30-year win streak intact in a 154-77 victory Friday night (Jan. 18) at Canham Natatorium.
Sophomore Andre Schultz(Sao Paolo, Brazil/Colegio Palmares) earned the only qualifying standard of the meet for the Michigan men, bettering the 200 yard backstroke 'B' standard with a time of 1:45.68 for first place. He also took the top spot in the 1,000 yard freestyle (9:10.01).
Wolverine junior Bobby Savulich(Edison, N.J./Saint Joseph) and sophomore Chris Brady(Wilmington, Del./Mount Pleasant) also had strong meets for the Wolverines, each earning a first- and second-place finish in individual events while swimming one half of U-M's victorious 400-yard medley relay. Savulich took first place in the 100-yard freestyle (44.59) and second in the 50-yard freestyle (20.73), while Brady won the 50-yard freestyle (20.56) and was runner-up to Savulich in the 100 free (45.66). Savulich swam the anchor of the Wolverines' 400 medley relay and Brady did the honors in the butterfly leg in U-M's first-place time of 3:17.53.
Junior Matt Patton(Matthews, N.C./Butler) claimed two second-place finishes -- in the 200-yard freestyle (1:40.07) and 200-yard backstroke (1:50.66) -- and led off U-M's winning 400-yard medley relay team.
Michigan set an early tone with a one-two finish in the 400 medley relay and a sweep of the podium in the 1,000-yard freestyle to build a 31-5 lead. After claiming three of the top four spots in the 200-yard freestyle and 50-yard freestyle, Michigan cruised down the stretch to the program's 74th victory over its intrastate rival.
In the opening event -- the 400-yard medley relay -- Patton got U-M's 'A' team off to an early lead and sophomore Scott Spann(Austin, Texas/Westlake) kept them in front with a strong second leg, while 'B' team senior Alex Vanderkaay(Rochester, Mich./Adams) made up time in the breaststroke to put the second squad in second place. Brady widened the gap from the field in the third leg for the 'A' team, and Savulich brought it home for the win in a time of 3:17.53. Junior Jamie Martone(Troy, Mich./Troy) held off a late charge by the Michigan State 'A' squad to clinch second for the Wolverines' 'B' team, finishing in 3:22.99 -- 0.77 seconds faster than the Spartans -- to help Michigan lead early, 15-2.
In the 1,000-yard freestyle, Michigan took the top four spots with Schultz (9:10.01) cruising to a comfortable win, followed by junior Christian Sprang(Sickleville, N.J./St. Augustine Prep) in 9:24.87, Johnny Austermann(Huntington Woods, Mich./Berkley) in 9:31.03, and junior Gunnar Schmidt(Scottsdale, Ariz./Arcadia Prep) in 9:34.99. The Wolverines' top three finishers earned the maximum of 16 points, with MSU picking up three.
In the 200-yard freestyle, Vanderkaay and Patton traded the lead the entire race, with Vanderkaay catching Patton down the stretch to win it in 1:39.54. Patton took second place in 1:40.07, and junior Sal Barba(Hudson, Mass./St. John's) finished fourth with a time of 1:41.06 to lock down 15 additional points for U-M.
In the 50-yard freestyle, Brady (20.56) edged Savulich (20.73) for another U-M one-two finish, while junior Curtis Dauw(St. Charles, Ill./St. Charles East) took fourth (21.37) and Martone finished fifth (21.39).
In the 400-yard IM, Michigan took the top four spots with senior Dane Grenda(Hockessin, Del./Salesianum) edging freshman teammate Jared Miller(Liberty Township, Ohio/Lakota East) by just 0.11 seconds, for a one-two Wolverine finish. Grenda clocked in at 3:57.29 to Miller's 3:57.40, while fellow Wolverine freshman Neal Kennedy(Chanhassen, Minn./Chaska) placed third (4:00.61) and sophomore Shaun Weinberg(Phoenix, Md./Dulaney) took fourth (4:05.09).
Michigan carried an 80-29 lead into the break and treated the fans in attendance to one of the closest races of the evening right off the bat with Mandel and Dauw dueling down to the wire in the 200-yard butterfly. Mandel edged teammate Dauw by just 0.05 seconds to claim top spot with a time of 1:49.67. Dauw finished second with a time of 1:49.72 to earn his second runner-up finish of the night.
In the 100-yard freestyle, Savulich took the top spot with a time of 44.59, while Brady was second in 45.66. Michigan earned another sweep of the top four spots in the 200-yard backstroke with Schultz (1:45.68), Patton (1:50.66), Grenda (1:52.55) and Barba (1:52.75) placing first through fourth in the event.
In the 500-yard freestyle, Michigan swept the top four spots again, with sophomore Charles Houchin(Raleigh, N.C./William G. Enloe) taking first place (4:29.18), freshman Tyler Clary(Riverside, Calif./Riverside Poly) placing second (4:32.06), Austermann claiming third (4:40.38) and Sprang fourth (4:40.69).
With the win assured, Michigan decided to exhibition any non-winners in the final two events of the meet. In the 200-yard breaststroke, Spann earned the second fastest time, while in the 400 yard freestyle relay, Michigan's 'A' team of Clary, Dauw, Martone and Vanderkaay finished first in 3:03.59.
Michigan will compete in its final two meets of the regular season when it hosts Penn State on Friday, Feb. 1, and Ohio State on Saturday, Feb. 2, at Canham Natatorium. U-M will take on the Nittany Lions at 6 p.m. and the Buckeyes on Senior Day at noon.
Contact: Jeremiah Hergott (734) 763-4423
Players Mentioned
