Michigan
Eastern Michigan
U-M and EMU Come Together for Swimming Exhibition
10/23/2008 12:00:00 AM | Men's Swimming & Diving
The University of Michigan and Eastern Michigan University men's swimming and diving teams came together Wednesday night (Oct. 22) for a unique event designed to foster camaraderie between the two Washtenaw County neighbors.
The U-M and EMU rosters were split in half and then paired with a half from the opposite school, creating two teams -- White and Blue -- composed of swimmers from each school. These new teams then swam a series of 10 relay races in a fun, yet still competitive environment.
"The way we did the meet was intended to give us a better support system between the two schools. The guys got to know each other better; we had a lot of fun together. It was a tough workout; they had to swim a lot," Michigan head swimming coach Mike Bottom said. "It was a big success and I think everyone had a lot of fun with it. I saw a lot of the guys laughing together and really that is what sport and competition are all about, increasing your ability to reach out to other people, and I think it was a success."
The relays consisted of some traditional eventssuch as the 400-yard medley relay and 800 freestyle relay, and non-traditional events such as the three-man 1,800 freestyle relay, the 600 butterfly relay, the 800 breaststroke relayand the 800 backstroke relay. Two Wolverine swimmers, junior Alon Mandel (Netanya, Israel/Eldad) and sophomore Tyler Clary(Riverside, Calif./Riverside Poly), both swimming for the Blue team, were part of two relay victories. Mandel was part of the winning 400 medley relay and 800 backstroke relay, while Clary helped the Blue team to victories in the 800 backstroke relay and the 800 freestyle relay. Despite those performances, at the end of the evening the White team held the advantage over the Blue team, 77-55.
The fifth-ranked Wolverines will return to the pool in a traditional, competitive setting on Friday, Oct. 31, for the first day of a two-day, double-dual meet with No. 1 Texas and No. 14 Indiana. The meet is scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. at Canham Natatorium.
Contact: Jeremy Reid (734) 763-4423
