Michigan
Indiana
Wolverines Drop Big Ten Dual to No. 12 Indiana
1/9/2010 12:00:00 AM | Women's Swimming & Diving
Jan. 9, 2010
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| Notes & Quotes
Site: Ann Arbor, Mich. (Canham Natatorium)
Result: #12 Indiana 130, #16 Michigan 113
Records: U-M (3-5, 0-2 Big Ten), Indiana (3-1-1, 3-0 Big Ten)
Next U-M Event: Saturday, Jan. 16 -- vs. Northwestern (Canham Natatorium), 1 p.m.
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- In a matchup of two teams ranked inside the top 16, the No. 16-ranked University of Michigan women's swimming and diving team (3-5, 0-2 Big Ten) fell to No. 12 Indiana on Saturday (Jan. 9) for the second time this season, 130-113, at Canham Natatorium. Despite the loss, Michigan was led by three wins (two individual, one relay) from senior Margaret Kelly (Ann Arbor, Mich./Pioneer) and a strong performance from the U-M diving contingent.
Michigan's distance duo of seniors Emily Brunemann (Crescent Springs, Ky./Notre Dame Academy) and Emily Hanson (Bloomington, Ill./Normal Community) finished 1-2 in the 1,650-yard freestyle, with Brunemann claiming top honors with another brilliant performance (16:30.75). She also scored a second-place finish in the 500-yard freestyle. Despite holding the lead through the first 400 yards, she was overtaken by Indiana's Nikki White down the stretch.
Junior Natasha Moodie (Miramar, Fla./Miramar) topped the field in the 50-yard freestyle with a time of 23.05, with sophomore Alexa Mehesan (West Des Moines, Iowa/Valley) coming in third. Moodie also earned a runner-up finish in the 100-yard freestyle, narrowly missing first place by only 16 hundredths of a second. Senior Leigh Cole (Ann Arbor, Mich./Pioneer) finished in third.
Kelly took to the pool for the first time Saturday for the first of two encounters with Indiana's All-Big Ten performer Kate Fesenko. In the 200-yard individual medley, Kelly and Fesenko were neck and neck through the first 100 yards before Kelly took charge in the third stage, touching the wall first (1:59.44). After a 20-minute break, Kelly stormed to an early lead in the 200-yard butterfly and held off Fesenko down the stretch, finishing just 18 hundredths of a second ahead for her second straight win.
Sophomore Liz Johnson (Milford, Mich./Milford) and freshman Mattie Kukors (Auburn, Wash./Mountainview) finished second and third, respectively, in the 200-yard backstroke. To close the meet, Michigan occupied the top two spots in the 400-yard freestyle relay, with the team of Kelly, L. Cole, Moodie and Mehesan coming in first (3:23.08).
Sophomore Amanda Lohman (Pittsburgh, Pa./Upper St. Clair), the reigning Big Ten Diver of the Week, was Michigan's top scorer in the diving well, as she scored second-place marks on both the one-meter and three-meter boards. Junior Rachael Ropeik (Ann Arbor, Mich./Huron) had a successful afternoon, taking second place on platform (295.50) and recording a new career high on the three-meter board (285.68), though it was not scored for the women. Senior Stephanie O'Callaghan (Howell, Mich./Howell) also earned points via her third-place finish on the one-meter board.
Michigan returns to Canham Natatorium next Saturday (Jan. 16), when it hosts Northwestern in Big Ten dual meet action. The meet is scheduled to start at 1 p.m.
N O T E S
• Michigan and Indiana previously met Oct. 30-31 in Austin, Texas, as part of a double dual meet with Texas. Indiana won 215-174.
• This was Michigan's first defeat of any kind since Nov. 6-7 against Stanford and Florida. Previously, the Wolverines had won the Purdue Invitational (Nov. 20-22), the Eastern Michigan Invitational (Dec. 4-5) and Copa Coqui (Jan. 2).
• Michigan has lost its last five dual meets after starting the season 3-0.
• Redshirt freshman diver Sarah Suprise (Portage, Mich./Hackett Catholic Central) recorded career-highs on both the one-meter (216.44) and three-meter (248.32).
• Sophomore Liz Koselka (Ann Arbor, Mich./Pioneer) finished third in the 200-yard freestyle with a time of 1:50.79, beating her previous season high by three hundredths of a second (1:50.82, set Nov. 21 at the Purdue Invitational). It was also U-M's second-fastest time this season in that event.
Q U O T E S
Michigan Head Coach Jim Richardson
On his team's performance at the meet ... "We competed well and knew it could be a close finish. There were some bang-bang finishes in some of the races today, but for the most part, I was pleased with how we swam."
On where his team is this year compared to last ... "I think we are way ahead of where we were at this point last year. We are faster this year and haven't broken down. We are at a period right now in our training where some people are handling it better than others. This week, we had some of our longest workouts of the year and you could tell some people were affected by it."
On the importance of dual meets ... "A month from now, nobody will remember if we won or lost a dual meet. All that matters is what you do at Big Tens in February and NCAAs in March. I sometimes think of dual meets as 'leftovers'. After a week of training, sometimes leftovers are really good and other times they are not. We've got to save our best swimming performances for those two meets because that's when it matters the most."
Michigan Head Diving Coach Chris Bergére
On his team's diving performance ... "Overall, it was a very solid performance for our group. Indiana is very strong in diving and we knew we had to get some great performances out of our girls today, which I thought we did. Amanda, Rachael and Stephanie were very solid today and they are on the verge."
On Rachael Ropeik ... "Rachael has been practicing very well all season and it's just so rewarding to see her or any of our girls do well. She's a competitor and I really think this was a breakout meet for her. After seeing the way she practices and performs in the meet, I truly believe she will be a factor for us down the road."
On Amanda Lohman ... "The thing with Amanda is she loves diving. She's such a big competitor and like any competitor, she doesn't like losing. She has been there for us all season and will continue to play a real important part for us on the boards."
U-M Senior Margaret Kelly
On her meet performance ... "I was excited to swim today. I put a lot in to practice this week and thought that I stayed tough throughout the meet. Everyone was tough."
On the rest of her season ... "It's sad to know that I've only got a few months left here. I am going to do everything I can to stay true to this team, to Michigan and above all, stay healthy and strong. As a team, I think we have some great performances ahead of us and I want to see us finish on a high note."
Contact: Brad Rudner (734) 763-4423
Players Mentioned
