Four Runner-Ups Secure Third-Place Finish at Big Tens

Saturday, February 21

Columbus, Ohio

6:30 PM

Michigan

Big Ten Day 4 Finals

Four Runner-Ups Secure Third-Place Finish at Big Tens

2/21/2015 12:00:00 AM | Women's Swimming & Diving

Feb. 21, 2015

U-M's Runner-Up 400-yard Freestyle Relay

• Complete Results | Quotes | Photo Gallery

Location: Columbus, Ohio (Bill and Mae McCorkle Aquatic Pavilion)
Event: Big Ten Championships (Day 4 Finals)
U-M Team Standing: 3rd Place of 13 Teams (478.5 points)
Next U-M Event: Saturday, Feb. 28 -- at OSU Last Chance Meet (Columbus, Ohio), Noon

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- The No. 17-ranked University of Michigan women's swimming and diving team ended the Big Ten Championships with four second-place race finishes on Saturday (Feb. 21), securing a third-place team finish inside the Bill and Mae McCorkle Aquatic Pavilion. It is Michigan's first top-three finish at the Big Ten Championships in five years. Minnesota won its fourth straight title (618.5 points), while Indiana was second (591 points).

Over the four days in Columbus, U-M set or improved eight school records, three on relays and another three from freshman Clara Smiddy (100-yard backstroke, 200-yard backstroke, 200-yard freestyle). The other new record-holders include junior Ali DeLoof in the 100-yard freestyle and freshman Emily Kopas in the 200-yard breaststroke, both from swims on Saturday. The Wolverines also established new records on the 800-yard freestyle relay (Smiddy, Gabby DeLoof, Gillian Ryan, Claudia Goswell), the 400-yard medley relay (G. DeLoof, Kopas, Zoe Mattingly, A. DeLoof) and the 400-yard freestyle relay (Smiddy, A. DeLoof, Goswell, Ryan). It also secured five NCAA 'A' times and 41 NCAA 'B' times.

The Wolverines scored big points tonight in the 100-yard backstroke, bolstered by Smiddy's second-place finish, lowering her already-owned school record to 1:51.76. She was joined in the finals by fellow freshmen Hannah Moore and G. DeLoof, both of whom tied for fifth (1:54.81). Senior Claudia Lau, swimming in her final Big Ten Championships, represented the Maize and Blue in the consolation final, taking 13th (1:57.25).

The next runner-up finish came from A. DeLoof, who initially broke the 18-year-old school record in the 100-yard freestyle during the morning's preliminaries (48.47). She finished second in the evening's final but went even faster, lowering the record to 48.32. Goswell also managed to score points, capping her impressive showing at the Big Ten Championships with a 16th-place finish (49.72).

Kopas also dropped time from the morning to evening, finishing second in the 200-yard breaststroke (2:09.58). She was one of three to score points in that race, joining freshman Carolyn McCann, who was 11th (2:12.17) and junior Marni Oldershaw, who was 15th (2:14.41).

The Wolverines only had one entry in the 200-yard butterfly. Freshman Jennifer Wagley was 48th (2:08.68).

Senior Carey Chen and sophomore Keegan McCaffrey both represented U-M on the platform, each making the consolation final. Officially, Chen was 10th (295.30 -- second best in school history; just off the program record), and McCaffrey was 14th (247.50). In fact, all four divers in action received NCAA Zone Diving qualifying scores, joining the aforementioned pair was junior Elena Ghormley (17th, 238.65) and junior Sarah Kamstra (19th, 226.05).

Michigan set its final school record in the final event of the night, finishing second to Wisconsin in the 400-yard freestyle relay. The quartet of Smiddy, A. DeLoof, Goswell and Ryan collectively touched the wall at 3:15.27, an NCAA 'A' time.

Several Wolverines will be returning to Columbus next Saturday (Feb. 28) for the OSU Last Chance Meet. That meet serves as the final opportunity for swimmers to earn times before the NCAA makes its selections for the NCAA Championships. The meet will begin at noon.

Final Team Standings

 1. Minnesota            618.5 2. Indiana              591 3. MICHIGAN             478.5 4. Wisconsin            448 5. Purdue               388 6. Ohio State           350 7. Penn State           334 8. Iowa                 223 9. Nebraska             14310. Northwestern         13811. Rutgers              11212. Illinois              7313. Michigan State        65

Event Winners/U-M Finishers (Day 4 Finals)
Preliminaries time in parenthesis if faster than finals

1,650-yard Freestyle 1. Rebecca Stoughton, Iowa     15:57.43# 7. Gillian Ryan, U-M           16:09.78#17. Kelsey Cummings, U-M        16:25.30#20. Jessica Wolf, U-M           16:31.1131. Mary Kate Leary, U-M        16:53.88 200-yard Backstroke 1. Brooklyn Snodgrass, Indiana  1:50.60*&@ 2. Clara Smiddy, U-M            1:51.76*T5. Gabby DeLoof, U-M            1:54.81#T5. Hannah Moore, U-M            1:54.81#13. Claudia Lau, U-M             1:57.25# (1:55.98#)17. Marie Georger, U-M           1:57.32#37. Kayla Douglas, U-M           2:00.6149. Mary Kate Leary, U-M         2:02.93 100-yard Freestyle 1. Ivy Martin, Wisconsin          47.75* (47.58*!&) 2. Ali DeLoof, U-M                48.32#$16. Claudia Goswell, U-M           50.15 (49.72#)18. Zoe Mattingly, U-M             49.95#19. Madeline Frost, U-M            49.97#36. Molly Schaefer, U-M            50.4146. Sharalynn Missiuna, U-M        50.7462. Julia Fiks Salem, U-M          51.2589. Celia Keany, U-M               52.60 200-yard Breaststroke 1. Kierra Smith, Minnesota      2:05.69*!&@ 2. Emily Kopas, U-M             2:09.58#11. Carolyn McCann, U-M          2:12.17#15. Marni Oldershaw, U-M         2:14.41# (2:13.97#)17. Samantha Yeo, U-M            2:14.33#19. Madison Horton, U-M          2:15.61# 200-yard Butterfly 1. Gia Dalesandro, Indiana      1:55.10#48. Jennifer Wagley, U-M         2:08.68 Platform Diving 1. Jessica Parratto, Indiana     424.45^!&@10. Carey Chen, U-M               295.30^14. Keegan McCaffrey, U-M         247.50^17. Elena Ghormley, U-M           238.65^19. Sarah Kamstra, U-M            226.05^ 400-yard Freestyle Relay 1. Wisconsin                    3:12.96*!&   (Chase Kinney, Ivy Martin,    Aja Van Hout, Annie Tamblyn) 2. MICHIGAN                     3:15.27*$   (Clara Smiddy, Ali DeLoof,    Claudia Goswell, Gillian Ryan) * NCAA automatic-qualifying time ("A")# NCAA provisional-qualifying time ("B")^ NCAA Zone Diving qualifying score! Big Ten record& Big Ten Championships record$ Michigan record@ Pool record

Q U O T E S

Michigan Head Coach Mike Bottom
On the ending of the meet... "It was nerve-wracking a little bit there. We had to sit through the 200-yard butterfly where we didn't have anyone and Wisconsin is coming at us with Ivy Martin and their great sprinters. We don't know what they're going to do. Even on that last relay, we knew we couldn't DQ, because if we did, we couldn't get third. There were a lot of nerves with each exchange. I know those athletes were feeling it, but they handled it well and raced to a second-place finish."

On breaking records and what that says about the program... "That's how you move forward. It says a lot about where this program is going. It's a tribute, I think, to our seniors, who understood where this team needed to go. We didn't get a lot of points out of them, but we got a lot of leadership and that's what we needed. It wasn't about carrying this team, but leading them. They've been fantastic."

On the freshmen... "They're just getting an understanding of who they are in this battle. This week, we saw a full range of emotions from all of them, with the exception of maybe Clara (Smiddy). She's just a seasoned veteran. I'm not sure where she gets it from. She wasn't one bit intimidated. When she's on deck, she's always having fun and is quick to bring the other freshmen into that place. As a group, they're almost always swimming in heats against seniors who are well-seasoned and they aren't only racing them, but they're either beating or almost beating them. That's a lot of fun to watch."

On the 200-yard backstroke final... "It was just fun to get up and battle. Gabby DeLoof is a woman who's just a freshman. She's never been in this position. Now she's battling in the same heat with Clara (Smiddy) and Hannah (Moore), and she and Hannah tied! That was great. Then you have Smiddy battling the reigning champion in that event and giving her all she could handle. That was just exciting for Michigan, to see us in that spot."

On diving... "We got two divers in the consolation final that scored points for us tonight, which was great to see. Keegan (McCaffrey) had not scored before. Last year, it was hard to just get her up on tower, and this year, she's scoring, which is a tribute to what Mike Hilde has done with that part of the program."

On the emergence of Claudia Goswell... "You look at all the things she swam, she scored big. She was someone last year that, I would say, was maybe a little bit shell-shocked at the type of competition that's at a meet like this. It's a big meet. Even though she's an international swimmer, very few people are prepared for the kind of intensity that this competition provides. Claudia was one of the swimmers that really stepped it up this week and swam fast."

On the work by the staff... "I'm extremely fortunate to work with an incredible staff. Every morning, we had videos made of races from the night before, pump-up videos that really struck a chord with what we're doing and the message we're sending, which is, it's all about the team. It's about getting better with each swim and continuing to support one another even if there's a trip, a fall. Tim Hochradel was right on with creating those and does so many things behind the scenes to help this team. We had Danielle (Tansel), Rick (Bishop) and Mike (Hilde) each leading their brigades this week. It was fun to watch the whole orchestration of coaches and support staff to get this job done."

U-M Junior Ali DeLoof
On the Championships and if finishing in the top three was a goal ... "It definitely was. This third time, for me, was the best one yet. Having done it a few times, I don't get quite as nervous anymore. Plus, having the team around to support you is always great. This freshman class, too, did so well. I'm so proud of everyone for fighting for every moment during these last four days."

On what the best part of the four days ... "I think the biggest thing was just to see everyone compete for Michigan. It's not about yourself here and that was one of the things that stuck out to me."

On setting the school record in the 100-yard freestyle ... "I actually didn't know I did that until after. It was very exciting to break that record. Being able to do that in the morning definitely got me pumped to swim this evening."

On how the team improves heading into the NCAA Championships ... "I think to build off of this intensity. We'll have a pretty young team going to NCAAs, so we just have to keep our focus and know that we can do better than what we did here at Big Tens."

U-M Freshman Clara Smiddy
On what it was like to experience her first Big Ten Championships ... "This is one of the most different meets I've ever been to. It was very exciting. Even on relays, the entire pool deck is on their feet cheering. All throughout the season, the upperclassmen have been telling us how fun this meet was and they were completely right."

On setting three individual school records ... "Honestly, to me, it's not about records. It's about being the best and fastest you can for the team. And the best thing about school records is, there's always someone that'll be coming up behind you faster. It's very humbling."

On the finish and what it means for the future ... "I think it's a big deal. From the very beginning, that was one of our top goals. I think every day, in and out of the water, we've been pushing each other to get here. To get here is great, but we have a long way to go still."

Communications Contact: Brad Rudner (734) 763-4423