Michigan
Louisville -- Session One
U-M Cruises to Session-One Win in Louisville Tripleheader
10/7/2016 12:00:00 AM | Women's Swimming & Diving
Oct. 7, 2016
» Yirong Bi won a pair of events (200-yard freestyle, 800-yard freestyle), while Siobhán Haughey (100-yard IM) and Clara Smiddy (200-yard backstroke) were also winners.
» Kristen Hayden, Allie Murphy and Keegan McCaffrey all achieved the NCAA Zone Diving qualifying standard on the three-meter springboard. Hayden won in her collegiate debut.
• Complete Results | Photo Gallery 
Site: Ann Arbor, Mich. (Canham Natatorium)
Score: Michigan 257, Louisville 179 (after Day 1)
Next U-M Event: Saturday, Oct. 8 -- vs. Louisville (Canham Natatorium), 10 a.m./4 p.m.
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- Behind two wins from sophomore Yirong Bi, the University of Michigan women's swimming and diving team took the first session in a best-of-three series against Louisville on Friday (Oct. 7), downing the Cardinals, 257-179, inside Canham Natatorium. In keeping with the meet's "tripleheader" format, a roll of the dice determined the distances of the session's events, producing some rare races.
Bi was arguably the best swimmer in the pool on Friday, touching first in both the 200-yard freestyle (1:47.75) and the 800-yard freestyle (7:39.09), the latter of which came by a 10-second margin. The sophomore from China also recorded the meet's fastest split on the 800-yard freestyle relay (1:47.87), helping secure the win (7:17.02) alongside junior Gabby DeLoof, sophomore Siobhán Haughey and junior Clara Smiddy.
Haughey and Smiddy looked sharp in individual action. In her first competitive races since representing Hong Kong in Rio, Haughey won the 100-yard individual medley by nearly two seconds (57.11), while Smiddy led a 1-2-3 effort in the 200-yard backstroke. She touched at 1:56.97 -- well under the NCAA 'B' standard -- and was followed by DeLoof (1:58.92) and freshman Jacqui Schafer (1:59.66).
It was a great night for the divers, as three women secured NCAA Zone Diving qualifying scores on the three-meter springboard. Freshman Kristen Hayden took top honors (312.37), while seniors Allie Murphy (283.35) and Keegan McCaffrey (281.70) also hit the standard in their first opportunity.
The Wolverines also picked up points with key second- and third-place finishes on Friday. Freshman Vanessa Krause swam the butterfly leg on the team's top mixed medley relay and later finished second in the 50-yard butterfly (24.99). In the next event, juniors Emily Kopas and Jamie Yeung went 2-3 in the 50-yard breaststroke (29.10, 29.71). Sophomore Becca Postoll (second in 200-yard freestyle, third in 100-yard IM) and junior G Ryan (second in 800-yard freestyle, fourth in 200-yard freestyle) combined to provide 29 points. U-M also outscored Louisville in the 400-yard mixed medley relay, going 2-3-5-6.
The tripleheader continues tomorrow (Saturday, Oct. 8) at Canham Natatorium with the meet's second and third sessions at 10 a.m. and 4 p.m., respectively. Admission is free.
Communications Contact: Brad Rudner
Players Mentioned
