Michigan
Louisville -- Session Three
U-M Races Past Louisville, Sweeps Tripleheader
10/8/2016 12:00:00 AM | Women's Swimming & Diving
Oct. 8, 2016
» Yirong Bi was the meet's best swimmer, winning three more events on Saturday (500-yard freestyle, 1,000-yard freestyle, 400-yard IM) to bring her weekend total to five.
» Five other swimmers won individual events, including sisters Gabby DeLoof (100-yard backstroke) and Catie DeLoof (100-yard freestyle).
• Complete Results | Photo Gallery 
Site: Ann Arbor, Mich. (Canham Natatorium)
Session II Score: Michigan 274, Louisville 196
Session III Score: Michigan 266, Louisville 205
Records: U-M (1-0), Louisville (0-1)
Next U-M Event: Fri-Sat., Oct. 14-15 -- at SMU Classic (Lewisville, Texas), 6:30 p.m. CDT
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The University of Michigan women's swimming and diving team completed a sweep of Louisville in its best-of-three series, winning sessions two (274-196) and three (266-205) on Saturday (Oct. 8) inside Canham Natatorium. The "tripleheader" format featured a roll of the dice twice during each session to determine the distance of the events.
Sophomore Yirong Bi was the meet's big winner, taking a trio of events -- the 500-yard freestyle (4:44.98), the 1,000-yard freestyle (9:43.82) and the 400-yard individual medley (4:19.66). Two of the DeLoof sisters won events -- sophomore Catie DeLoof in the 100-yard freestyle (49.32) and her older sister, junior Gabby DeLoof, in the 100-yard backstroke (54.64).
Sophomore Siobhán Haughey cruised to a victory in the 200-yard IM (1:59.68), winning the event by nearly four seconds over the field. Freshman Vanessa Krause added to the bounty with a first-place finish in the 100-yard butterfly (54.43).
In the diving well, freshman Kristen Hayden won the one-meter springboard (241.80), while the tandem of Jake Herremans and Allie Murphy took the mixed synchronized diving competition (241.80).
Session II
After two wins last night, Bi stayed hot on Saturday, running away with the 1,000-yard freestyle. She lapped nearly the entire field, winning by a whopping 22-second margin. Junior G Ryan finished behind Bi in second (10:05.13), with sophomore Katie Duggan coming in third (10:11.87).
Hayden finished off a clean sweep of the springboard events in her collegiate debut, headlining a 1-2 finish on the one-meter board along with senior Keegan McCaffrey (268.42). Both divers surpassed the minimal NCAA Zone Diving qualifying standard.
One of the morning's better races came in the 100-yard freestyle, as Catie DeLoof got to the wall first (49.32), just ahead of Louisville's Mallory Comerford (49.34), a U.S. Junior National Team member. In the following race, just like in last night's 100-yard backstroke, U-M went 1-2-3 with the same swimmers, albeit in a different order: Gabby DeLoof, junior Clara Smiddy (55.04) and freshman Jacqui Schafer (55.73).
Elsewhere, U-M went 2-3-4-5 in the 100-yard breaststroke (Emily Kopas, Jamie Yeung, Millie Macdonald, Madison Horton) and 3-4-5 in the 200-yard butterfly (Astrid Swensen, Krause, Ryan).
The Wolverines won the 400-yard freestyle relay by nearly five seconds (3:19.59), with Catie DeLoof splitting 49.88 on the opening leg to give U-M a lead it did not relinquish. Haughey closed in 50.31 but appeared to shut it down over the last 25 yards, as she had built up a lead of several body lengths. MIchigan also went 2-3-4 in the 200-yard medley relay.
Session III
The Wolverines opened the afternoon session with a win in the 400-yard medley relay, as the tandem of Gabby DeLoof, Kopas, Krause and Haughey touched at 3:39.88.
Bi led the charge in the 500-yard freestyle, though U-M also picked up key points from Ryan (4:49.14) and sophomore Becca Postoll (4:51.02) with second- and third-place finishes, respectively.
Krause showed great fight in the 100-yard butterfly, beating Louisville's Abbie Houck to the wall for the win (54.43). The other winner was, once again, Bi, who looked easy in her conquest of the 400-yard IM. But like in the 500-yard freestyle from earlier, U-M followed her closely to the wall, with Kopas taking second (4:24.88) and Postoll finishing third (4:25.69).
Depth was evident in other races in which U-M did not win, as it went 2-3 in both the 200-yard breaststroke (Kopas, Yeung) and 50-yard freestyle (Haughey, Catie DeLoof) and 2-3-4 in the 50-yard backstroke (Schafer, Gabby DeLoof, Emily Eastin).
The Wolverines put an exclamation point on a fantastic weekend with a win in the 200-yard freestyle relay, which included Catie DeLoof, Haughey, Postoll and Gabby DeLoof (1:31.87).
Eight swimmers and one diver will represent the women's team at the SMU Classic next weekend (Fri.-Sat., Oct. 14-15) at the Westside Aquatic Center in Lewisville, Texas. Joining Michigan and SMU in the six-team competition will be Miami, USC, UCLA and Louisville. Both sessions will start at 6:30 p.m.
Communications Contact: Brad Rudner
Players Mentioned
