Michigan
First Chance Meet
Men's Swimmers See Improvement at First Chance Meet
2/14/2016 12:00:00 AM | Men's Swimming & Diving
Feb. 14, 2016
» Mokhtar Al-Yamani now ranks No. 2 in the Big Ten in the 100-yard freestyle and 200-yard freestyle.
» Matt Zimmerman swam the 200-yard butterfly for the first time in almost a year, setting a career best by more than three seconds.
Site: Ann Arbor, Mich. (Canham Natatorium)
Event: Michigan First Chance Meet
Scores: No team scoring
Next U-M Event: Wed-Sat., Feb. 24-27 -- at Big Ten Championships (West Lafayette, Ind.), 11 a.m./6:30 p.m.
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- Sixteen members of the No. 3-ranked University of Michigan men's swimming and diving team were in action at the Michigan First Chance Meet, held Saturday and Sunday (Feb. 13-14) at Canham Natatorium. In all, 11 swimmers collected at least one NCAA B time, with several of those currently placing within the top five of the Big Ten rankings.
Freshman Mokhtar Al-Yamani made a strong push to make the team's Big Ten Championships roster, collecting a trio of NCAA B cuts. His times in the 100-yard freestyle (43.23) and 200-yard freestyle (1:34.77) both currently sit at No. 2 in the Big Ten. He also went 4:22.83 in the 500-yard freestyle. Sophomore Ryan Sebastian also picked up three NCAA B cuts. He swam the 200-yard IM (1:47.60), the 400-yard IM (3:49.58 -- No. 3 in the Big Ten) and the 200-yard backstroke (1:46.31).
Senior Matt Zimmerman made the deck erupt on Sunday with his performance in the 200-yard butterfly. Despite not swimming the event in a meet in almost a year, he went 1:45.52, breaking his career best by over three seconds. His time ranks No. 4 in the Big Ten. Other swimmers that now appear in the top half of the Big Ten rankings include freshman Stephen Holmquist in the 400-yard IM (3:49.73 -- No. 4), freshman Blake Maczka in the 1,650-yard freestyle (15:13.68 -- No. 5) and freshman Jordan Ross in the 200-yard backstroke (1:43.45 -- No. 4 in the Big Ten). Ross also went 48.08 in the 100-yard backstroke, and Holmquist went 15:29.41 in the 1,650-yard freestyle.
Others gaining NCAA B cuts included senior Paul Corbae in both the 100-yard breaststroke (55.20) and 200-yard breaststroke (1:58.97), senior/junior Keltan Lawler in the 400-yard IM (3:52.94), junior Colin Eaton in the 50-yard freestyle (20.12), freshman Kai Williams in the 200-yard freestyle (1:37.60) and junior Bryan Hughes in the 200-yard freestyle (1:47.57).
With the regular season over, both the men's and women's teams look ahead to the Big Ten Championships. The women's meet will take place next week (Wed.-Sat., Feb. 17-20) at Canham Natatorium, while the men follow the following week (Wed.-Sat., Feb. 24-27) at Purdue. At both meets, preliminaries begin at 11 a.m., with finals following at 6:30 p.m.
Communications Contact: Brad Rudner
Players Mentioned
