Michigan
Georgia Fall Invitational
Michigan Expands Its Lead at UGA Fall Invitational
12/2/2017 8:54:00 PM | Women's Swimming & Diving
» The 800-yard freestyle relay surpassed the NCAA "A" cut by eight seconds and posted the No. 1 time in the NCAA so far this season (6:55.43).
» Siobhán Haughey won her second event in as many days, combining with Gabby DeLoof on a 1-2 finish in the 200-yard freestyle.
» Miranda Tucker claimed the 100-yard breaststroke, becoming the third woman in program history to crack the one-minute mark (59.98).
Site: Athens, Ga. (Gabrielsen Natatorium)
Event: UGA Fall Invitational -- Day 2 of 3
U-M Team Standing: 1st of 7 teams (670.5 points)
Next U-M Event: Sunday, Dec. 3 -- at UGA Fall Invitational, Day Three (Athens, Ga.), 9:30 a.m./3 p.m.
ATHENS, Ga. -- Junior Siobhán Haughey (200-yard freestyle) and sophomore Miranda Tucker (100-yard breaststroke) each won events and the 800-yard freestyle relay team posted the No. 1 time in the NCAA this season as the No. 4-ranked University of Michigan women's swimming and diving team expanded on its lead at the UGA Fall Invitational on Saturday (Dec. 2) at Gabrielsen Natatorium. The Wolverines have 670.5 points after two days, 69 points ahead of second-place California.
The 800-yard freestyle relay ended the night with a bang, as the foursome of Yirong Bi, Siobhán Haughey, Catie DeLoof and Gabby DeLoof went 6:55.43, besting the NCAA "A" cut by over eight seconds. It is the No. 1 time in the NCAA this season, surpassing a 6:58.41 that Louisville clocked just three days ago. The quartet also came within two seconds of the school record (6:53.63 from 2017).
Earlier in the evening, Haughey picked up her second individual win of the meet, shaving two-and-a-half seconds off her preliminaries time in the 200-yard freestyle (1:41.83). Gabby DeLoof, the third seed coming into finals, finished behind Haughey in second (1:43.66), a little more than a half-second off her personal-best time. Catie DeLoof, normally a sprinter, showed her mid-distance chops in this event and on the relay, finishing seventh and tying Lindsey Smith (2005) for the seventh-best time in school history (1:45.26). Those top seven times are all now held by current team members (Haughey, G. DeLoof, Ryan, Bi, Smiddy, Postoll, DeLoof).
Tucker also found her name on the school's all-time list by the end of the night, winning the 100-yard breaststroke and becoming the third woman in program history to crack the one-minute barrier (59.98). That event gave Michigan a bundle of points with four finalists, as Tucker was joined by seniors Samantha Yeo in third (1:00.88), Emily Kopas in fifth (1:01.24) and Carolyn McCann in sixth (1:01.73). All four women went faster in finals.
The Wolverines put two in the 100-yard backstroke final with senior Clara Smiddy in third (52.79) and junior Taylor Garcia in fourth (53.01).
Bi posted a solid swim in the 400-yard IM, finishing second with a two-second improvement from preliminaries to finals (4:10.58). Freshman Sierra Schmidt was sixth (4:15.64) and another freshman, Kate Krolikowski, won the consolation (4:15.76).
Freshman Emma Cleason continued her surge, taking seventh in the 100-yard butterfly (53.38). Four others -- sophomore Vanessa Krause, Yeo and freshmen Alexis Margett and Claire Maiocco -- each picked up points for the team in the consolation final.
Freshman Nikki Canale, the top seed out of the morning, finished second in finals but scored higher (315.90). She was joined in the final by fellow freshman Christy Cutshaw, who took seventh (272.00).
The 200-yard medley relay team of Garcia, Tucker, Krause and Haughey finished third (1:37.52), just missing the NCAA "B" cut.
The UGA Fall Invitational concludes Sunday (Dec. 3). Preliminaries begin at 9:30 a.m. with finals following at 3 p.m.
NCAA QUALIFYING TIMES/SCORES
Preliminaries - p
400-yard IM
B -- Yirong Bi, 4:10.58
B -- Sierra Schmidt, 4:14.16p
B -- Kate Krolikowski, 4:15.76
B -- Jamie Yeung, 4:17.02
100-yard Butterfly
B -- Emma Cleason, 52.96p (No. 7 at U-M)
B -- Vanessa Krause, 53.22p
B -- Samantha Yeo, 53.85p
B -- Alexis Margett, 54.05p
200-yard Freestyle
A -- Siobhán Haughey, 1:41.83
B -- Gabby DeLoof, 1:43.66
B -- Catie DeLoof, 1:45.26 (No. 7 at U-M)
B -- Yirong Bi, 1:45.48
B -- Becca Postoll, 1:46.24
100-yard Breaststroke
B -- Miranda Tucker, 59.98 (No. 3 at U-M)
B -- Samantha Yeo, 1:00.88
B -- Emily Kopas, 1:01.24
B -- Carolyn McCann, 1:01.73
B -- Jamie Yeung, 1:02.30p
100-yard Backstroke
B -- Clara Smiddy, 52.79
B -- Taylor Garcia, 52.93p (T-4th at U-M)
B -- Gabby DeLoof, 53.72p
B -- Catie DeLoof, 54.36p
B -- Jacqui Schafer, 54.75p
Three-Meter Diving
Nikki Canale, 310.00
800-yard Freestyle Relay
A -- 6:55.43 (Yirong Bi, Siobhán Haughey, Catie DeLoof, Gabby DeLoof)
Players Mentioned
