Michigan
Big Ten Championships (Day 3)
Michigan Claims 31st Big Ten Conference Title
2/26/2000 12:00:00 AM | Men's Swimming & Diving
Urbanchek Named Conference Swimming Coach of the Year
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The University of Michigan added another important accolade to its swimming and diving tradition, winning the 2000 Big Ten Conference Men's Swimming and Diving Championships held Thursday through Saturday (Feb. 24-26) in front of near-capacity crowds at Canham Natatorium.
Michigan finished with 682 team points in winning its first conference title since 1997. Minnesota (601) climbed into second place on the last day, while defending champion Penn State (514) finished third. Michigan's first-place team finish gives the Wolverines an impressive 31 conference titles, eight more than second-best Indiana, in the 90-year history of the Big Ten Championships.
The Wolverines began the final day of competition with a comforable 59-point lead over Penn State, their closest pursuer, and Michigan quickly put aside opponents' thoughts of a comeback with an overpowering performance in the day's first event, the 1,650-yard freestyle. The Wolverines placed six of the top nine finishers for 86 team points to take a commanding lead and further distance themselves from the rest of the field.
Leading the charge for the Maize and Blue in the 1,650 freestyle was junior All-American Chris Thompson (Roseburg, Ore./Roseburg HS), who successfully defended his Big Ten crown in winning his second individual title of the Championships. He finished in an NCAA automatic qualifying time of 14:50.86 and set a Canham Natatorium record in the process.
Placing second, fourth and fifth, respectively, for the Wolverines in the 1,650 freestyle were sophomore All-American Tim Siciliano (San Marcos, Calif./San Marcos HS), senior tri-captain Mike McWha (Windsor, Ontario/Kennedy Collegiate Institute) and freshman Justin Drake (Phoenix, Ariz./Arcadia HS). Siciliano finished with an NCAA automatic qualifying time of 15:02.16, while both McWha (15:18.50) and Drake (15:26.34) turned in NCAA consideration times. Eighth- and nine-place finishers were sophomore Chuck Kennedy (Concord, Calif./Northgate HS) and freshman Mike O'Connor (Grosse Pointe Woods, Mich./Grosse Pointe North HS).
Michigan also turned in a strong showing in the 200-yard breaststroke with three of the top five finishers. Junior All-American Scott Werner (Haymarket, Va./Paul VI HS) placed second, turning in an NCAA automatic qualifying time of 1:58.03. Sophomore All-American Jeff Hopwood (Palo Alto, Calif./Palo Alto HS) also turned in an NCAA automatic qualifying time (1:58.12) with his third-place finish, with freshman Josh Hack (Chelsea, Mich./Chelsea HS) placing fifth in NCAA consideration time (2:00.43).
In diving competition, senior tri-captain Josh Trexler (Raleigh, N.C./Millbrook HS) led the way for the Wolverines with a fourth-place finish in the three-meter diving. His score of 522.25 is an NCAA zone diving qualifying mark.
Freshman Ryan Earhart (Cincinnati, Ohio/St. Xavier HS) had the top U-M finish in the 200-yard backstroke (4th, 1:46.81), while the 400-yard freestyle relay team of freshman Tony Kurth (Toledo, Ohio/St. Francis de Sales HS), freshman Garrett Mangieri (Closter, N.J./Mercersburg Academy), sophomore Jordan Watland (Shorewood, Minn./Minnetonka HS) and senior tri-captain Scott Meyer (Lodi, Calif./Lodi HS) placed third at 2:58.92.
After guiding his team to the Big Ten Championship, Michigan head swimming coach Jon Urbanchek was named Big Ten Swimming Coach of the Year. This is the seventh time in his career at U-M that he has received the award.
The last event of the Championships, platform diving -- an exhibition competition that does not factor into team scoring -- will be held Sunday (Feb. 27) at 11 a.m. The event was originally scheduled for Saturday but was moved to Sunday when the three-meter diving was postponed from Friday to Saturday due to concerns with the water level in the diving well.
Final Team Standings
1. MICHIGAN 682 2. Minnesota 601 3. Penn State 514 4. Indiana 376 5. Wisconsin 366 6. Ohio State 315 7. Purdue 240 8. Iowa 216 9. Northwestern 211 10. Michigan State 119
Event Winners/U-M Finishes (Day 3)
(Preliminary time in parentheses if faster than finals time)
1,650-yard Freestyle
1. Chris Thompson, U-M 14:50.86*$ 2. Tim Siciliano, U-M 15:02.16* 4. Mike McWha, U-M 15:18.50# 5. Justin Drake, U-M 15:26.34# 8. Chuck Kennedy, U-M 15:39.01 9. Mike O'Connor, U-M 15:42.32
200-yard Backstroke
1. Alex Massura, Minnesota 1:44.61 4. Ryan Earhart, U-M 1:46.81 9. Jason Mallory, U-M 1:47.34
100-yard Freestyle
1. Brian Malich, OSU 43.43*$ 9. Tony Kurth, U-M 44.24# 14. Garrett Mangieri, U-M 45.19 (44.67) 15. Jordan Watland, U-M 45.28 (44.89) 18. Matt Raines, U-M 45.34 24. John McLellan, U-M 45.73
200-yard Breaststroke
1. Jeff Hackler, Minnesota 1:57.79*$ 2. Scott Werner, U-M 1:58.03* 3. Jeff Hopwood, U-M 1:58.12* 5. Josh Hack, U-M 2:00.43# 9. Francisco Suriano Siu, U-M 2:01.38# 16. Scott Meyer, U-M 2:04.58 (2:03.04) 23. Jeff Lauhoff, U-M 2:06.39
200-yard Butterfly
1. Ales Abersek, Iowa 1:44.93* 12. Eric Wilson, U-M 1:49.83 20. Paul Ely, U-M 1:51.52 31. Mike O'Connor, U-M 1:53.92
Three-meter Diving
1. Dan Croaston, Minnesota 631.40^ 4. Josh Trexler, U-M 522.25^ 9. Luke Cox, U-M 470.70 14. Bryce Cox, U-M 426.10 20. Carlos Castillo, U-M 389.10
400-yard Freestyle Relay
1. Minnesota 2:55.40#$ (Ricardo Dornelas, Alex Massura, Max Von Bodungen, Allen Ong) 3. Michigan 2:58.92 (Tony Kurth, Garrett Mangieri, Jordan Watland, Scott Meyer) * NCAA automatic qualifying time # NCAA consideration time ^ NCAA zone diving qualifying mark $ Canham Natatorium record
Day 1 Results | Day 2 Results
N O T E S
Canham Natatorium pool records were set in 11 of the 18 swimming events during the meet. Michigan set four pool records -- Chris Thompson in the 500-yard freestyle (4:20.31) and 1,650 freestyle (14:50.86), Tony Kurth in the 200 individual medley (1:47.26) and Tim Siciliano in the 400 IM (3:49.16). Kurth's and Siciliano's marks were set during prelims.
The Maize and Blue turned in 15 individual top-10 finishes on Saturday, and with 10 such finishes for both Thursday and Friday, the Wolverines amassed 35 top-10 finishes in the 15 individual scored events.
The meet was also a farewell to four Wolverine seniors -- seniors Josh Trexler, Scott Meyer, Mike McWha and Francisco Suriano Siu (San Salvador, El Salvador/Academia Britanica Cuscatleca) -- as this was their final Big Ten Championships.
Q U O T E S
Michigan Head Coach Jon Urbanchek
On the overall chapionship ... "Everything is following our script. There were no major surprises, and also there were no major disappointments. Overall, it was a great meet."
On earning 86 points in the 1,650 freestyle ... "We were pretty lucky in the opening event tonight. It (the 1,650 freestyle) is not one of our strongest events, but it gave us momentum. Each day has been like that. We've carried on that momentum."
On the team's performance ... "A lot of people stepped it up. That's how you win championships. The superstars don't win championships, it's a team event. That is the great thing about the Big Ten -- it focuses on the team."
On the performance of Chris Thompson ... "Well, I voted for Chris to be Swimmer of the Year. By far, he is heads and shoulders above the rest."
On coaching such a young team ... "Of our 28 swimmers, 21 are freshmen or sophomores. That makes it a very young squad. But, our future looks good, our future looks very good."
On the crowd support ... "The crowd brings a great atmosphere to the meet. It is great for the swimmers to be able to look up and see their moms and dads. The crowd brings an added level of excitement. It is great for (the sport of) swimming."
Contact: Justin Pfauth (734) 763-4423
Players Mentioned
