Weekly Release #7
2/18/2002 12:00:00 AM | Women's Swimming & Diving
Upcoming Schedule
Wed-Sat., Feb. 20-23 -- host Big Ten Championships (Canham Natatorium), 11 a.m./7 p.m.
Sunday, March 3 -- at Gopher Invitational (Minneapolis, Minn.)
This Week
The No. 18-ranked University of Michigan women's swimming and diving team will host the Big Ten Conference Championships on Wednesday through Saturday (Feb. 20-23) at Canham Natatorium. Wednesday night will kick off the competition at 7 p.m. with the 200-yard medley relay and the 800-yard freestyle relay. The following three days of the Big Ten Championships will feature preliminaries at 11 a.m. and finals at 7 p.m.
Big Ten Schedule of Events
| Wednesday, Feb. 20 | 200-yard medley relay 800-yard freestyle relay |
Thursday, Feb. 21 | 200-yard freestyle relay 500-yard freestyle 200-yard individual medley 50-yard freestyle 1-meter diving 400-yard medley relay |
Friday, Feb. 22 | 400-yard individual medley 100-yard butterfly 200-yard freestyle 100-yard breaststroke 100-yard backstroke 3-meter diving |
Saturday, Feb. 23 | 1,650-yard freestyle 200-yard backstroke 100-yard freestyle 200-yard breaststroke 200-yard butterfly Platform diving (exhibition) 400-yard freestyle relay |
Tickets for the Big Ten Championships
A pass for all events costs $30, while individual tickets may be purchased for individual sessions with prelims costing $4 and finals costing $7. Wednesday's schedule features just two relays and is free admission. There are no discounts for students, senior citizens or children and a seating rotation will be implemented on Thursday (Feb. 21) for each team's spectators. To purchase tickets, call the U-M Ticket Office at 734-764-0247 or download an application form (PDF: 1 page, 8 KB) and fax to 734-936-8942.
Dream Big Makes Appearance at Canham
The Dream Big Tour will be appearing at Canham Natatorium from Feb. 21-23, which coincides with the Big Ten Women's Swimming and Diving Championships. The purpose of the Dream Big Tour is to promote the benefits of girls in sports, and representatives from the Dream Big Tour will be on hand to speak with youth groups and students during the Big Ten Championships. For more information, go to the Big Ten web site.
Michigan at the Big Ten Championships
Michigan has claimed 17 Big Ten championships in women's swimming and diving, tying Wisconsin's cross country team for the most Big Ten titles by a women's program. Michigan's most recent title came last year at the Counsilman and Billingsley Aquatic Center in Bloomington, Ind. Since head coach Jim Richardson took over the program in 1986, the Maize and Blue has won 13 titles, including 12 in a row from 1987 to 1998. Besides a fifth-place finish during his first year at the helm of the program, Richardson's teams have finished no lower than second place at the Big Ten Championships.
Canham's History of Hosting
This year marks the third time Canham Natatorium has played host to the Big Ten Women's Swimming and Diving Championships. The facility, completed in 1988, also hosted the Big Ten women's meet in 1989 and 1993, with Michigan finishing first both times. Canham Natatorium also has hosted the 1996 NCAA Women's Championships as well as three Big Ten Men's Championships (1990, 1996, 2000). Other major events held at the facility include the 1993 U.S. Open and the 1994 U.S. Speedo Junior National Championship.
Last Year's Recap
Michigan posted 582 points en route to winning the 2001 Big Ten championship as Penn State finished runner-up with 557 points. Jen Crisman (1997-2001) made the most of her last appearance at the Big Ten Championships as she won the 100-yard backstroke for the fourth year in a row and competed on the top-performing teams in the 400-yard freestyle relay and the 400-yard medley relay. The 400-yard medley relay team, which also included current sophomores Annie Weilbacher (Toledo, Ohio/St. Francis DeSales HS) Samantha Arsenault (Peabody, Mass./Gardner HS) and junior Traci Valasco (Rochester Hills, Mich./Rochester Adams HS), set a Big Ten Conference meet record with a time of 3:38.76.
Michigan in the Big Ten
The Wolverines enter the Big Ten Championships with the top time in three events and has someone in the top three overall in 10 events. Highlighting that list for the Maize and Blue are Lindsay Carlberg's top time of 1:58.63 in the 100-yard backstroke, Kelli Stein's mark of 2:14.67 in the 200-yard breaststroke, and Michigan's league-leading 1:42.63 in the 200-yard medley relay.
Sorely Missed
If Michigan is to repeat as Big Ten champion in 2002, it will have to do so without three key contributors. Sophomore Samantha Arsenault, junior Traci Valasco and junior Jenay Karlson (San Diego, Calif./Torrey Pines HS) all will miss the Big Ten Championships this season due to injuries after being huge factors on last year's team. Arsenault, who won a gold medal at the 2000 Olympics in the 800-yard freestyle relay, placed second last year at the Big Ten Championships in the 200-yard freestyle but has not competed this year due to a shoulder injury. Valasco will be missed in the breaststroke after placing third in the 100-yard breaststroke and fourth in the 200-yard breaststroke at last year's championships, while Karlson was a top 10 performer in the 1,650-yard freestyle.
Last Meet Recap
Michigan hosted its final two dual meets of the year and defeated No. 16 Northwestern on Feb. 1 before falling to No. 13 Notre Dame on Feb. 2. Against the Wildcats, the Wolverines won their third consecutive meet, 134-106, as six different individuals won events. Highlighting the meet on Friday was a sweep in the 500-yard freestyle, led by sophomore Emily-Clare Fenn (Westport, Conn./Staples HS) with a mark of 4:55.29. On Saturday, Michigan fell to the Fighting Irish, 175-124, but freshman Amy McCullough (West Bloomfield, Mich./Mercy HS) provided a bright spot with an automatic qualifying time in the mile at 16:28.80.
Nice Move
Michigan head coach Jim Richardson decided to hold freshman Amy McCullough out of the 200-yard freestyle on Feb. 2 against Notre Dame and elected to let her swim in the 1,650-yard freestyle. Although inserting McCullough in the mile left the Wolverines thin in the 200-yard freestyle, Richardson felt it was more important to give McCullough a shot to qualify for the NCAA Championships after she had won the 1,000-yard freestyle the day before against Northwestern (Feb. 1) with a posting of 9:57.12. McCullough made the most of the switch by winning the 1,650-yard freestyle against Notre Dame with an NCAA automatic qualifying time of 16:28.80.
Diving Success
The diving team made sure to make coach Dick Kimball's last regular-season dual meets of his career with the women's team memorable. Against Northwestern, sophomore Tealin Kelemen (Riverton, N.J./Moorestown Friends School) led 1-2-3 sweeps in both diving events, with freshman Alexis Goolik (Highland, Ind./Highland HS) and Lauren Roth (Libertyville, Ill./Loyola Academy) placing second and third, respectively, on the three-meter board, and Kelly Vander Kuyl (Rockford, Mich./Rockford HS) finishing runner-up and Goolik third in the one-meter competition. Kelemen followed on Saturday by posting season highs on the one- and three-meter boards against Notre Dame with marks of 281.92 and 301.95, respectively.
Schedule Change
Michigan will no longer host the Last Chance Invitational on March 1-2. Instead the Wolverines will compete at the Gopher Invitational on Sunday, March 3, at the University Aquatic Center in Minneapolis, Minn. A start time for the Gopher Invitational has not been set.
Michigan in the Top 25
Michigan is currently ranked No. 18 in the latest CSCAA poll, which was released on Jan. 31. Five other Big Ten schools are ranked in the top 25, including No. 14 Penn State, No. 16 Northwestern, No. 17 Wisconsin, No. 19 Indiana and No. 21 Purdue.
CSCAA Top 25 Poll (1/31/02)
Rank, Team Points 1. Stanford (8) 200 2. Auburn 187 3. Texas 183 4. California 176 5. Georgia 175 6. Florida 157 7. Arizona 152 8. Southern Methodist 139 9. Southern Cal 136 10. Arizona State 122 11. UCLA 117 12. Virginia 113 13. Notre Dame 103 14. Penn State 98 15. North Carolina 93 16. Northwestern 87 17. Wisconsin 70 18. MICHIGAN 67 19. Indiana 53 20. Pacific 49 21. Florida State 27 Purdue 27 23. Texas A&M 25 24. Alabama 17 25. Missouri 7
Contact: David Crabtree (734) 763-4423
Players Mentioned
