Vanderkaay, Tarwater Key U-M Move to Sixth at NCAAs

Friday, March 25

Minneapolis, Minn.

Noon CT

Michigan

NCAA Championships (Day 2)

3/25/2005 12:00:00 AM | Men's Swimming & Diving

MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. -- Propelled by three top-four finishes, the No. 5 University of Michigan men's swimming and diving team moved up to sixth place with 167 points after the second day of competition (Friday, March 25) at the NCAA Championships at the Minnesota's University Aquatic Center.

DeJong made up nearly two seconds on Florida during his 800 free relay leg.

In the final event of the evening, the Wolverines finished runner-up in the 800-yard freestyle relay with a time of 6:18.17. The team of Peter Vanderkaay (Rochester, Mich./Adams HS), Davis Tarwater (Knoxville, Tenn./The Webb School), Chris DeJong (Holland, Mich./Holland HS) and Andrew Hurd (Oakville, Ontario/Trafalger HS) got off to a fast start but trailed eventual champion Florida by just under one second after the first 200 yards. Midway through the race, the Gators had increased their lead to nearly two seconds, but DeJong posted Michigan fastest split at 1:33.94 to pull U-M even with Florida heading into the final leg of the race. Florida pulled away over the last 200 yards to win the race with Michigan coming in second.

Peter Vanderkaay turned in U-M's top individual performance of the day, finishing runner-up in the 200-yard freestyle, setting a school record with a time of 1:33.71. Tarwater also had a strong day, finishing fourth in the 100-yard butterfly with a time of 46.64.

After the team of DeJong, Christian Vanderkaay (Rochester, Mich./Adams HS), Tarwater and Peter Vanderkaay won the consolation final of the 200-yard medley relay (ninth place overall), Chuck Sayao (Mississauga, Ontario/Cawthra Park HS) finished seventh and Alex Vanderkaay (Rochester, Mich./Adams HS) took 13th in the 400-yard individual medley. Sayao trailed the field after the butterfly leg of the race but moved into sixth with 100 yards remaining before slipping to seventh with a time of 3:50.48. Vanderkaay took fifth in the consolation final with a personal-record time of 3:50.08.

Following the 400-yard individual medley, Tarwater moved the Wolverines into sixth place in the team standings with his fourth-place performance in the 100-yard butterfly. After earning the third seed with a school-record time of 46.44 in the prelims, Tarwater sat in seventh midway through the race, but he was able to charge over the final 50 yards, posting a split of 12.39 over the final lap to take fourth.

Peter Vanderkaay continued U-M's charge with his second-place finish in the 200-yard freestyle. After sitting in third for much of the race, Vanderkaay began to make his move on the field, drawing even with eventual champion Simon Burnett of Arizona. Burnett pulled away over the final 25 yards to leave Vanderkaay in second.

DeJong bolstered Michigan's score with a ninth-place showing in the 100-yard backstroke. After setting a Michigan record with a time of 47.13 in the prelims, DeJong led the entire way in the consolation final to win the heat in 47.23.

The Wolverines will return to the University Aquatic Center on Saturday (March 26) for the final day of the NCAA Championships.

Top 10 Teams (After Day 2)

 1. Auburn 338 2. Stanford 300 3. Arizona 292 4. California 264 5. Florida 202 6. MICHIGAN 167 7. Texas 163 8. Northwestern 137 9. Minnesota 129 10. Southern Cal 123

Event Winners/U-M Finishes (Day 2)
(Preliminary time in parentheses if faster than finals time)

200-yard Medley Relay

 1. California 1:25.30% (Milorad Cavis, Duje Draganja, Henrique Barbosa, Roland Gimbutis) 9. Michigan 1:27.72 (1:27.50@) (Chris DeJong, Christian Vanderkaay, Davis Tarwater, Peter Vanderkaay)

400-yard Individual Medley

 1. Ous Mellouli, Southern Cal 3:39.19% 7. Chuck Sayao, U-M 3:50.48 (3:48.37) 13. Alex Vanderkaay, U-M 3:50.08

100-yard Butterfly

 1. Duje Draganja, California 45.39% 4. Davis Tarwater, U-M 46.64 (46.44@)

200-yard Freestyle

 1. Simon Burnett, Arizona 1:33.28% 2. Peter Vanderkaay, U-M 1:33.71 29. Andrew Hurd, U-M 1:37.57

100-yard Breaststroke

 1. Gary Marshall, Stanford 52.68 28. Christian Vanderkaay, U-M 55.02

100-yard Backstroke

 1. Matt Grevers, Northwestern 45.62 9. Chris DeJong, U-M 47.23 (47.13@)

Three-Meter Springboard

 1. Joona Puhakka, Arizona State 645.20

800-yard Freestyle Relay

 1. Florida 6:16.53^% (Jayme Cramer, Gary Marshall Matt McDonald, Wildman-Tobriner) 2. Michigan 6:18.17 (Peter Vanderkaay, Davis Tarwater, Chris DeJong, Andrew Hurd) * NCAA record # U.S. Open record $ American record ^ NCAA Meet record ! Big Ten Conference record @ Michigan school record % University Aquatic Center record

Day 1 Results

Contact: Paul Dickerson (734) 763-4423