Michigan
Florida
Late Surge Not Enough as Wolverines Fall at Florida
10/20/2007 12:00:00 AM | Women's Swimming & Diving
Result: Florida 354, Michigan 285
Records: U-M (0-1), Florida (3-0)
Next U-M Meet: Friday, Oct. 26 -- Toledo (Canham Natatorium), 5:00 p.m.
Complete Results
GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- The University of Michigan women's swimming and diving team mounted an ill-fated comeback, falling to Florida, 354-285, Friday and Saturday (Oct. 19-20) in a two-day meet at the Stephen C. O'Connell Center.
Junior Emily Brunemann (Crescent Springs, Ky./Notre Dame Academy) claimed a spot in the NCAA Championships, bowling through an NCAA 'A' qualifying time with a 16:47.47 performance in the 1,500-meter freestyle.
Sophomore Margaret Kelly (Ann Arbor, Mich./Pioneer) and senior Justine Mueller (Monroe, Mich./Monroe) each had two-win weekends, while senior Elyse Lee (Albion, Mich./Albion) swept the diving portion of the weekend.
Michigan trailed after day one, 114-68. Kelly got the Wolverines' first win of the two-day meet in the 200-meter individual medley, touching the wall in 2:22.70. She became the first two-event winner when she clocked in at 1:04.27 in the 100-meter butterfly to take first. Mueller got a win in the 400-meter IM, turning in a time of 4:57.87.
Following Brunemann's win in the 1,500-meter freestyle, Michigan rattled off wins in four of the next five events to close the meet. Senior Hannah Smith (Dexter, Mich./Dexter) revved up the momentum with a triumph in the 200-meter backstroke (2:20.89) -- followed two events later by Mueller taking top honors in the 200-meter breastroke (2:40.16). Fifth-year senior Melissa Jaeger (Ann Arbor, Mich./Pioneer) earned her first victory as a Wolverine with a 2:21.48 performance in the 200-meter breastroke. The string of strong performances extended to the relay squads, as the 400-meter freestyle 'A' relay squad overcame an early deficit to clinch the win with a time of 3:58.69.
Michigan seeded three divers in the top five in the one-meter event. Lee finished in first with a score of 286.05. Senior Katie Skendrovic (Spring Lake, Mich./Spring Lake) followed closely behind in third with a career-best 275.40, and senior Erica LaBont (Amherst, Mass./Amherst Regional) turned in a fourth-place performance (270.60). Lee's 315.30 in three-meter diving also took top honors.
The Wolverines return home to host Toledo next weekend. The Maize and Blue will face the Rockets Friday evening (Oct. 26) at 5 p.m. in Canham Natatorium.
Q U O T E S
Michigan Head Coach Jim Richardson
On the first meet... "We got off to a rough start last night. We flew in and had the bus ride and we looked like it in the water. I felt we swam much better this morning. This morning was a really tight, really good meet. Tonight we actually beat them by two points. In the two sessions today, there were only seven points between us and that was really good. I am really proud of this team. We have a young team and a number of them are inexperienced. I think that our best swimmer stood up and did a great job, and our younger swimmers fought really hard. There wasn't any quit in them. I thought it was a really good experience for us to come down here. That wasn't the easy route for sure."
On whether it shows maturity in the less experienced swimmers... "I think that they aren't afraid to go to work and they aren't afraid of stepping up and doing difficult things. That's what it takes. So we're just going to ride that horse as long as we can. This is the kind of team we're going to see a lot more of what we're capable of doing in late November and then more in January. I'm liking what I am seeing, the way they go out and get after things."
On standout performances... "Emily Brunemann made the cut in the mile. When you make an NCAA 'A' cut in the mile in the first meet of the year and qualify for NCAAs, that's not too shabby. I think across the board, there were so many people that just stood up and had some strong swims."
Contact: Ryan Sosin (734) 763-4423
Players Mentioned
