Michigan
Minnesota
Michigan Falls to Minnesota to Open Season
10/10/2008 12:00:00 AM | Women's Swimming & Diving
Results: Minnesota 169, Michigan 130
Records: U-M (0-1, 0-1 Big Ten), Minnesota (1-0, 1-0 Big Ten)
Next U-M Event: Friday, Oct. 17 -- Stanford and Florida (Canham Natatorium), 6 p.m.
Complete Results
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The University of Michigan women's swimming and diving team lost a hard-fought meet to the Minnesota, 169-130, on Friday night (Oct. 10) in the Canham Natatorium. Senior Hannah Smith(Dexter, Mich./Dexter) and junior Margaret Kelly(Ann Arbor, Mich./Pioneer) each won two events on the night for the Wolverines.
Smith swept the backstroke events with wins in both the 100- and 200-yard backstroke. The senior picked up the first win of the evening as she started strong in the 100-yard backstroke and never relinquished her lead, winning the event with a time of 55.34 -- a full second ahead of the second-place finisher. In the 200 backstroke, Smith pulled ahead early to take a lead after the first 50 yards and continued to pull away over the final 150 yards, finishing ahead of two Golden Gophers' swimmers with a time of 2:00.06.
Kelly picked up wins in both the 100-yard butterfly and the 400-yard individual medley for the Wolverines. In the 100-yard fly, Kelly and senior Payton Johnson(Champaign, Ill./Centennial) finished 1-2. Kelly took an early lead and maintained it throughout the race to pick up the win in 54.91, while Johnson used a late surge to grab second with a time of 55.36. Kelly followed her win in the 100-yard fly with a win in the 400-yard IM. The junior found herself in a battle with Minnesota's Jenny Shaughnessy through the butterfly and backstroke before pulling away in the breaststroke and freestyle to pick up her second win of the day with a new personal-best time of time of 4:20.23.
In the final event of the night, Michigan's 200-yard freestyle relay team claimed first place in a close contest. The U-M team of Smith, freshman Alexa Mehesan(West Des Moines, Iowa/Valley), Johnson and Kelly touched the wall in 1:34.17 -- 0.08 ahead of the second-place Golden Gophers.
Michigan swept the top three spots in both the one- and three-meter diving events. Freshman Amanda Lohman(Pittsburgh, Pa./Upper St. Clair), in her first collegiate meet, took first in the one-meter event with a score of 283.88. She was followed by junior Stephanie O'Callaghan(Howell, Mich./Howell) in second with a score of 259.20 and sophomore Jillian Drow(Chelsea, Mich./Chelsea) in third with a score of 245.77. In the three-meter event, O'Callaghan took first with a new personal-best score of 303.15. Close behind was Drow who took second with a personal-best score of 296.25. Lohman rounded out the top three with a score of 281.70.
Lohman and O'Callaghan qualified for the NCAA Zone C Diving Championships in both the one- and three-meter events, while Drow qualified in the three-meter event.
The Wolverines continue their homestand next Friday (Oct. 17) when they host Stanford and Florida at 6 p.m. in the Canham Natatorium. All three squads finished in the top 10 at the NCAA Championships last season.
Contact: Joe Arancio (734) 763-4423
