Weekly Release #1: The Mike Bottom Era Begins
10/14/2008 12:00:00 AM | Men's Swimming & Diving
This Week
Friday, Oct. 17, 6 p.m. -- vs. Florida (Canham Natatorium)
Live Stats gatorzone.com
The University of Michigan men's swimming team opens its 2008-09 season on Friday night (Oct. 17) when it hosts the University of Florida at Canham Natatorium. Friday night's dual meet will be a combined meet with the Michigan women's team. The U-M women will be competing against Florida and Stanford.
The dual will mark the debut of Mike Bottom as head coach of the Wolverines and will mark the third consecutive season that the Wolverines and Gators have met in the pool. Last season, Michigan defeated Florida, 326-272, on Oct. 19 in Gainesville, Fla. In 2006-07, Michigan and Florida met in the season-opening dual at Canham Natatorium (Oct. 24) with Florida winning, 135-106.
Schedule of Events
400-yard Medley Relay
1,000-yard Freestyle
One-meter Diving
200-yard Freestyle
100-yard Backstroke
100-yard Breaststroke
200-yard Butterfly
50-yard Freestyle
Three-meter Diving
100-yard Freestyle
200-yard Backstroke
200-yard Breaststroke
500-yard Freestyle
100-yard Butterfly
10-minute break
400-yard Individual Medley
400-yard Freestyle Relay
Michigan in Openers
Since defeating Minnesota, 98-25, in the opening meet of the 1968-69 season, the Wolverines have won 39 of their last 40 season-opening duals. The lone loss during that time came in the 2006-07 opener when the Maize and Blue fell to Florida, 135-106, at Canham Natatorium. Last season, Michigan knocked off Eastern Michigan, 156-80, in the season opener.
Mandel at the Olympics
Junior Alon Mandel (Netanya, Israel/Eldad) competed at the Olympic Games this summer, representing his native Israel. Mandel, the Israeli national champion in both the 100- and 200-meter butterfly, placed 28th in the 200 fly (1:59.27) and 36th in the 100 fly (52.99) in Beijing.
Clary Sets U.S. Open Record
Sophomore Tyler Clary(Riverside, Calif./Riverside Poly) broke Michael Phelps' U.S. Open record in the 400-meter individual medley on July 30. Clary's time of 4:17.02 broke Phelps' mark by 1.3 seconds. As the top finisher in the 400 IM, Clary qualified for the World University Games to be held July 2-7, 2009, in Belgrade, Serbia.
New Faces
The Wolverines welcome six new faces to the team for the 2008-09 season: freshmen Jason Austermann(Huntington Woods, Mich./Berkley),Dan Madwed(Stamford, Conn./Towson),Chris Morrison(Fenton, Mich./Fenton),Casey Sreenan (Miami, Fla./Christopher Columbus) and Dane Vanderkaay(Rochester, Mich./Adams) along with sophomore Chris Douville(Dayton, Ohio/Archbishop Alter), a transfer from Notre Dame.
The All-Americans
Seven Wolverines return that earned NCAA All-America honors last season for U-M, which finished sixth at the 2008 NCAA Championships. Junior Andr Schultz(Sao Paulo, Brazil/Colegio Palmares) earned four All-America honors last season (200 back, 200 IM, 400 IM, 800 free relay). Seniors Matt Patton(Matthews, N.C./Butler) (500 free, 1,650 free, 800 free relay) and Bobby Savulich(Edison, N.J./Saint Joseph) (800 free relay, 200 medley relay, 400 medley relay) each earned three honors a year ago. Juniors Chris Brady(Wilmington, Del./Mount Pleasant) (200 medley relay, 400 medley relay) and Alon Mandel(Netanya, Israel/Eldad) (200 medley relay, 400 medley relay) earned a pair of All-America honors, while senior Sal Barba(Hudson, Mass./St. Johns) (800 free relay) and sophomore Tyler Clary(Riverside, Calif./Riverside Poly) (800 free relay) earned one honor apiece.
The Conference Champions
Led by five-time Big Ten Champion Bobby Savulich (100 free, 200 free, 200 free relay, 400 free relay, 400 medley relay), Michigan returns nine swimmers that took home Big Ten crowns last season. In addition to Savulich, three-time champion Chris Brady (200 free relay, 400 free relay, 400 medley relay) and two-time champions Tyler Clary (400 free relay, 800 free relay) and Matt Patton (500 free, 1,650 free) return as multiple winners from last year's Big Ten Championships. Sal Barba (800 free relay), Curtis Dauw(St. Charles, Ill./St. Charles East) (200 free relay), Alon Mandel (400 medley relay), Jamie Martone (Troy, Mich./Troy) (200 free relay) and Andr Schultz (800 free relay) also return as Big Ten Champions from a year ago.
Scouting the Opponents
Florida -- The Gators will be making their first appearance in the pool this season when they travel to Ann Arbor on Friday. Last season, Florida finished with a 10-3 dual-meet record (5-2 in the SEC). The Gators finished second at the SEC Championships and eighth at the NCAA Championships. Last season, Michigan defeated Florida, 326-272, on Oct. 19 in Gainesville, Fla.
Bottom's Up
Mike Bottom begins his first season as the head coach of the University of Michigan men's swimming and diving program. Before arriving at Michigan, Bottom served as the head coach of the World Team for The Race Club in Tavernier, Fla. Highly respected as one of the top sprint coaches in the world, Bottom has coached medalists at each of the past four Olympic Games, including 10-time Olympic medalist Gary Hall Jr. At the NCAA level, Bottom has mentored individuals in every stroke to 17 national titles. Bottom spent 10 seasons (1997-2007) at California, serving as co-head coach of the men's team alongside Nort Thornton.
Looking Ahead...
The Maize and Blue will return to the pool next Wednesday (Oct. 22) at 6 p.m. to take on Eastern Michigan in Ypsilanti, Mich., at Jones Natatorium.
Contact: Jeremy Reid (734) 763-4423
Players Mentioned
