Weekly Release #4: Michigan Welcomes Top-10 Pair
10/28/2008 12:00:00 AM | Women's Swimming & Diving
This Week
Fri-Sat., Oct. 31-Nov. 1 -- vs. No. 7 Texas and No. 8 Indiana (Canham Natatorium), 5 p.m./10 a.m.
Live Stats | Texas Website | Indiana Website
The No. 14-ranked University of Michigan women's swimming and diving team (1-3, 0-1 Big Ten) will host two top-10 teams in No. 7 Texas and No. 8 Indiana on Friday (Oct. 31) and Saturday (Nov. 1) in the Canham Natatorium. The double-dual meet is scheduled to begin at 5 p.m. on Friday and will resume at 10 a.m. on Saturday.
Schedule of Events
| Friday, Oct. 31, 5 pm (Combined with men) 200-yard Freestyle Relay 500-yard Freestyle 200-yard Individual Medley 50-yard Freestyle 15 Minute Break 400-yard Medley Relay 400-yard Individual Medley 100-yard Butterfly 200-yard Freestyle 15 Minute Break 200-yard Medley Relay | Saturday, Nov. 1, 10 a.m. (Women) 800-yard Freestyle Relay 100-yard Breaststroke 100-yard Backstroke 200-yard Butterfly 1000-yard Freestyle 100-yard Freestyle 200-yard Backstroke 15 Minute Break 200-yard Breaststroke 400-yard Freestyle Relay |
Scouting the Opponent
Texas -- No. 7 Texas has one of the strongest freshman classes in the NCAA this year. Freshmen such as Kathleen Hersey and Leah Gingrich have already stepped in and contributed, leading the Longhorns to a 1-0 record and a first-place finish in the Big 12 relays. Hersey was a NISCA All-American and a 2008 Olympian. In Beijing, Hersey placed eighth in the 200m butterfly (2:08.23). Gingrich is a two-time finalist in the 2008 U.S. Olympic Trials and a five-time finalist in the USA Swimming National Championships.
The 2008-09 Texas' swimming and diving campaign will mark Kim Brackin's third season as the Texas head women's swimming and diving coach. Texas leads the all-time series against Michigan 2-1. Last season, the Wolverines beat the Longhorns, 214-156, in Bloomington, Ind.
Indiana -- No. 8 Indiana has started strong this season, going 2-0 with dual-meet wins against Kentucky and Northwestern. The Hoosiers return seven All-Americans this season, including junior Kate Zubcova. Zubcova, an All-American in both the 100- and 200-yard backstroke, made her second trip to the Olympics, competing in the 100-meter backstroke, 200-yard backstroke, 100-yard butterfly and the medley relay for her native Ukraine. Other All-Americans in the poll include junior Presley Bard, junior Donna Smailis, sophomore Amanda Smith and senior Sarah Stockwell. Returning All-America divers junior Brittney Feldman and senior Christina Loukas (2007) lead one of the best diving teams in the nation. Feldman placed fifth in the three-meter event at the NCAA Championships, while Loukas represented the U.S. at the 2008 Summer Olympics in the three-meter springboard diving event.
Ray Looze is in his fourth year at the helm of both the men's and women's swimming programs at Indiana University. In just his second season directing the women's program, he led the team to its third Big Ten title in school history in 2007. In 2007-08, Looze became the first coach in IU history to lead both the men's and women's squads to top-10 finishes at the NCAA Championships. Michigan leads the overall series 16-5. The Wolverines beat the Hoosiers 207-163 last season in Bloomington, Ind.
U-M's Top Times from 2008-09
50-yard Freestyle: Hannah Smith, 23.79
100-yard Freestyle: Margaret Kelly, 50.79
200-yard Freestyle: Margaret Kelly, 1:50.07
500-yard Freestyle: Margaret Kelly, 4:55.44
1,000-yard Freestyle: Emily Hanson, 10:08.22
1,650-yard Freestyle: Emily Hanson, 16:45.98
100-yard Butterfly: Margaret Kelly, 54.84
200-yard Butterfly: Caitlin Dauw, 2:03.64
100-yard Backstroke: Hannah Smith, 55:34
200-yard Backstroke: Hannah Smith, 1:59.01
100-yard Breaststroke: Morgan Rosentreter, 1:05.40
200-yard Breaststroke: Morgan Rosentreter, 2:25.81
200-yard Individual Medley: Margaret Kelly, 2:02.88
400-yard Individual Medley: Margaret Kelly, 4:17.60
200-yard Freestyle Relay: 1:34.17 (Smith, Mehesan, P.Johnson, Kelly)
400-yard Freestyle Relay: 3:26.97 (Smith, P. Johnson, L. Cole, Martin)
200-yard Medley Relay: 1:45.25 (P. Johnson, Koselka, Dauw, Moodie)
400-yard Medley Relay: 3:46.52 (Smith, Kelly, P. Johnson, Koselka)
One-Meter Diving (Dual): Amanda Lohman, 283.88^
Three-Meter Diving (Dual): Stephanie O'Callaghan, 303.15^
* NCAA automatic qualifying time
# NCAA consideration time
^ NCAA zone diving qualifying mark
r achieved on first leg of relay
! Big Ten record
@ Michigan school record
Kelly Leading the Way
Junior Margaret Kelly(Ann Arbor, Mich./Pioneer) has continued to improve on last season's breakout campaign. So far, Kelly has finished in the top two in six of the eight races that she has competed in this season. Kelly has picked up a team-leading four individual wins this season in the pool and has never finished lower than fourth. The Ann Arbor native holds the top time in six different individual events for the Wolverines this season.
Lohman Dominates From the Start
Freshman Amanda Lohman(Pittsburgh, Pa./Upper St. Clair) has emerged as Michigan's top diver just three meets into her freshman season. Lohman is 3-0 in one-meter diving this season and she picked up her first win of her collegiate career in the three-meter event with a win at Toledo last Friday (Oct. 24). The Pittsburgh, Pa., native has already qualified for the Zone C Diving Championships in both the one- and three-meter events.
Breaking .500
U-M has competed against Big 12 teams four times in team history, going 2-2 in those dual meets. The Wolverines have faced the Longhorns three times, going 1-2, and Nebraska once, winning the only meeting 220-148.
| Top Individual Finishes | |||
| Swimmers | 1st | 2nd | 3rd |
| Margaret Kelly | 4 | 2 | 0 |
| Hannah Smith | 2 | 2 | 1 |
| Caitlin Dauw | 2 | 0 | 1 |
| Payton Johnson | 1 | 2 | 1 |
| Leigh Cole | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Noelle Martin | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Morgan Rosentreter | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Natasha Moodie | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Alexa Mehesan | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| Emily Hanson | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Liz Koselka | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Divers | 1st | 2nd | 3rd |
| Amanda Lohman | 4 | 0 | 1 |
| Stephanie O'Callaghan | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| Jillian Drow | 0 | 2 | 1 |
Wolverines in the Rankings
The University of Michigan women's swimming team was voted 14th in the nation in the preseason CSCAA Coaches Poll. The Wolverines, who ended last season ranked 11th, finished ninth at the 2008 NCAA Championships and return one All-American and four honorable mention All-Americans.
| Rank | Team | Points | Final 07-08 |
| 1 | Arizona (8) | 240 | 4 |
| 2 | Georgia | 229 | 1 (tie) |
| 3 | Stanford | 226 | 1 (tie) |
| 4 | Florida | 210 | 3 |
| 5 | California | 203 | 8 |
| 6 | Auburn | 200 | 5 |
| 7 | Texas | 198 | 20 |
| 8 | Indiana | 177 | 22 |
| 9 | Texas A&M | 170 | 6 |
| 10 | Tennessee | 169 | 7 |
| 11 | Minnesota | 169 | 9 |
| 12 | Southern Methodist | 150 | 14 |
| 13 | Virginia | 143 | 10 |
| 14 | Michigan | 127 | 11 |
| 15 | North Carolina | 121 | 13 |
| 16 | Southern California | 110 | 15 |
| 17 | UCLA | 100 | 16 |
| 18 | Missouri | 95 | 23 |
| 19 | Penn State | 91 | 12 |
| 20 | Arizona State | 90 | 17 |
| 21 | Arkansas | 6 | NR |
| 22 | Northwestern | 64 | NR |
| 23 | Wisconsin | 57 | 21 |
| 24 | Utah | 47 | NR |
| 25 | Alabama | 42 | NR |
Live Stats Again
Follow all home U-M swimming events on the web for the fifth straight season at MGoBlue.com, which will provide live scoring for all of Michigan's scheduled meets at Canham Natatorium.
The Leaders of the Wolverines
Michigan head swimming coach Jim Richardson enters his 24th season at the helm for the Wolverines. Over that time, his teams have dominated the Big Ten, winning 12 consecutive league titles from 1987-98 to add to the program's 13th in 2001 and 14th in 2004. Since taking over in 1985-86, Michigan has finished in the NCAA top 10 on 14 occasions. In 1995, U-M finished in second place as a team, following that in 1996 by hosting the NCAA Championships and finishing third.
Richardson holds a career record of 155-53 in dual-meet competition, including an impressive 102-13 mark in Big Ten action. Richardson has coached nine individual national champions, 155 NCAA All-Americans and 179 honorable mention All-Americans. On the conference level, he has guided 159 individual and relay conference champions and has been named the Big Ten Coach of the Year six times. A two-time NCAA Coach of the Year (1993, '95), Richardson's athletes have excelled in the classroom as well as the pool with 30 CSCAA Academic All-Americans and 221 Academic All-Big Ten nominations.
Chris Bergre enters his seventh season as the head diving coach, and Stefanie Kerska begins her 11th season as an assistant to Richardson.
Upcoming Schedule
Fri-Sun., Nov. 21-23, 9 a.m./6 p.m. -- at Texas A&M Invitational (College Station, Texas)
Contact: Joe Arancio (734) 763-4423
Players Mentioned
