Weekly Release #4: U-M Competes at Orange Bowl Classic

This Week
Saturday, Jan. 3, 10 a.m. -- Orange Bowl Swimming Classic (Key Largo, Fla.) www.orangebowl.org

The No. 4-ranked University of Michigan men's swimming and diving team makes its first appearance in the pool in 2009 this Saturday (Jan. 3) when it competes in the Orange Bowl Swimming Classic at the Jacobs Aquatics Center in Key Largo, Fla. The meet is scheduled to begin at 10 a.m.

The Maize and Blue will be joined in Key Largo by Duke, Rutgers and defending Orange Bowl Classic champion George Mason. The event will be the culmination of the Wolverines' week-long training trip to south Florida. The Orange Bowl Classic is a sprint-style competition and will include 24 events.

CSCAA Division I Men's Poll
In the latest College Swim Coaches Association of America (CSCAA) poll released on Dec. 11, the Wolverines are ranked fourth, dropping one spot since the last poll was released (Nov. 13). The Maize and Blue remain the highest-ranked of six Big Ten schools in the current poll.

Rank	Team	Points	Previous
1	Texas	300	1
2	Stanford	285	2
3	Arizona	278	4
4	Michigan	272	3
5	California	250	4
6	Tennessee	248	7
7	Florida	245	6
8	Auburn	241	8
9	Minnesota	212	9
10	Ohio State	208	11
11	Georgia	190	10
12	Virginia	180	12
13	North Carolina	170	13
14	Indiana	139	14
15	Purdue	134	15
16	Louisville	128	18
17	Penn State	125	19
18	Florida State	119	20
19	LSU	118	16
20	SMU	102	17
21	Southern California	77	22
22	Missouri	74	21
23	Princeton	67	23
24	Kentucky	54	24
25	Alabama	43	NR

Patton Earns Swimmer of the Week Honors
Senior Matt Patton(Matthews, N.C./Butler) was named Big Ten Swimmer of the Week on Dec. 9 following his performance at USA Swimming Short Course Nationals. Patton took first-place honors in a pair of events at the meet, the 500- and 1,650-yard freestyle. Patton posted NCAA 'A' times in both events, taking the top spot in the 500 in 4:12.80 and touching the wall first in the 1,650 with a time of 14:50.34. He was also a member of the U-M 800-yard freestyle relay team that earned top honors. Patton swam the anchor leg on the first-place relay that also met the NCAA 'A' standard with a time of 6:20.86. In addition, Patton took second in the 200-yard freestyle with an NCAA consideration time of 1:34.98.

Wolverines Three-For-Three in Big Ten Laurels
With Patton's honor following USA Swimming Short Course Nationals, Maize and Blue swimmers have now earned weekly conference honors after each weekend of competition. Sophomore Tyler Clary(Riverside, Calif./Riverside Poly) earned the first weekly accolade following his performance in the season-opening dual against Florida; Clary was also named College Swimming's Counsilman Hunsaker National Collegiate Swimmer of the Week. Junior Andr Schultz(Sao Paulo, Brazil/Colegio Palmares) was then tabbed with conference honors after Michigan's second weekend of competition against Texas and Indiana.

Last Time in the Pool
U-M concluded the three-day USA Swimming Short Course Nationals, Dec. 4-6, by taking first place in the college/university division of the meet, held at the Georgia Tech Aquatics Center in Atlanta, Ga. The Maize and Blue dominated the division, taking the top spot with 517 points, well clear of second-place Auburn (331 points). Matt Patton earned first in the 500-yard freestyle and 1,650-yard freestyle, and Michigan also took top relay honors in the 200-yard freestyle relay and 800-yard freestyle relay.

Note the Schedule Change
Michigan's dual meet at Michigan State has been changed from Friday, Jan. 16, to Saturday, Feb. 7. The meet between the in-state rivals will be held on Feb. 7, at noon in East Lansing, Mich. With that move, U-M has also added the SMU Invite to its schedule. The Maize and Blue will compete in the two-day event, Jan. 16-17, in Dallas, Texas.

All in the Family
A number of members of this season's Michigan swimming and diving team have siblings that also swam for the Maize and Blue. Freshman Jason Austermann(Huntington Woods, Mich./Berkley) follows his brother, Johnny (2005-08), as a member of the U-M men's swimming and diving team. Junior Chris Brady's (Wilmington, Del./Mount Pleasant) sister, Kaitlyn, swam at Michigan (2004-07) and was the 2006 Big Ten Swimmer of the Year. Sophomore Chris Douville's (Dayton, Ohio/Archbishop Alter) brother, Nicolas (2002-05), also swam for the Maize and Blue. Junior Alon Mandel's (Netanya, Israel, Eldad) sister, Maya (2000-04), was a member of the Michigan women's swimming and diving team, while freshman Dane Vanderkaay(Rochester, Mich./Adams) has had three older brothers swim for U-M: Christian (2001-02, 04-05), Peter (2003-06) and Alex (2005-08).

Michigan signs 12 for 2009-10
Head coach Mike Bottom announced Wednesday, Nov. 26, that 11 student-athletes signed National Letters of Intent during the early signing period to join the team next season. The list of future Wolverines includes diver Kasey Allen(Louisville, Ky./duPont Manual) and swimmers Hassan Abdel-Khalik(Mississauga, Ontario/Silverthorn Collegiate Institute), Ryan Feeley(Rye, N.Y./Rye), Sean Fletcher(Vienna, Va./Madison), Evan Gregg(Blacksburg, Va./Blacksburg), Eric Huffman(Columbus, Ohio/Upper Arlington), Connor McCarroll(Portland, Ore./Jesuit), Andrew Novakoff(Lighthouse Point, Fla./Pine Crest School), Michael Swain(Ann Arbor, Mich./Huron), Roman Willets(Whitehouse, Ohio/St. Francis de Sales) and Kevin Wilson(Short Hills, N.J/Seton Hall Prep).

Bottom's Up
Mike Bottom is in 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. Among Bottom's athletes at the Beijing Games was 100-meter butterfly silver medalist Milorad Cavic of Serbia. 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 Wolverines will return to action next Saturday (Jan. 10) when they travel to Indiana to face the Hoosiers at the Counsilman-Billingsley Aquatics Center in Bloomington, Ind. The meet is scheduled to begin at noon.

Contact: Jeremy Reid (734) 763-4423