Michigan
NCAA Championships
Wolverines Take Sixth Place at NCAA Championships
3/29/2008 12:00:00 AM | Men's Swimming & Diving
Site: Federal Way, Wash. (Weyerhaeuser King County Aquatic Center)
Event: NCAA Championships (Day 3)
U-M Team Finish: 6th Place (271.5 Points)
Next U-M Event: Season Completed
Photo Gallery
FEDERAL WAY, Wash. -- Sophomore Scott Spann(Austin, Texas/Westlake) touched the wall second in the 200-yard breaststroke to earn his second individual All-America accolade as the University of Michigan men's swimming and diving team finished sixth in the NCAA Championships on Saturday (March 29) in Weyerhaeuser King County Aquatic Center. The Wolverines compiled 271.5 points to finish in the top 10 for the eighth straight season.
Spann entered the final of the 200-yard breaststroke the No. 1 seed after posting a preliminary time of 1:53.76, but after the first 50 yards he was in fourth and had a lot to make up in a short time. By the midway point he had moved into third, and it took the fastest 50-yard split of the event (29.05) to claim second place in 1:54.16. Stanford's Paul Kornfeld won the title with a time of 1:53.11. Spann's second-place performance moved him into second in the individual scoring for the Wolverines with 32 points for the meet.
Junior Matt Patton(Matthews, N.C./Butler HS) opened the final night of the championships by finishing fourth in the 1,650-yard freestyle for the second straight season. Patton tapped in with a time of 14:47.18, nearly two seconds faster then last year's pace. Patton earned two individual All-American accolades and accounted for 27 points.
Sophomore Andre Schultz(Sao Paulo, Brazil/Colegio Palmares) followed in the next event with an eighth-place finish in the 200-yard backstroke with a time of 1:42.74. Schultz claimed his two All-American accolades and 25 points for the Maize and Blue.
Seniors Alex Vanderkaay(Rochester, Mich./Adams HS) and Dane Grenda(Hockessin, Del./Salesianum HS) competed in the consolation final of the 200-yard butterfly and finished second and fourth -- 10th and 14th overall -- with times of 1:44.33 and 1:44.61, respectively. Vanderkaay led the Wolverines in scoring for the Championships, collecting 42 points and two All-America accolades.
Junior Bobby Savulich(Edison, N.J./St. Joseph) ended the individual scoring for the Wolverines, finishing tied for 15th in the 100-yard freestyle with a time of 43.52. Cesar Cielo of Auburn won the event, posting an NCAA-record time of 40.92 to become the first swimmer to crack 41.00 in the event.
Vanderkaay closed the door on his collegiate career in the consolation final of the 400-yard freestyle relay by touching the wall first as the final leg of Michigan's team with Savulich, sophomore Chris Brady(Wilmington, Del./Mount Pleasant) and freshman Tyler Clary(Riverside, Calif./Poly HS). The quartet posted a time of 2:54.40 to claim the Wolverines' final 18 points of the meet.
Championship award information and complete results can be found at www.ncaa.com.
Final Team Standings (Top 10)
1. Arizona 500.5 2. Texas 406 3. Stanford 344 4. California 332.5 5. Auburn 316 6. MICHIGAN 271.5 7. Georgia 229 8. Florida 210 9. Tennessee 172 10. Indiana 166
Event Winners/U-M Finishers (Day 3)
(Preliminary time in parentheses for U-M if faster than finals time)
1,650-yard Freestyle 1. Sebastian Rouault, Georgia 14:26.86 4. Matt Patton, U-M 14:47.18 200-yard Backstroke 1. Pat Schirk, PSU 1:40.22 8. Andre Schultz, U-M 1:42.74 (1:42.40) 19. Tyler Clary, U-M 1:43.89 31. Sal Barba, U-M 1:45.90 100-yard Freestyle 1. Ceasar Cielo, Auburn 40.92* 15. Bobby Savulich, U-M 43.52 200-yard Breaststroke 1. Paul Kornfeld, Stanford 1:53.11 2. Scott Spann, U-M 1:54.16 (1:53.76) 200-yard Butterfly 1. Gil Stovall, Georgia 1:41.33* 10. Alex Vanderkaay, U-M 1:44.33 (1:43.96) 12. Curtis Dauw, U-M 1:44.61 28. Dane Grenda, U-M 1:47.07 30. Alon Mandel, U-M 1:47.80 Platform Diving 1. Sean Moore, Ohio State 478.20* 400-yard Freestyle Relay 1. Arizona 2:49.01 9. Michigan 2:53.58 (Bobby Savulich, Chris Brady, Tyler Clary, Alex Vanderkaay)
* NCAA meet record
Previous Results:Day 1 | Day 2
Q U O T E S
Michigan Head Coach Bob Bowman
On the team's overall performance... "I'm pleased with our overall effort. Considering the energy we put into the Big Ten Championships, I really feel like we did very well here. We have some time before we are in the top five or three in this meet, and this just gives us a good yardstick to measure where we are and what we need to do to get there."
On performing well after the Big Ten Championships... "The boys showed a lot of character and a lot of the times they posted were as good or better than they were at Big Tens, so that is a significant achievement considering what we did at Big Tens."
U-M Sophomore Scott Spann
On finishing second in the 200-yard breaststroke... "I was a little disappointed. I was happy to get second but a little disappointed that I didn't get a faster time. It's always a little disappointing to get second when you really want to win that prize the whole season."
On receiving the award from his father... "I got the award from him last year as well. He always likes to do it so it is pretty fun. He told me he was proud of me, to keep my head up, and that I have a lot to look forward to this summer."
U-M Senior Alex Vanderkaay
On performing in his final meet at Michigan... "During the meet it didn't really register in terms of nerves or anything like that, it just felt like a regular meet. It kind of settles in now that I'm done, but in the back of my mind I just wanted to go out right."
On winning the consolation heat of the 400-yard freestyle relay... "I was a little disappointed that we didn't get in the top heat, but we just decided to do the best with what we had. So winning the consolation heat was really big for us. I don't want to say it felt good going out with a win, but winning the consolation felt good."
On the team next season... "The team has nowhere to go but up. We had a couple freshmen this year that came close to making the meet and I'm pretty confident that they will make it next year. They really don't lose anyone from the relays plus we have Evan Ryser returning and a great incoming freshman in Dan Madwed, so there is really nowhere to go but up."
Contact: Jeremiah Hergott (734) 763-4423
Players Mentioned
