Phelps, Vanderkaay Turn in 1-2 Finish at Olympic Trials

U-M Results

OMAHA, Neb. C The United States Olympic Team Trials for swimming continued on Tuesday (July 1) with Michael Phelps and Peter Vanderkaay (2003-06) turning in another 1-2 finish, this time in the 200-meter freestyle. The pair also swept the top two spots in the 400-meter freestyle on Sunday (June 29), with Phelps earning a Olympic roster spot after placing first.Vanderkaay will likely qualifyfor the Olympic squad in the event that swimmers automatically qualify in multiple events.

University of Michigan swimmers also dominated the 200-meter butterfly, led by alumnus Davis Tarwater (2003-06) and Phelps who enter Wednesday night's (July 2) finals as the top two seeds. Five of the eight finalists in the 200 fly have Ann Arbor ties with Phelps, Tarwater, incoming freshman Dan Madwed(Stamford, Conn./Towson HS), junior Matt Patton(Matthews, N.C./Butler HS) and senior Alex Vanderkaay(Rochester, Mich./Adams HS).

Phelps easily claimed victory in the first of his two events on day three of the Trials, finishing a full body length ahead of the 200-meter freestyle field. Vanderkaay held the lead after the first 50-meters, but could not hold off Phelps' world-record pace. The two will most likely be joined in Beijing by training partner Erik Vendt who finished sixth in the event, thereby potentially earning a spot on the 800-meter freestyle relay.

The morning preliminaries of the 200-meter butterfly featured a total of nine swimmers affiliated with the University of Michigan. After 11 morning heats, Tarwater entered the evening's semifinals as the top seed with a personal-best 1:55.15. Joining him in the semis were training partners Phelps, Patton, Alex Vanderkaay, Curtis Dauw(St. Charles, Ill./St. Charles East HS), as well as Madwed.

In the semifinals, Tarwater held the lead after the first 100 meters of the race, but after the turn, Phelps crept past him in the final 50 meters to seal the victory. With a time of 1:54.72, Tarwater became the second-fastest American ever in the 200-meter butterfly, and along with Phelps, led a 1-2-3-4 "Michigan" finish in the heat with Madwed and Alex Vanderkaay.

Rounding out the Wolverine contingent in the 200 fly were freshman Tony Wahl(Detroit, Mich./Detroit Jesuit HS), senior Dane Grenda(Hockessin, Del./Salesianum HS) and sophomore Charlie Houchin(Raleigh, N.C./William G. Enloe HS) who finished 39th, 61st and tied for 69th, respectively.

The Trials continue through Sunday, July 6 with preliminaries beginning daily at 11 a.m. CDT and finals at 6:45 p.m. CDT. Television coverage from 8-9 p.m. Eastern time continues on USA Network through July 3 and returns to NBC for the final three days (July 4-6).

RESULTS

 Men's 200-meter Freestyle Finals 1. Michael Phelps, CW 1:44.10 2. Peter Vanderkaay, CW/U-M 1:45.85 6. Erik Vendt, CW 1:46.95

 Men's 100-meter Backstroke Finals 1. Aaron Piersol, TXLAST 52.89*

 Men's 200-meter Butterfly Semifinals 1. Michael Phelps, CW 1:54.02 2. Davis Tarwater, CW/U-M 1:54.72 5. Dan Madwed, NBAC/U-M 1:57.03 6. Matt Patton, U-M 1:57.04 7. Alex Vanderkaay, U-M 1:57.18 16. Curtis Dauw, U-M 2:00.78 (1:59.68p) 39. Tony Wahl, U-M 2:01.98 61. Dane Grenda, U-M 2:03.55 t69. Charlie Houchin, U-M 2:04.51 DNS Tyler Clary, U-M --