Wolverines Second at USA Short Course Nationals

Thursday, December 3

Federal Way, Wash.

5:00 PM

Michigan

USA Swimming Short Course Nationals

12/3/2009 12:00:00 AM | Men's Swimming & Diving

Dec. 3, 2009

Site: Federal Way, Wash. (Weyerhaeuser King County Aquatic Center)
Event: AT&T USA Swimming Short Course National Championships (Day 1 of 3)
Standing: 2nd, College/University Division (63 points)
Next U-M Event: Friday, Dec. 4 -- AT&T USA Swimming Short Course National Championships - Day 2 (Federal Way, Wah.), 9 a.m./5 p.m. PST

FEDERAL WAY, Wash. -- After the first day of competition at the AT&T USA Swimming Short Course National Championships Thursday (Dec. 3), the No. 7-ranked University of Michigan men's swimming team sits in second place in the college/university division after a runner-up finish and three fourth-place showings at the Weyerhaeuser King County Aquatic Center.

Senior André Schultz (Sao Paolo, Brazil/Colegio Palmares) took runner-up honors in the 200-yard individual medley with an NCAA 'B' time of 1:45.67 to lead the Wolverines on the first day of the three-day event. Schultz led Longhorn Aquatic's Eric Shanteau after the butterfly and backstroke, but Shanteau capitalized on a 28.99 breaststroke split to take the lead. Schultz closed with a 25.51 freestyle split, but it was not enough as Shanteau won with a time of 1:44.05.

Senior Charlie Houchin (Raleigh, N.C./William G. Enloe) led four U-M swimmers in the top eight of the 500-yard freestyle, finishing with a fourth-place time of 4:22.12. Freshman Hassaan Abdel Khalik (Mississauga, Ontario/Silverthorn Collegiate) finished sixth (4:22.65), while senior Adam DeJong (Holland, Mich./Holland) was seventh (4:23.88) and junior Tyler Clary (Riverside, Calif./Riverside Poly) placed eighth with a time of 4:27.05. All four of U-M's swimmers in the championship final achieved NCAA 'B' consideration marks.

In relay action, the quartet of senior Chris Brady (Wilmington, Del./Mount Pleasant), senior Alon Mandel (Netanya, Israel/Eldad), junior Neal Kennedy (Chanhassen, Minn./Chaska) and senior Evan Ryser (Katy, Texas/James E. Taylor) combined for a time of 1:20.66 for a fourth-place finish in the 200-yard freestyle relay to kick off the night's events.

The Wolverines again finished fourth in the 400-yard medley relay to conclude the evening, as Mandel, Kennedy, Brady and Ryser teamed up once more to hit the wall in 3:13.95, just 2.95 seconds behind the first-place team from California.

Preliminary action will resume tomorrow (Friday, Dec. 4) at 9 a.m. PST, with finals slated for 5 p.m. PST. Tomorrow's scheduled events are the 200-yard medley relay, 400-yard individual medley, 100-yard butterfly, 200-yard freestyle, 100-yard breaststroke, 100-yard backstroke and 800-yard freestyle relay.

College/University Division Standings (After Day One)

 1. California             64 2. MICHIGAN               63 3. Iowa                   53 4. Southern California    43

Event Winners/U-M Finishers (Day One)
Preliminary time in parenthesis if faster than final time

200-yard Freestyle Relay     1. California                            1:18.13 4. MICHIGAN                              1:20.66#   (Chris Brady, Alon Mandel,    Neal Kennedy, Evan Ryser) 7. MICHIGAN                              1:22.38   (Evan Gregg, Miguel Ortiz,    Sam Hoekstra, Roman Willets)
500-yard Freestyle 1. Peter Vanderkaay, Club Wolverine      4:12.60 4. Charlie Houchin, U-M                  4:22.12# 6. Hassaan Abdel Khalik, U-M             4:22.65# 7. Adam DeJong, U-M                      4:23.88# 8. Tyler Clary, U-M                      4:27.05# (4:24.98) 9. Dan Madwed, U-M                       4:22.31#13. Ryan Feeley, U-M                      4:24.23#21. Jared Miller, U-M                     4:28.67
200-yard Individual Medley 1. Eric Shanteau, Longhorn Aquatic       1:44.05 2. Andre Schultz, U-M                    1:45.67#11. Tyler Clary, U-M                      1:49.00#17. Dan Madwed, U-M                       1:48.16#
50-yard Freestyle 1. Nathan Adrian, California               19.0811. Chris Brady, U-M                        20.29#
400-yard Medley Relay 1. California                            3:11.00 4. MICHIGAN                              3:13.95#   (Alon Mandel, Neal Kennedy,    Chris Brady, Evan Ryser) 6. MICHIGAN                              3:16.17#   (Andre Schultz, James Ridgeway,    Sean Fletcher, Charlie Houchin) 
# NCAA 'B' consideration time

N O T E S

• International swimmers (those who cannot represent the United States in international competitions) cannot score points for their respective teams. Michigan's foreign-born athletes participating at the event are Hassaan Abdel Khalik (Canada), Alon Mandel (Israel), Miguel Ortiz (Japan) and André Schultz (Brazil).

• Michigan is the defending champion in the college/university division. The Wolverines won the Short Course National Championships last year, accumulating 517 team points.

• The Wolverines achieved a total of 13 NCAA 'B' marks. U-M had at least one mark in every event competed in.

• André Schultz improved upon his 2008 seventh-place finish in the 200-yard individual medley to finish runner-up this year.

• California set a new meet record in the 200-yard freestyle relay (1:18.13), breaking the standard Michigan set last year. The foursome of Chris Brady, Charlie Houchin, Alon Mandel and Bobby Savulich finished in 1:19.13 in 2008.

• U-M alum and Club Wolverine swimmer Peter Vanderkaay (2003-06) participated at the event, winning the 500-yard freestyle (4:12.60).

• Going into the meet, Tyler Clary was seeded first in both the 200-yard individual medley and 500-yard freestyle.

Contact: Sarah VanMetre (734) 763-4423