Wolverines Win Second Consecutive Title at Short Course Nationals

Saturday, December 5

Federal Way, Wash.

5:00 PM

Michigan

USA Swimming Short Course Nationals

Wolverines Win Second Consecutive Title at Short Course Nationals

12/6/2009 12:00:00 AM | Men's Swimming & Diving

Dec. 6, 2009

Site: Federal Way, Wash. (Weyerhaeuser King County Aquatic Center)
Event: AT&T USA Swimming Short Course National Championships (Day 3 of 3)
Standing: 1st, College/University Division (281 points)
Next U-M Event: Sunday, Dec. 6 -- at Long Course Invitational (Federal Way, Wash.), 9 a.m. PST

FEDERAL WAY, Wash. -- In second place to begin the final day of competition, the No. 7-ranked University of Michigan men's swimming and diving team accumulated 109 points to clinch its second consecutive title at the AT&T USA Swimming Short Course National Championships on Saturday (Dec. 5) at the Weyerhaeuser King County Aquatic Center. The Wolverines capitalized on four top-five individual showings to rally for the overall team win.

The Wolverines used a fourth-place finish in the 400-yard freestyle relay to clinch the team title, putting 30 points on the board to out-distance runner-up California. The foursome of senior Chris Brady (Wilmington, Del./Mount Pleasant), junior Neal Kennedy (Chanhassen, Minn./Chaska), Dan Madwed (Stamford, Conn./Towson) and Charlie Houchin (Raleigh, N.C./William G. Enloe) combined for a time of 2:58.09.

U-M grabbed the team lead earlier in the evening when freshman Ryan Feeley (Rye, N.Y./Rye) took fifth in the 1,650-yard freestyle (15:14.14), with Houchin placing seventh (15:20.05).
Junior Tyler Clary (Riverside, Calif./Riverside Poly) led the Maize and Blue on the final day of competition, grabbing a pair of individual third-place finishes. Clary placed third in the 200-yard backstroke with a consideration time of 1:42.47 and in the 200-yard butterfly (1:45.54) to hit his second NCAA 'B' time of the evening.

Senior André Schultz (Sao Paolo, Brazil/Colegio Palmares) continued his strong performance at the Championships, taking sixth in the 200-yard backstroke with a 'B' time of 1:44.71. Madwed was right behind Clary in the 200-yard butterfly, taking fifth with a time of 1:45.61.

The Wolverines will now switch to meters for the first time this season, participating in the Long Course Invitational tomorrow (Sunday, Dec. 6) at the Weyerhaeuser King County Aquatic Center. The first session will begin at 9 a.m. PST, with the second session starting an hour after the conclusion of first session.

Final College/University Division Standings

1. MICHIGAN               2812. California             2353. Southern California    1804. Iowa                   134

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

1,650-yard Freestyle 1. Peter Vanderkaay, Club Wolverine     14:37.98 5. Ryan Feeley, U-M                     15:14.14# 7. Charlie Houchin, U-M                 15:20.05#19. Adam DeJong, U-M                     15:46.8222. Dane Vanderkaay, U-M                 15:52.1327. Chris Douville, U-M                  15:57.97
200-yard Backstroke 1. David Russell, California Aquatic     1:40.41 3. Tyler Clary, U-M                      1:42.47# 6. Andre Schultz, U-M                    1:44.71# (1:43.97)14. Alon Mandel, U-M                      1:47.0315. Connor McCarroll, U-M                 1:48.07  (1:47.59)17. Alexander Hoff, U-M                   1:46.9624. Chris Douville, U-M                   1:52.45  (1:48.80)
100-yard Freestyle 1. Nathan Adrian, California               41.8012. Chris Brady, U-M                        44.18#22. Charlie Houchin, U-M                    45.43  (45.13)
200-yard Breaststroke 1. Michael Alexandrov, Unattached        1:52.8119. Jared Miller, U-M                     2:02.53  (2:01.71)23. Andre Schultz, U-M                    2:03.71  (2:01.90)
200-yard Butterfly 1. Hidemasa Sano, Trojan Swim Club       1:41.15 3. Tyler Clary, U-M                      1:45.54# 5. Dan Madwed, U-M                       1:45.61#22. Adam DeJong, U-M                      1:51.30  (1:50.75)
400-yard Freestyle Relay 1. California                            2:51.80 4. MICHIGAN                              2:58.09#   (Chris Brady, Neal Kennedy,    Dan Madwed, Charlie Houchin) 5. MICHIGAN                              2:58.16#   (Hassaan Abdel Khalik, Andre Schultz,    Tyler Clary, Evan Ryser)

• Previous Results: Day One | Day Two

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

• The Wolverines picked up nine NCAA 'B' marks on the final day of competition. Overall, Michigan had 38 'B' marks over the course of the three-day meet.

• U-M alum and Club Wolverine swimmer Peter Vanderkaay (2003-06) won the 1,650-yard freestyle in a time of 14:37.98.

• Freshman Ryan Feeley had a season-best time in the 1,650-yard freestyle, placing fifth in 15:14.14. His mark is the fastest by a Wolverine this season, bettering Adam DeJong's previous time of 15:26.84.

• Tyler Clary won a meet high-point award.

Q U O T E S

Michigan Head Coach Mike Bottom
On what he wanted to accomplish at the meet ... "What we wanted coming in to the meet was to not be rested and swim the events that we will be swimming at the end of the year and learn how to swim them. Not trusting that we are rested but trusting in our goals. We wanted to focus on things that they needed to learn and do right when it is the end of a race. And guys swam fast, which was a lot of fun. It was a secondary goal for us, but it was a great experience. It was great to have Peter Vanderkaay here with us. He did really well and it is nice to have that kind of presence around the team."

On individual swimmers and performances ... "Neal Kennedy was a pleasant surprise for us. He performed well in the 100 breaststroke and on the relays. He had a great meet, all around. He is a guy who just grew up through the program. (Former head coach) Bob (Bowman) did a great job with him, and he jumped into our program and bought into it.

"Andre Schultz was just a stud. He swam a lot of events for us. Being a senior captain, he was a great leader during the weekend. It was great to see him step up and take his role of leadership with this team.

"Tyler Clary has been sick lately and he did some great swimming tonight. He was at about 85 percent physically. One of the things we talked about was that he needed to rely on his understanding of swimming and understanding of what we have been working on all year. For example, in the IM, he changed his back to breast turn, something we have been working on in practice. He made it part of his race. He worked hard underwater in a way he has never done before. Once he gets healthy and combine it with these learning points, I am excited to see what we can get out of him.

On the dedication of his athletes in and out of the pool ... "These guys are studying hard for exams and most of them are staying up late doing some studying since we have been here. I see a lot of them finishing up papers, so they are not just being athletes here; they are being student-athletes, which is something we really strive for."

U-M Junior Tyler Clary
On the meet ... "As the meet started off, I was pretty upset the first day because I did not perform how I wanted to. The second day, I came back with the attitude that this is going to be the kind of a meet where I can work on the details. I kind of had to force myself to focus on hitting my walls, going underwater, hitting my breakouts. As the meet progressed, my mindset changed a little bit, allowing me to turn in some swims that were respectable, especially for not being rested or completely healthy. Once I get through all this, I am excited for how the end of the season is going to look."

On becoming a leader this season ... "Coach had a talk with me after the prelims on the second day where we were talking about scratching in an event. I decided not to, based on my knowing that some of the guys, especially the freshmen, look around at what the upperclassmen do. I wanted to set the example that it does not matter how you are feeling, you have to get the work done. I chose to stay in it and show them that this is how we do it. I felt bad that I was visibly upset earlier in the meet. I worked on setting my mood and turning that around. I wanted to fix that so it did not get worse and spread around the team."

Contact: Sarah VanMetre (734) 763-4423