Wolverines Win SMU Classic for Second Straight Season

Saturday, January 16

Dallas, Texas

7:30 PM

Michigan

SMU Classic

Wolverines Win SMU Classic for Second Straight Season

1/17/2010 12:00:00 AM | Men's Swimming & Diving

Jan. 17, 2010

Site: Dallas, Texas (Perkins Natatorium)
Event: SMU Classic (Day 2 of 2)
U-M Team Standing: 1st of Six Teams (307.5 points)
Next U-M Event: Fri-Sat., Jan. 29-30 -- at Ohio State with Northwestern and Penn State (Columbus, Ohio), 6 p.m./Noon

DALLAS, Texas -- Despite not winning a championship final on the second day of competition, the No. 7-ranked University of Michigan men's swimming and diving team picked up its second consecutive title at the SMU Classic on Saturday (Jan. 16) at Perkins Natatorium. U-M accumulated 307.5 points, while Swim MAC Carolina finished runner-up with 289 points.

The Wolverines did pick up three wins in consolation finals to help secure its title. Senior Alon Mandel (Netanya, Israel/Eldad) won the consolation final of the 200-yard backstroke (1:46.98), senior Charlie Houchin (Raleigh, N.C./William G. Enloe) won his heat in the 500-yard freestyle (4:24.75) and senior André Schultz (Sao Paolo, Brazil/Colegio Palmares) did the same in the 200-yard individual medley (1:47.88). Each consolation win put seven points on the board for the Wolverines.

Junior Tyler Clary (Riverside, Calif./Riverside Poly) recorded a pair of runner-up finishes, touching second in both the 200-yard backstroke (1:44.21) and the 200-yard individual medley (1:48.60).

In the 200-yard butterfly, sophomore Dan Madwed (Stamford, Conn./Towson) took third (1:47.25) with senior captain Chris Brady (Wilmington, Del./Mount Pleasant) hitting the wall in 1:46.66 to place second in the consolation final.

The Wolverines led off the meet with a runner-up showing in the 200-yard medley relay as the quartet of Mandel, junior Neal Kennedy (Chanhassen, Minn./Chaska), Brady and fifth-year senior Evan Ryser (Katy, Texas/James E. Taylor) touched the wall in 1:28.40.

U-M will take a week off before heading to Columbus, Ohio, for a matchup with No. 12 Ohio State, Penn State and Northwestern (Jan. 29-30). Action will begin Jan. 29 at 5 p.m.

Final Team Standings

1. MICHIGAN              307.502. Swim MAC Carolina     2893. Southern Methodist    287.504. Florida               2865. Southern California   2606. Purdue                214

Event Winners/U-M Finishers

200-yard Medley Relay 1. Swim MAC                        1:28.26 2. MICHIGAN                        1:28.40#   (Alon Mandel, Neal Kennedy,    Chris Brady, Evan Ryser)
500-yard Freestyle 1. JP Arnold, Swim MAC             4:21.98 4. Dan Madwed, U-M                 4:26.17# 7. Charlie Houchin, U-M            4:24.75
200-yard Breaststroke 1. Tom Cole, SMU                   1:57.75 3. Andre Schultz, U-M              2:01.49 9. Neal Kennedy, U-M               2:02.58
200-yard Backstroke 1. Nicholas Thomas, Swim MAC       1:41.84 2. Tyler Clary, U-M                1:44.21# 7. Alon Mandel, U-M                1:46.98
Three-meter Diving 1. M. Culbertson, SMU               388.60 5. Chris Morrison, U-M              288.80
100-yard Freestyle 1. Cullen Jones                      44.70 6. Charlie Houchin, U-M              45.9210. Evan Ryser, U-M                   45.73
200-yard Butterfly 1. Clemen Lefert, USC              1:44.28 3. Dan Madwed, U-M                 1:47.25# 8. Chris Brady, U-M                1:46.66#
200-yard Individual Medley 1. Omar Pinzon, Florida            1:47.61 2. Tyler Clary, U-M                1:48.60# 7. Andre Schultz, U-M              1:47.88#
200-yard Freestyle Relay 1. Southern California             1:21.05 5. MICHIGAN                        1:21.70   (Chris Brady, Neal Kennedy,    Alon Mandel, Evan Ryser)
# NCAA Consideration Time

• Previous Results: Day One

N O T E S

• In the individual events of the SMU Invite, each school selects one swimmer to participate in the championship heat and one swimmer to compete in the consolation heat, and team points are awarded for finishes in each heat.

• Michigan was one of four ranked teams at the event. Also participating were No. 6 Florida, No 13 Southern California and No. 19 Purdue. SMU is unranked and Swim MAC Carolina is a club team.

• Michigan won its third invitational title of the season. U-M also won the USA Swimming Short Course National Championships (Dec. 3-5) and the Orange Bowl Classic (Jan. 2).

• U-M had seven NCAA consideration times on the evening.

• The Wolverines won last year's Classic with 346 points.

Q U O T E S

Michigan Head Coach Mike Bottom
On his team's balanced performance ... "Last year, it was a little bit easier. Our goal is always to get a hand on the wall ahead of somebody. The points, especially in this meet, matter. Anytime you beat the team ahead of you, the points flip. We had some strong consolation final swims and that was what helped us tonight. Chris Brady really surprised us in the 200 fly and Andre Schultz swam really well in the 200 back consolation final with Tyler Clary swimming well in that final. There are a lot of good swimmers at this meet. You have Florida, one of the best teams in the country, USC, the professional crew (Swim MAC). This is what they do."

On where his team goes from here, entering an important stretch of the schedule ... "That is part of what we are trying to do, especially with these nine guys. We take these leaders, who are upperclassmen and our top guys. We want to give them a mentality that they take back and it becomes infectious. We are going to have some battles coming up, beginning with Ohio State. They are a great team that we have to get through. Then we have Big Tens, then the NCAAs. We need to be gearing up and gathering momentum throughout the next two weeks and carry that throughout the rest of the season."

Contact: Sarah VanMetre (734) 763-4423