Michigan
SMU Classic
Haughey Bests School Record; U-M Finishes Third at SMU Classic
10/14/2017 10:21:00 PM | Women's Swimming & Diving
» Siobhán Haughey lowered her school record and swam an NCAA "A" time in the 100-yard freestyle (47.22); her previous mark was 47.39.
» As a team, the Wolverines had 11 top-two finishes in all events on Saturday.
» Becca Postoll (500-yard freestyle), Gabby DeLoof (200-yard backstroke) and Catie DeLoof (100-yard backstroke) all won their respective "B" finals.
Site: Lewisville, Texas (Westside Aquatic Center)
Event: SMU Classic (Day 2 of 2)
U-M Team Standing: 3rd Place of 6 Teams (322 points)
Next U-M Event: Fri-Sat., Oct. 20-21 -- at Louisville (Louisville, Ky.), TBA
LEWISVILLE, Texas -- Junior Siobhán Haughey lowered her school record in the 100-yard freestyle (47.22) by 0.17 seconds to pace the University of Michigan women's swimming and diving team at the SMU Classic on Saturday (Oct. 14) inside the Westside Aquatic Center. The Wolverines had 11 top-two finishes in all events on Saturday, coming in third in the team race (322 points) to USC (331) and Louisville (330.5).
"Obviously, first and foremost, this was about the team. They fought for each other and fought for their teammates back home in Ann Arbor," said associate head coach Rick Bishop. "Our racing was great. We didn't rest as much this year because we wanted to put ourselves in a more challenging position. We want to go up against the best in the country and we know that a performance like this only elevates our entire team.
"They were excited. Their spirits were high and there was a lot of camaraderie. But we always believe we can be better. We're seeking improvement."
Each of the six teams at the SMU Classic had a roster comprised of nine student-athletes (eight swimmers, one diver). There were two heats per event with each team having entered one swimmer per heat; the team's best swimmer went in the championship final.
Michigan had a total of seven runner-up finishes on Saturday. Senior Clara Smiddy had two of them: one coming in the 200-yard IM (1:56.97), the other in the 200-yard backstroke (1:52.52). Haughey went stroke-for-stroke with Louisville's Mallory Comerford in the 100-yard freestyle and were virtually tied at the halfway point. Though Comerford won, Haughey still touched in with an NCAA "A" time and lowered her school record in the process. Junior Yirong Bi raced Comerford earlier in the evening in the 500-yard freestyle and actually led with 100 yards to go, but Comerford chased her down, pushing Bi to second (4:40.37).
Freshman Nikki Canale had a two-place improvement from the night before, taking second on the three-meter springboard (268.60).
The Wolverines kept the team race close thanks largely to consolation wins from junior Becca Postoll (500-yard freestyle), senior Gabby DeLoof (200-yard backstroke) and junior Catie DeLoof (100-yard freestyle). Of note were performances from Postoll, whose time of 4:41.32 would have been third in the championship final and Catie DeLoof, who beat Louisville's Lainey Visscher by 0.01 seconds (49.18). Haughey also put up a solid second-place showing in the 200-yard breaststroke (2:08.92), third-fastest of the evening.
The team also took second in both the 200-yard medley relay (1:38.82) and in the 200-yard freestyle relay (1:29.98)
Michigan will see one of these teams again next week, hitting the road for a two-day dual with Louisville. The action begins Friday (Oct. 20) at 5 p.m.
Players Mentioned
