Michigan
UGA Fall Invitational
Women's Swimming and Diving Wins UGA Fall Invite for Second Straight Year
12/1/2018 5:53:00 PM | Women's Swimming & Diving
» Siobhán Haughey re-set her previously held school record in the 100-yard freestyle (46.72).
» The Wolverines went 1-2 in both the 200-yard breaststroke (Miranda Tucker, Jamie Yeung) and the 1,650-yard freestyle (Sierra Schmidt, Yirong Bi).
» Chloe Hicks won the 200-yard backstroke (1:54.00), vaulting to No. 4 on the school's all-time list.
Site: Athens, Ga. (Gabrielsen Natatorium)
Event: UGA Fall Invitational (Day 3 of 3)
U-M Team Standing: 1st of 6 Teams (944 points)
Next U-M Event: Thursday, Jan. 3 -- at Orange Bowl Classic (Key Largo, Fla.), TBA
• Complete Results (PDF)
ATHENS, Ga. -- Senior Siobhán Haughey re-set her school record in the 100-yard freestyle and was one of four swimmers to win events on Saturday (Dec. 1), helping the No. 2-ranked University of Michigan women's swimming and diving team win the UGA Fall Invitational for the second consecutive year. Over the three days at Gabrielsen Natatorium, U-M compiled 49 NCAA standards (eight 'A,' 36 'B,' five Zone Diving) and set six school records.
"At one point in the week, every single member of the team stepped up and did something extraordinary. That was our goal," said head coach Mike Bottom. "From the performance side, we put nine men and nine women under the invited times for NCAAs last year. That was part of it. The other part was moving some of our swimmers on the developmental end into positions where they could score at Big Tens. We're not quite there yet, but overall, we saw a lot of good things this weekend and we're moving in the right direction."
"As a group, we were really powerful," added diving coach Mike Hilde. "Everyone here scored. While we may not have one star, we have a team of divers who will go forward into the postseason with a lot of power and motivation. They did that this weekend."
Haughey finished her weekend by lowering her previously held school record in the 100-yard freestyle to 46.72, finishing second to Cal's Abbey Weitzeil. Her old record was 46.91, set last spring. Freshman Maggie MacNeil, who had a great week, took sixth with the fifth-fastest time in school history (48.25). Senior Catie DeLoof had the third seed out of the morning (47.76 -- a career best), but scratched out of the final.
The distance swimmers claimed a 1-2 finish in the 1,650-yard freestyle. Sophomore Sierra Schmidt won in 16:06.18, touching eight seconds ahead of teammate Yirong Bi, who was second (16:14.28).
Junior Chloe Hicks made a big move in the 200-yard backstroke, using a big last 100 yards to hold off a pair of Virginia swimmers to win (1:54.00). The junior, who is in her first year after transferring from Virginia Tech, now sits at No. 4 on the Michigan's all-time list for the event.
For the second day in a row, senior/junior Miranda Tucker and senior Jamie Yeung swept a breaststroke event, this time in the 200-yard breaststroke. Tucker won (2:08.53), while Yeung was second (2:10.26), though she managed to vault herself up to No. 4 on the school's all-time list.
Junior Vanessa Krause swam to a fourth-place finish in the 200-yard butterfly (1:56.19), while freshman Victoria Kwan raced to win the consolation heat (1:57.48).
On platform, sophomore Nikki Canale was the team's highest finisher, taking third (235.65). Sophomore/freshman Margaret Rogers also had a top-eight finish, claiming sixth (211.30).
The Wolverines closed the meet with a second-place finish in the 400-yard freestyle relay. The foursome of MacNeil, Haughey, senior Becca Postoll and Tucker came in at 3:14.16, an NCAA 'A' cut.
The Wolverines will return to the pool in 2019, competing at the annual Orange Bowl Classic in Key Largo, Florida, as part of the team's training trip. The start time for the event is to be announced.
NCAA Qualifying Times/Scores
Preliminaries - p
Relay Leadoff - r
1,650-yard Freestyle
B -- Sierra Schmidt, 16:06.18
B -- Yirong Bi, 16:14.28
200-yard Backstroke
B -- Chloe Hicks, 1:54.00 (No. 4 at U-M)
B -- Taylor Garcia, 1:56.59
100-yard Freestyle
A -- Siobhán Haughey, 46.72 (No. 1 at U-M)
B -- Catie DeLoof, 47.76p (No. 3 at U-M)
B -- Maggie MacNeil, 48.25 (No. 5 at U-M)
200-yard Breaststroke
B -- Miranda Tucker, 2:08.53
B -- Jamie Yeung, 2:10.26 (No. 4 at U-M)
200-yard Butterfly
B -- Vanessa Krause, 1:55.14p
B -- Victoria Kwan, 1:57.48
B -- Sierra Schmidt, 1:58.96p
Platform Diving
235.65, Nikki Canale
400-yard Freestyle Relay
A -- Maggie MacNeil, Siobhán Haughey, Becca Postoll, Miranda Tucker (3:14.16)
Players Mentioned
