Season Review: 2017-18 Michigan Women's Swimming and Diving
4/17/2018 3:25:00 PM | Women's Swimming & Diving
• Team Captains: Gabby DeLoof, Carolyn McCann, Clara Smiddy
• Record: 10-0 (7-0 in Big Ten)
• Big Ten Championships: First Place
• NCAA Championships: Fourth Place
With its third consecutive Big Ten championship and a fourth-place finish at the NCAA Championships, the University of Michigan women's swimming and diving team secured one of its best seasons in program history.
Team Highlights
• Michigan finished fourth at the NCAA Championships in March, its third-highest finish in program history and its first top-four finish since 1996. The Wolverines scored 267 points -- the third-highest point total in program history -- and ended Indiana's three-year streak of being the highest-finishing Big Ten team at the NCAA Championships. Additionally, the 2017-18 squad is the first Big Ten team to record a top-five finish in 22 years (Michigan, 1996). Michigan had 10 student-athletes (nine swimmers, one diver) and four relays score points, which included national runner-up finishes from the 800-yard freestyle relay (with the third-fastest time in NCAA history), Haughey in the 200-yard freestyle (with the sixth-fastest time in NCAA history) and Tucker in the 100-yard breaststroke.
• Michigan cruised to its third consecutive Big Ten title in February, the program's first three-peat since the 1996-98 seasons. Despite being disqualified in the first event of the meet, the Wolverines scored 1,465 points, surpassing their total from each of the last two title-winning years (1,287 in 2017; 1,361 in 2016). Michigan's 312.5-point margin of victory is also the largest by any Big Ten team since 2011. It won six individual or relay titles.
• The Wolverines went 10-0 in dual meets, including a 7-0 record against Big Ten opponents. It was the program's first undefeated dual-meet slate in 20 years.
• Twenty-five student-athletes received the U-M Athletic Academic Achievement Award, given to those who maintain a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or higher. Of those 25, 16 were named Academic All-Big Ten.
• The women's swimming and diving team established 13 school records this season: 100-yard freestyle (46.91, Siobhán Haughey); 200-yard freestyle (1:40.69, Haughey); 200-yard backstroke (1:50.63, Clara Smiddy); 100-yard breaststroke (57.93, Miranda Tucker); 200-yard breaststroke (2:06.59, Tucker); 200-yard butterfly (1:53.31, Vanessa Krause); 200-yard IM (1:53.48); 200-yard freestyle relay (1:27.78); 400-yard freestyle relay (3:10.73); 800-yard freestyle relay (6:50.03); 200-yard medley relay (1:36.92); 400-yard medley relay (3:29.90); and platform diving (297.50, Christy Cutshaw).
Individual Highlights
• Junior Siobhán Haughey continued to show why she's one of the NCAA's best swimmers. Despite missing most of the team's dual meets in the second half due to an injury, Haughey was at her best in the postseason, winning the 200-yard freestyle and 200-yard IM at the Big Ten Championships. At the NCAA Championships, she was national runner-up in the 200-yard freestyle (1:40.69, the sixth-fastest time in history), fourth in the 100-yard freestyle, ninth in the 200-yard IM and swam a leg on the runner-up 800-yard freestyle relay (6:50.03, the third-fastest time in history). She lowered her previously held school records in all three of those individual events.
• The distance trio of G Ryan, Yirong Bi and Sierra Schmidt dominated the Big Ten landscape. Bi won the 500-yard freestyle and took second in the 1,650-yard freestyle at the Big Ten Championships, while Ryan was an All-American in both events at the NCAA Championships. Schmidt had top-five finishes in both events at the Big Ten Championships and scored points in each event's consolation final at the NCAA Championships. All three swimmers rank among the top-four in school history in both events (Ryan is 1st, Bi is 2nd and Schmidt is 4th).
• Senior Gabby DeLoof won two medals (one silver, one bronze) at the Big Ten Championships and scored points in two consolation finals at the NCAA Championships. By the end of the season, her name was etched onto the program's all-time top-performers list in five events, setting school records on four of the five relays. Junior Catie DeLoof was one of the team's most improved swimmers, dropping massive time in the 200-yard freestyle, an event in which she finished third at the Big Ten Championships and 11th at the NCAA Championships. Catie contributed to podium finishes in all three freestyle relays at the NCAA Championships and set personal bests in the 50-, 100- and 200-yard freestyles.
• Sophomore Miranda Tucker, in her first season since transferring from Indiana, was national runner-up in the 100-yard breaststroke and finished fourth in the 200-yard breaststroke at the NCAA Championships. She ended the year with school-record times in both events. Tucker was the fourth swimmer in program history to final in both breaststroke events, joining Ann Colloton (1988, 1989, 1990), Lara Hooiveld (1993) and Rachel Gustin (1994, 1995).
• Senior Clara Smiddy placed fifth in the 200-yard backstroke at the NCAA Championships, cementing herself as one of the best backstrokers in program history. She also won three medals (one silver, two bronze) at the 2018 Big Ten Championships.
• Sophomore Vanessa Krause won the 200-yard butterfly at the Big Ten Championships, establishing new Big Ten and U-M records (1:53.31). She became the third woman in program history to make the final in that event at the NCAA Championships, finishing eighth and claiming her first All-America citation.
• With freshman divers Nikki Canale and Christy Cutshaw, Michigan sent at least two divers to the NCAA Championships for the third consecutive year. Cutshaw became the third diver in the last four years to score points at the NCAA Championships in platform, finishing 10th. She also set the school record on platform at the Big Ten Championships.
• Head coach Mike Bottom was named 2018 Big Ten Coach of the Year for Women's Swimming and Diving. It is his sixth Big Ten Coach of the Year honor; the previous five came in men's swimming and diving.
Honors and Awards
Yirong
Bi
Christy
Cutshaw
Siobhán
Haughey
Vanessa
Krause
G
Ryan
Clara
Smiddy
Miranda
Tucker
CSCAA All-Americans
Siobhán Haughey -- 100-yard Freestyle, 200-yard Freestyle
Vanessa Krause -- 200-yard Butterfly
G Ryan -- 500-yard Freestyle, 1,650-yard Freestyle
Clara Smiddy -- 200-yard Backstroke
Miranda Tucker -- 100-yard Breaststroke, 200-yard Breaststroke
200-yard Freestyle Relay -- Catie DeLoof, Gabby DeLoof, Siobhán Haughey, Daria Pyshnenko
400-yard Freestyle Relay -- Gabby DeLoof, Catie DeLoof, Siobhán Haughey, Daria Pyshnenko
800-yard Freestyle Relay -- Catie DeLoof, Siobhán Haughey, Yirong Bi, Gabby DeLoof
CSCAA All-America Honorable Mentions
Yirong Bi -- 500-yard Freestyle, 1,650-yard Freestyle
Christy Cutshaw -- Platform Diving
Catie DeLoof -- 200-yard Freestyle
Gabby DeLoof -- 100-yard Freestyle, 200-yard Freestyle
Siobhán Haughey -- 200-yard IM
Sierra Schmidt -- 500-yard Freestyle, 1,650-yard Freestyle
400-yard Medley Relay -- Clara Smiddy*, Miranda Tucker, Vanessa Krause, Gabby DeLoof**
* Replaced Taylor Garcia from preliminaries
** Replaced Siobhán Haughey from preliminaries
BIG TEN CHAMPIONS
Siobhán Haughey: 200-yard Freestyle, 200-yard IM
Yirong Bi: 500-yard Freestyle
Vanessa Krause: 200-yard Butterfly
400-yard Freestyle Relay: Catie DeLoof, Siobhán Haughey, Daria Pyshnenko, Gabby DeLoof
800-yard Freestyle Relay:Yirong Bi, Gabby DeLoof, Catie DeLoof, G Ryan
BIG TEN AWARDS
All-Big Ten (First Team): Yirong Bi, Gabby DeLoof, Catie DeLoof, Siobhán Haughey, Vanessa Krause, Daria Pyshnenko, G Ryan
All-Big Ten (Second Team): Clara Smiddy, Miranda Tucker
Big Ten Sportsmanship Honoree: G Ryan
Swimmer of the Week: Siobhán Haughey (Oct. 4, Oct. 18, Oct. 25, Dec. 6), Gabby DeLoof (Jan. 17)
Diver of the Week: Nikki Canale (Oct. 4)
Freshman of the Week: Nikki Canale (Oct. 4, Jan. 17)
Academic All-Big Ten
Monica Babits, So., Biomolecular Science, Mississauga, Ontario, Canada
Yirong Bi, Jr., Business Administration, Hangzhou, China
Gabby DeLoof, Sr., Sport Management, Grosse Pointe, Mich.
Katie Duggan, Jr., Industrial & Operations Engineering, Windermere, Fla.
Siobhán Haughey, Jr., Psychology, Hong Kong
Emily Kopas, Sr., Environment, Davie, Fla.
Carolyn McCann, Sr., Civil Engineering, Gig Harbor, Wash.
Annalisa Perez, So., LSA Undeclared, San Jose, Calif.
Becca Postoll, Jr., Movement Science, Acworth, Ga.
G Ryan, Sr., English, Women's Studies, Kutztown, Pa.
Jacqui Schafer, So., Computer Science, Sydney, Australia
Clara Smiddy, Sr., Economics, International Studies, Miami, Fla.
Miranda Tucker, So., LSA Undeclared, Plymouth, Mich.
Dani VanderZwaag, Sr., Psychology, Holland, Mich.
Samantha Yeo, Sr., Neuroscience, Singapore
Jamie Yeung, Jr., Economics, Hong Kong
Players Mentioned
