Michigan Edges Minnesota to Take the Men’s Big 10 Crown

ANN ARBOR, Mich., March 1. JON Urbancek turned "21" this season and for his coming-out present he gave himself the 2003 men's Big Ten Swimming and Diving Championship.

After a two-year hiatus, Michigan — with Urbancek, now in his 21st year at the Wolverine helm after having been an All-America swimmer under his legendary predecessor, Gus Stager, in the 1960s — won its record 32nd Big Ten title here this evening at their home Canham Natatorium. (Indinana with 23 ranks second.)

For the vicory, Urbancek was named Big Ten Coach of the Year, his eighth such honor.

Michigan has hosted the Big Tens at Canham four times since 1996 and has won on three of those occasions, 1996, '00 and '03. The only loss was in '96 when Minnestoa won, but the Wolverines had just graduated such stars as Gustavo Borges (only swimemr ever to win NCAA 100 free all four years) and Tom Dolan, although in the latter's, case he turned pro after his freshman year.

Led by a pair of Big Ten individual champions — fifth-year senior Jeff Hopwood of Palo Alto, CA. (who spurned Stanford to come here) and junior Jason Coben (Newtown Square, PA.) — Urbancek's Wolverines claimed the Big Ten crown tonight in front of a jam-packed home crowd at Canham Natatorium on The Big Blue campus.

Michigan scored 727 points, 38 points ahead of two-time defending Big Ten champion Minnesota (689. It was Michigan's first title since 2000 when the meet was last here.

Starting the final session with just an 11.5-point lead, the Wolverines scored 80 points in the night's first final, the 1650 yard freestyle, and catapulted themselves to a 50.5-point advantage. Five U-M swimmers placed in the top six spots. Pacing the way for U-M was freshman Peter Vanderkaay, 500 free champ opening-night with his nation-leading 4:16.20, who stroked to a second-place finish and pr/NCAA automatic qualifying time of 14:49.63. — third-fastest nationally.

Vanderkaay was voted Freshman of the Meet for his performance.

Another Wolverine rookie, Tyler DeBerry, a native of Tucson who came east to train under Urbancek in hopes of becoming a top-notch distance freestyler; sophomore Brendan Neligan, a native New Yorker now in his second year here; senior Justin Drake, another Arizonan from Phoenix and sophomore Andrew Hurd, a native of Canada and member of the Maple Leaf nation's nationl team finished second through sixth, respectively. Hometown sophomore Zayd Ma, was 12th, with all five earning NCAA consideration times.

* * * * *

While Urbancek and the Wolverines deserve all the credit for snapping Minnesota's two-year winning streak, several Gophers — particularly sophomore sprinter Terry Silkaitis and junior distance star Justin Mortimer — turned in superb individual efforts.

Another swimmer who had a great Big Tens was unheraled Purdue Boilermaker sophomore Louis Paul. A native Australian and member of famed Aussie Coach Forbes Carlile's New South Wales "Millennium All-Stars" team, Paul was voted Swimmer of the Meet for his pair of wins in the 200 IM and 200 backstroke — both prs and Purdue records too.

Silkaitis is an Evanston, IL. product who swept to the sprint triple crown, winning the 50 (19.95 with a pr 19.88 in qualifying), 100 (Big 10 meet-record 42.87) and 200 frees (1:34.42) — first time in the new century for that particular feat (shades of Rowdy Gaines).

Mortimer, runner-up in the 500 free, won the mile in 14:48.77, an NCAA "A" cut and No. 2 nationally to USC's Erik Vendt's 14:42.97 from the Longhorn Invitational at Austin last December, Mortimer's pr and Gopher record is 14:47.82 from the NCAAs his freshman season at College Station, where he earned the bronze.

(Vendt is defending NCAA 400 IM-1650 champ.)

* * * * *

Michigan built on its team lead when a trio of Wolverines placed in the top eight in the 200 backstroke. Purdue's Paul won in a "B" cut 1:44.56 but — and it turned out to be a big "but" — Big Blue freshman Chris DeJong made up two spots in the final 50 yards to place second with a pr and consideration-time of 1:44.76. Sophomore Chuck Sayao, 400 IM champ in a pr and "A" cut 3:46.30, and senior Ryan Earhart placed seventh and eighth, respectively, with "B" times of 1:47.00 and 1:47.01.

Minnesota was able to narrow the scoring gap with Silkaitis' first-place finish in the 100 freestyle, but the Wolverines kept pace with a strong performance of their own. Swimming an inspired race, senior Garrett Mangieri improved five spots from his preliminary seeding of seventh and finished runner-up with a consideration 43.84.

Swimming in his final race in front of the home crowd in Canham, Hopwood continued the Michigan momentum. He claimed his fourth career Big Ten-title (and first in three years) by taking No. 1 in the 200 breaststroke with a pool-record and NCAA "A" 1:56.31– a career-best and No. 3 all-time on the Wolverine list. Senior Josh Hack won the "B" final to give Michigan additional needed points.

The Wolverines again surged ahead in the team scoring, collecting four of the top 16 finishes in the 200 yard butterfly. Freshman Davis Tarwater wound up second to Northwestern's Kellam O'Connaor in a pr and "B" cut 1:45.46. The winner clocked 1:44.99.

Michigan junior Dan Ketchum, runner-up at NCAAs last year in the 200 free and Michigan's male Athlete of the Year for 2001-'02, hit the wall in the fourth spot with his 1:46.21, also an NCAA consideration time. Ketchum was also Big Ten rookie of the year two yezrs ago while Hopwood won in '99 and Nelligan earned the award last season.

Named co-Diver of the Championships, Coben added 20 points to the Michigan score by winning the 10-meter platform to seal the victory for the Wolverines.

Standing 30-feet above the Dick Kimball Diving Pool with one-dive left in the event, Coben sprang from the platform and solidified his second-consecutive Big Ten title in the event. His 11-dive rotation totaled an NCAA zone diving qualifying score of 549.85.

Michigan capped its title-winning performance in the meet's final event, the 400 free relay, finishing a solid third. The quartet of Mangieri, DeJong, Tarwater and Ketchum clocked an NCAA "B" 2:56.10.

All Urbancek's got to do now is sweep the conference title for the rest of this decade, then win again in 2010 and he'll pass Stager's 19 championships with 20.

Nothing to it but to do it, right, coach?

— Bill Bell

big 10 final team standings

1 University of Michigan MICH 727
2 University of Minnesota MINN 689
3 Indiana University IND 455
4 Northwestern University NU 378
5 University of Wisconsin WISC 348
6 Penn State University PSU 316.50
7 Purdue University PURD 289
8 The Ohio State University OSU 248
9 University of Iowa IOWA 195
10 Michigan State University MSU 146.50

2003 BIG 10 MEN'S SWIMMING & DIVING CHAMPIONSHIPS
CANHAM NATATORIUM, ANN ARBOR, MI., MARCH 1

25 YD, POOL

INDIVIDUAL RESULTS (DAY 3)

* Big 10 Meet-Record

Event 15 Men 1650 Yard Freestyle
===============================================================================
BIG TEN CONF: * 14:26.62 2001 CHRIS THOMPSON, MICHIGAN
BIG TEN MEET: # 14:31.15 2001 CHRIS THOMPSON, MICHIGAN
POOL: ! 14:50.86 2000 CHRIS THOMPSON, MICHIGAN
15:01.39 NCAA
15:28.43 CONS
Name Year School Finals Points
===============================================================================
1 Mortimer, Justin JR Minnesota 14:48.77!NCAA 20
24.85 51.05 1:17.70 1:44.53 2:11.57 2:38.59 3:05.51 3:32.62
3:59.80 4:26.94 4:54.24 5:21.44 5:48.66 6:15.78 6:42.95 7:10.17
7:37.52 8:04.98 8:32.47 8:59.82 9:27.40 9:54.93 10:22.25 10:49.64
11:16.76 11:43.48 12:10.41 12:38.18 13:05.61 13:32.51 13:59.32 14:24.49
14:48.77
2 Vanderkaay, Peter FR Michigan 14:49.63!NCAA 17
24.28 50.21 1:16.90 1:43.82 2:10.92 2:37.92 3:04.98 3:32.14
3:59.36 4:26.49 4:53.61 5:20.72 5:47.95 6:15.10 6:42.33 7:09.70
7:37.09 8:04.75 8:32.26 8:59.80 9:27.30 9:54.74 10:22.20 10:49.56
11:16.90 11:43.69 12:10.60 12:38.12 13:05.60 13:32.82 13:59.40 14:25.40
14:49.63
3 DeBerry, Tyler FR Michigan 15:02.85 CONS 16
24.81 51.36 1:18.31 1:45.63 2:12.78 2:39.92 3:07.33 3:34.82
4:02.07 4:29.61 4:56.92 5:24.30 5:51.65 6:18.75 6:46.25 7:13.99
7:41.78 8:09.40 8:37.14 9:04.73 9:32.41 10:00.12 10:27.89 10:55.61
11:23.49 11:51.31 12:19.12 12:46.88 13:14.73 13:42.47 14:10.19 14:37.59
15:02.85
4 Neligan, Brendan SO Michigan 15:02.93 CONS 15
24.63 50.90 1:17.53 1:44.43 2:11.30 2:38.15 3:05.12 3:32.12
3:59.19 4:26.37 4:53.56 5:21.09 5:48.73 6:16.37 6:44.06 7:11.72
7:39.40 8:07.25 8:35.15 9:03.11 9:31.31 9:59.28 10:27.34 10:55.41
11:23.65 11:51.51 12:19.55 12:47.44 13:15.30 13:43.04 14:10.79 14:37.75
15:02.93
5 Drake, Justin SR Michigan 15:11.01 CONS 14
24.81 51.33 1:18.35 1:45.61 2:13.22 2:40.85 3:08.83 3:36.49
4:04.28 4:32.15 4:59.92 5:27.64 5:55.24 6:22.76 6:50.40 7:18.11
7:45.77 8:13.56 8:41.92 9:09.73 9:37.78 10:05.74 10:33.75 11:01.66
11:29.61 11:57.46 12:25.55 12:53.65 13:21.72 13:49.81 14:17.48 14:44.80
15:11.01
6 Hurd, Andrew SO Michigan 15:12.45 CONS 13
25.20 52.36 1:19.67 1:47.22 2:14.89 2:42.45 3:10.33 3:38.02
4:05.87 4:33.71 5:01.63 5:28.74 5:55.89 6:23.37 6:50.91 7:18.84
7:46.75 8:14.76 8:42.62 9:10.81 9:38.93 10:06.77 10:34.61 11:02.89
11:30.98 11:59.25 12:27.58 12:55.20 13:23.47 13:51.57 14:19.60 14:47.25
15:12.45
7 Beckerle, Travis FR Minnesota 15:12.67 CONS 12
25.38 52.55 1:20.00 1:47.72 2:15.24 2:43.07 3:10.84 3:38.83
4:06.41 4:34.33 5:02.12 5:29.76 5:57.54 6:25.28 6:52.93 7:20.74
7:48.54 8:16.36 8:44.49 9:12.59 9:40.68 10:08.86 10:37.07 11:04.92
11:33.03 12:00.90 12:29.05 12:56.73 13:24.43 13:52.26 14:19.73 14:47.09
15:12.67
8 Davis, Brian FR Northwestern 15:19.60 CONS 11
24.51 51.18 1:18.26 1:45.57 2:13.19 2:41.02 3:08.71 3:36.44
4:03.86 4:31.63 4:59.73 5:27.55 5:55.55 6:23.70 6:52.00 7:20.17
7:48.35 8:16.71 8:45.07 9:13.37 9:41.55 10:09.82 10:38.15 11:06.54
11:35.12 12:03.22 12:31.56 12:59.67 13:28.01 13:56.27 14:24.37 14:52.49
15:19.60

Event 16 Men 200 Yard Backstroke
======================= BIG TEN CONF: * 1:42.24 1998 BIG TEN MEET: # 1:42.24 1998 POOL: ! 1:43.37 1996 1:44.02 NCAA
1:47.14 CONS
Name ======================= A – Final
1 Paul, Louis 24.51 2 DeJong, Chris 24.67 3 Smolinski, Todd 24.20 4 Mania, Adam 24.20 5 Urreta, Diego 24.77 6 Leach, Matt 24.86 7 Sayao, Chuck 25.54 8 Earhart, Ryan 25.00 ========================================================
DERYA BUYUKUNCU, MICHIGAN
DERYA BUYUKUNCU, MICHIGAN
DERYA BUYUKUNCU, MICHIGAN
Year School Prelims Finals Points
========================================================
SO Purdue 1:45.28 1:44.56 CONS 20
51.11 (26.60) 1:17.94 (26.83) 1:44.56 (26.62)
FR Michigan 1:46.18 1:44.76 CONS 17
51.18 (26.51) 1:18.38 (27.20) 1:44.76 (26.38)
SR Minnesota 1:45.63 1:45.47 CONS 16
50.82 (26.62) 1:18.01 (27.19) 1:45.47 (27.46)
SO Wisconsin 1:45.37 1:45.59 CONS 15
50.94 (26.74) 1:18.14 (27.20) 1:45.59 (27.45)
JR Minnesota 1:46.06 1:45.69 CONS 14
51.41 (26.64) 1:18.44 (27.03) 1:45.69 (27.25)
JR Indiana 1:46.91 1:46.79 CONS 13
52.19 (27.33) 1:19.61 (27.42) 1:46.79 (27.18)
SO Michigan 1:46.91 1:47.00 CONS 12
52.48 (26.94) 1:19.89 (27.41) 1:47.00 (27.11)
SR Michigan 1:46.53 1:47.01 CONS 11
51.77 (26.77) 1:19.18 (27.41) 1:47.01 (27.83)

Event 17 Men 100 Yard Freestyle
===============================================================================
BIG TEN CONF: * 42.46 1994 GUSTAVO BORGES, MICHIGAN
BIG TEN MEET: # 43.14 1992 GUSTAVO BORGES, MICHIGAN
POOL: ! 43.27 2003 TERRY SILKAITIS, MINNESOTA
43.64 NCAA
44.94 CONS
Name Year School Prelims Finals Points
===============================================================================
A – Final
1 Silkaitis, Terry SO Minnesota 43.27 42.87#NCAA 20
9.92 20.58 (10.66) 31.86 (11.28) 42.87* (11.01)
2 Mangieri, Garrett SR Michigan 44.27 43.84 CONS 17
10.31 21.29 (10.98) 32.79 (11.50) 43.84 (11.05)
3 Botes, Eugene SR Penn State 44.09 43.93 CONS 16
9.99 20.98 (10.99) 32.53 (11.55) 43.93 (11.40)
4 Minnier, Todd JR Penn State 44.30 44.07 CONS 15
9.94 21.24 (11.30) 32.64 (11.40) 44.07 (11.43)
5 Ong, Allen SR Minnesota 44.21 44.18 CONS 14
9.95 21.10 (11.15) 32.55 (11.45) 44.18 (11.63)
6 Rogers, Dale JR Wisconsin 44.18 44.27 CONS 13
10.07 21.12 (11.05) 32.85 (11.73) 44.27 (11.42)
7 Swonger, Andy SO Ohio State 44.51 44.88 CONS 12
10.32 21.26 (10.94) 33.18 (11.92) 44.88 (11.70)
8 Wiesner, Eric SO Wisconsin 44.77 44.89 CONS 11
10.27 21.64 (11.37) 33.12 (11.48) 44.89 (11.77)

Event 18 Men 200 Yard Breaststroke
===============================================================================
BIG TEN CONF: * 1:53.77 1990 MIKE BARROWMAN, MICHIGAN
BIG TEN MEET: # 1:55.87 1993 ERIC WUNDERLICH, MICHIGAN
POOL: ! 1:57.67 2003 JEFF HACKLER, MINNESOTA
1:57.68 NCAA
2:01.21 CONS
Name Year School Prelims Finals Points
===============================================================================
A – Final
1 Hopwood, Jeff SR Michigan 1:58.89 1:56.31!NCAA 20
26.53 56.05 (29.52) 1:26.01 (29.96) 1:56.31 (30.30)
2 Brown, Mike FR Minnesota 1:58.00 1:56.60!NCAA 17
26.63 56.07 (29.44) 1:25.97 (29.90) 1:56.60 (30.63)
3 Hackler, Jeff SR Minnesota 1:57.67 1:56.84!NCAA 16
26.39 56.06 (29.67) 1:26.11 (30.05) 1:56.84 (30.73)
4 Bessenyei, Tamas JR Purdue 1:59.46 1:59.02 CONS 15
26.28 55.86 (29.58) 1:26.95 (31.09) 1:59.02 (32.07)
5 Pogioli, Giordan FR Purdue 2:00.01 1:59.43 CONS 14
27.28 56.97 (29.69) 1:27.64 (30.67) 1:59.43 (31.79)
6 Schulze, David SR Indiana 2:00.90 2:00.53 CONS 13
27.30 57.84 (30.54) 1:28.83 (30.99) 2:00.53 (31.70)
7 Torres, Louis SO Northwestern 2:00.66 2:00.56 CONS 12
26.80 57.01 (30.21) 1:28.19 (31.18) 2:00.56 (32.37)
8 Clutten, Ian FR Michigan State 2:00.77 2:01.67 11
27.51 58.46 (30.95) 1:29.60 (31.14) 2:01.67 (32.07)

Event 19 Men 200 Yard Butterfly
===============================================================================
BIG TEN CONF: * 1:43.58 1999 TOM MALCHOW, MICHIGAN
BIG TEN MEET: # 1:44.25 2001 KEAM ANG, MINNESOTA
POOL: ! 1:44.33 1990 SEAN QUAKENBUSH, MINNESOTA
1:44.93 NCAA
1:48.07 CONS
Name Year School Prelims Finals Points
===============================================================================
A – Final
1 O'Connor, Kellan SR Northwestern 1:44.53 1:44.99 CONS 20
23.36 50.22 (26.86) 1:17.07 (26.85) 1:44.99 (27.92)
2 Tarwater, Davis FR Michigan 1:46.51 1:45.46 CONS 17
23.66 50.38 (26.72) 1:17.57 (27.19) 1:45.46 (27.89)
3 Hamming, Mark JR Northwestern 1:46.44 1:45.65 CONS 16
23.77 50.58 (26.81) 1:17.54 (26.96) 1:45.65 (28.11)
4 Halasz, Murph SO Indiana 1:45.90 1:46.21 CONS 14.5
24.24 51.43 (27.19) 1:18.54 (27.11) 1:46.21 (27.67)
4 Ketchum, Dan JR Michigan 1:46.82 1:46.21 CONS 14.5
24.39 51.25 (26.86) 1:18.58 (27.33) 1:46.21 (27.63)
6 Taylor, Matt SR Minnesota 1:47.04 1:46.30 CONS 13
23.83 51.19 (27.36) 1:18.56 (27.37) 1:46.30 (27.74)
7 Torpey, Pat JR Wisconsin 1:46.70 1:46.81 CONS 12
23.72 50.66 (26.94) 1:18.36 (27.70) 1:46.81 (28.45)
8 Haupt, Matt SR Penn State 1:47.89 1:48.97 11
24.06 50.95 (26.89) 1:19.16 (28.21) 1:48.97 (29.81)

Event 20 Men Platform Diving
===============================================================================
BIG TEN CONF: * 821.20 1995 P. J. BOGART, MINNESOTA
BIG TEN MEET: # 821.20 1995 P. J. BOGART, MINNESOTA
Name Year School Prelims Finals Points
===============================================================================
Finals
1 Coben, Jason JR Michigan 542.80 549.85 20
2 Carlton, Marc JR Indiana 531.05 539.85 17
3 Hazes, Adam SR Indiana 470.85 459.70 16
4 Oxman, Mike FR Northwestern 429.70 444.15 15
5 Klami, Timo W SO Iowa 403.25 438.85 14
6 Metzler, Brian SO Indiana 400.40 408.95 13
7 Mariano, Brian FR Indiana 412.30 407.10 12
8 Herdt, Ben SR Minnesota 396.05 395.10 11
Event 21 Men 400 Yard Freestyle Relay
===============================================================================
BIG TEN CONF: * 2:53.68 2002 PENN STATE
BOTES, MOLETTIERE, SCHIERHORN, MINNIER
BIG TEN MEET: # 2:53.68 2002 PENN STATE
BOTES, MOLETTIERE, SCHIERHORN, MINNIER
POOL: ! 2:55.40 2000 MINNESOTA
DORNELAS, MASSURA, VANBONDUGEN, ONG
2:55.06 NCAA
3:00.31 CONS
School Finals Points
===============================================================================
1 University of Wisconsin 'A' 2:55.03!NCAA 40
1) Marshall, Matt JR 2) Mania, Adam SO
3) Wiesner, Eric SO 4) Rogers, Dale JR
20.80 43.93 1:04.82 1:27.86 1:48.47 2:11.69 2:32.16 2:55.03
2 University of Minnesota 'A' 2:55.19!CONS 34
1) Silkaitis, Terry SO 2) Ong, Allen SR
3) Taylor, Matt SR 4) McCaffrey, Sean SO
20.86 43.42 1:04.19 1:26.91 1:47.70 2:10.74 2:31.65 2:55.19
3 University of Michigan 'A' 2:56.10 CONS 32
1) Mangieri, Garrett SR 2) DeJong, Chris FR
3) Tarwater, Davis FR 4) Ketchum, Dan JR
21.33 43.93 1:05.21 1:28.48 1:49.59 2:12.70 2:33.67 2:56.10
4 Penn State University 'A' 2:58.03 CONS 30
1) Minnier, Todd JR 2) Botes, Eugene SR
3) Gordon, Erik SR 4) Haupt, Matt SR
21.26 44.16 1:05.00 1:27.87 1:49.02 2:13.15 2:34.59 2:58.03
5 Northwestern University 'A' 2:59.45 CONS 28
1) Swanson, Tony JR 2) Clark, Shelby JR
3) Wever, Matt SO 4) Dexter, Ben FR
21.41 44.34 1:05.59 1:29.22 1:50.52 2:14.60 2:35.75 2:59.45
6 Purdue University 'A' 3:00.38 26
1) Paul, Louis SO 2) Sayce, Tad SR
3) Wright, Jeremy SR 4) Seelbach, Will SR
21.55 44.76 1:06.15 1:30.56 1:51.98 2:15.88 2:36.81 3:00.38
7 Indiana University 'A' 3:01.53 24
1) Payne, Mike JR 2) Burgess, Jonathan SO
3) Winck, David SO 4) Andersson, Claes JR
21.98 46.12 1:07.14 1:31.40 1:53.10 2:17.35 2:38.38 3:01.53
8 Michigan State University 'A' 3:02.27 22
1) Saucedo, Patrick SO 2) Wisniewski, Matt FR
3) DeFauw, Nick SR 4) Brennan, Joe SR
21.83 46.33 1:07.89 1:31.75 1:52.83 2:17.05 2:38.55 3:02.27
9 The Ohio State University 'A' 3:02.32 18
1) Seay, Tommy SO 2) Swonger, Andy SO
3) Gullett, Jeff FR 4) Braun, Adam FR
22.10 45.90 1:07.40 1:30.89 1:52.45 2:16.81 2:38.49 3:02.32
10 University of Iowa 'A' 3:03.00 14
1) George, Chris A SR 2) Kazmierczak, Konrad A FR
3) Prada, Andrei C JR 4) Snider, Jason R JR
22.01 45.93 1:07.07 1:30.94 1:52.48 2:16.31 2:38.09 3:03.00

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