Michigan State v. Michigan

ANN ARBOR, Michigan, January 18. THE No. 4 University of Michigan men's swimming and diving team made easy work of the Michigan State Spartans to keep the program's series 30-year win streak intact in a 154-77 victory at Canham Natatorium.

Sophomore Andre Schultz (Sao Paolo, Brazil/Colegio Palmares) earned the only qualifying standard of the meet for the Michigan men, bettering the 200 yard backstroke 'B' standard with a time of 1:45.68 for first place. He also took the top spot in the 1,000 yard freestyle (9:10.01).

Wolverine junior Bobby Savulich (Edison, N.J./Saint Joseph) and sophomore Chris Brady (Wilmington, Del./Mount Pleasant) also had strong meets for the Wolverines, each earning a first- and second-place finish in individual events while swimming one half of U-M's victorious 400-yard medley relay. Savulich took first place in the 100-yard freestyle (44.59) and second in the 50-yard freestyle (20.73), while Brady won the 50-yard freestyle (20.56) and was runner-up to Savulich in the 100 free (45.66). Savulich swam the anchor of the Wolverines' 400 medley relay and Brady did the honors in the butterfly leg in U-M's first-place time of 3:17.53.

Junior Matt Patton (Matthews, N.C./Butler) claimed two second-place finishes — in the 200-yard freestyle (1:40.07) and 200-yard backstroke (1:50.66) — and led off U-M's winning 400-yard medley relay team.

Michigan set an early tone with a one-two finish in the 400 medley relay and a sweep of the podium in the 1,000-yard freestyle to build a 31-5 lead. After claiming three of the top four spots in the 200-yard freestyle and 50-yard freestyle, Michigan cruised down the stretch to the program's 74th victory over its intrastate rival.

In the opening event — the 400-yard medley relay — Patton got U-M's 'A' team off to an early lead and sophomore Scott Spann (Austin, Texas/Westlake) kept them in front with a strong second leg, while 'B' team senior Alex Vanderkaay (Rochester, Mich./Adams) made up time in the breaststroke to put the second squad in second place. Brady widened the gap from the field in the third leg for the 'A' team, and Savulich brought it home for the win in a time of 3:17.53. Junior Jamie Martone (Troy, Mich./Troy) held off a late charge by the Michigan State 'A' squad to clinch second for the Wolverines' 'B' team, finishing in 3:22.99 — 0.77 seconds faster than the Spartans — to help Michigan lead early, 15-2.

In the 1,000-yard freestyle, Michigan took the top four spots with Schultz (9:10.01) cruising to a comfortable win, followed by junior Christian Sprang (Sickleville, N.J./St. Augustine Prep) in 9:24.87, Johnny Austermann (Huntington Woods, Mich./Berkley) in 9:31.03, and junior Gunnar Schmidt (Scottsdale, Ariz./Arcadia Prep) in 9:34.99. The Wolverines' top three finishers earned the maximum of 16 points, with MSU picking up three.

In the 200-yard freestyle, Vanderkaay and Patton traded the lead the entire race, with Vanderkaay catching Patton down the stretch to win it in 1:39.54. Patton took second place in 1:40.07, and junior Sal Barba (Hudson, Mass./St. John's) finished fourth with a time of 1:41.06 to lock down 15 additional points for U-M.

In the 50-yard freestyle, Brady (20.56) edged Savulich (20.73) for another U-M one-two finish, while junior Curtis Dauw (St. Charles, Ill./St. Charles East) took fourth (21.37) and Martone finished fifth (21.39).

In the 400-yard IM, Michigan took the top four spots with senior Dane Grenda (Hockessin, Del./Salesianum) edging freshman teammate Jared Miller (Liberty Township, Ohio/Lakota East) by just 0.11 seconds, for a one-two Wolverine finish. Grenda clocked in at 3:57.29 to Miller's 3:57.40, while fellow Wolverine freshman Neal Kennedy (Chanhassen, Minn./Chaska) placed third (4:00.61) and sophomore Shaun Weinberg (Phoenix, Md./Dulaney) took fourth (4:05.09).

Michigan carried an 80-29 lead into the break and treated the fans in attendance to one of the closest races of the evening right off the bat with Mandel and Dauw dueling down to the wire in the 200-yard butterfly. Mandel edged teammate Dauw by just 0.05 seconds to claim top spot with a time of 1:49.67. Dauw finished second with a time of 1:49.72 to earn his second runner-up finish of the night.

In the 100-yard freestyle, Savulich took the top spot with a time of 44.59, while Brady was second in 45.66. Michigan earned another sweep of the top four spots in the 200-yard backstroke with Schultz (1:45.68), Patton (1:50.66), Grenda (1:52.55) and Barba (1:52.75) placing first through fourth in the event.

In the 500-yard freestyle, Michigan swept the top four spots again, with sophomore Charles Houchin (Raleigh, N.C./William G. Enloe) taking first place (4:29.18), freshman Tyler Clary (Riverside, Calif./Riverside Poly) placing second (4:32.06), Austermann claiming third (4:40.38) and Sprang fourth (4:40.69).

With the win assured, Michigan decided to exhibition any non-winners in the final two events of the meet. In the 200-yard breaststroke, Spann earned the second fastest time, while in the 400 yard freestyle relay, Michigan's 'A' team of Clary, Dauw, Martone and Vanderkaay finished first in 3:03.59.

The 12th-ranked University of Michigan women's swimming and diving team downed Michigan State 160-74. The Wolverines were dominant in a sweep of the diving events and were first to touch the wall in all 11 swimming events.

Senior Elyse Lee (Albion, Mich./Albion) earned a sweep off the springboard, scoring well over the NCAA zone qualifying mark in both. Junior Emily Brunemann (Crescent Springs, Ky./Notre Dame Academy) scooped up three NCAA 'B' times on the day, and Margaret Kelly (Ann Arbor, Mich./Pioneer) added a pair of consideration times. Kelly now has an NCAA 'A' or 'B' time in a team-leading eight events.

The three-meter springboard proved to be the most fruitful event for the Wolverines. Four divers posted NCAA zone marks, and three personal bests were set in the event. Lee won the event with a season-high score of 353.93, besting the zone requirement by almost 74 points. Third-place finisher Katie Skendrovic (Spring Lake, Mich./Spring Lake) posted a 328.95 thanks in part to a front three-and-a-half tuck that drew a loud roar from the crowd. Sophomores Caitlin Dunphy-Daly (Royal Oak, Mich./Rochester) and Stephanie O'Callaghan (Howell, Mich./Howell) punched tickets to the NCAA zone meet with a pair of personal-best scores. Freshman Jillian Drow (Chelsea, Mich./Chelsea) narrowly missed joining them, as her score was 77-hundredths of a point from meeting the criteria.

Michigan's divers set the tone on the one-meter springboard earlier in the meet, achieving another four NCAA zone marks. Lee once again led the way for the Wolverines with a 290.92 score. Senior Erica LaBonté (Amherst, Mass./Amherst Regional) placed second with a season-best 277.72 points, followed by Skendrovic with 276.90. Drow, diving exhibition, exceeded the standard and her personal best with a 265.20 effort.

The Wolverines' first of two races with a pair of consideration times came in the 200-yard freestyle. By the end of 100 yards, the race came down to senior Hannah Smith (Dexter, Mich./Dexter) and Brunemann. With more than two seconds separating them from the pack, the U-M duo sprinted through the final leg of the race before Smith touched the wall in 1:49.15 to claim the win. Smith's performance was also good enough to set a new top time in the event for a Wolverine this season. Brunemann's time of 1:51.20 slipped a tenth of a second under the NCAA 'B' standard and set a season best for her.

Brunemann earned her third consideration time with a win in the 500-yard freestyle, touching the wall in 4:50.51. Kelly came to the finish line 2.19 seconds later for an NCAA 'B' time of her own, more than 14 seconds ahead of the rest of the pack. In the interim between Brunemann's second-place finish in the 200-yard freestyle and the 500-yard freestyle, the Michigan distance specialist claimed a consideration time and first-place finish in the 400-yard individual medley with a 4:23.23 performance. Kelly also racked up a consideration time during the span, touching the wall in 2:00.12 to win the 200-yard butterfly.

In addition to Brunemann, Smith and senior Justine Mueller (Monroe, Mich./Monroe) also were two-time winners, while junior Payton Johnson (Champaign, Ill./Centennial) earned one victory. Michigan swam the final two races exhibition, with fifth-year senior Melissa Jaeger (Ann Arbor, Mich./Pioneer) swimming the fastest 200-yard breaststroke and U-M's top 400-yard freestyle relay team touching the wall first to go with the victory in the 400-yard medley relay that opened the meet.

Special thanks to Michigan for contributing this report.

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