The Michigan Daily - SPORTSTuesday - Tuesday, January 18, 1994 - 5 rmming and Diving Preview S2 ... .. .. Women's Team Preview Depth takes tankers to top of conference, again Humphrey, Hooiveld, Woods lead quest for Michigan's eighth consecutive Big Ten title MIH.LLE U - meet in March. Last year, 200-meter backstroke. tries to Da CAA title r ord holder in the 200-meterback- ro e. "Royce is capable of winning the CAAs in the 200 (yard) backstroke. The r is open for him," Urbanchek says. Senior co-captains Rodney anTassell and Brice Kopas will be tinted on to score points at both the ig Tens and NCAAs. VanTassell was a three-time All- can last season and a member of e ational champion 800-yard eestyle relay team. He also finished ghth in the 200 freestyle at NCAAs. Kopas adds depth to a strong group individual medleyists, which fea- res Wouda, Sharp and Dolan. Kopas am on the Pan-Pacific team last ar, where he won the consolation nals of the 400-meter IM. He also nished second at the Big Ten cham- o~ips in the 1650-yard freestyle. Formerly one of the Wolverines rengths, the breaststroke events lack pth this season. Junior Steve West d" Wouda lead the group. West is urth on Michigan's all-time list in th breaststroke events. The butterfly is another area of weak- ss for Michigan. Tom Hay is the core the Wolverine butterfly contingency. aawn All-American in the 400 med- yelay, replaces Brian Gunn as ichigan's number one flyer. Junior an Abruzzi who Urbanchek says is stly improving, will back up Hay. Michigan has a strong distance eestyle team with Wouda and the fresh- en leading the way. In addition, junior in Blake qualified for three freestyle ents in the NCAAs. However, Blake as unable to swim up to par due to ro. He should provide points in the eestyles this year. Two freshmen, Thomas Almeida d-Toby Booker, join Sharp to make -the backstroke corps. Both were ep All-Americans. Almeida is the Michigan state cord holder and 1993 state cham- orin the 200 backstroke from Alma igh School. Booker was the 1992 g an 100 backstroke champion om Grand Haven High School. Sophomore Shuichi Matsumoto d- senior Kent Tschannen add depth the already strong IM group. atsumoto qualified for the NCAAs 400 IM last season. Tschannen has aled in Big Tens every year. Diving is sometimes thought of a parate entity from swimming at the >lige level, but the divers provide *ary points at big competitions. "There are a lot ofgood divers in the ig Ten this year, so it should be a ootout, but we will be in the picture," 'mball said. Senior Eric Lesser and junior Abel chez lead Michigan's six divers. "Lesser is a good diver... he's got a od chance of making finals and scor- g us a lot of points," Kimball said. nchezmade the NCAAsthrough e Mning meet and did a great job and has continued to improve, but he eds to get a little more consistent." Lesser is a two-time All-American the three-meter springboard and the -meter platform. Lesser finished ird fourth and eighth in the platform, By MARC DILLER DAILY SPORTS WRITER Just as the eight ball is the ultimate ball in billiards, eight Big Ten titles is the Michigan women's swimming team's ultimate goal this season. Having successfully achieved seven consecutive Big Ten titles, the Wolverines once again enter Big Ten competition in the forefront of the NCAAs. Northwestern is the one confer- ence foe who poses the most serious threat to Michigan's continued Big Ten success. The Wildcats only lost 42 points off of last year's second- place team and return conference champions Christy Wicke (100-yard butterfly) and Kim Paton (200-yard freestyle). "Winning the Big Ten champion- ship is more difficult than it has been in past years," Michigan swimmer Alecia Humphrey said. "(Our) large senior and large freshman class changes the dynamics of the team." Currently ranked fourth in the na- tion behind Stanford, Florida and Texas, Michigan has enjoyed near perfection to this point in the season (4-0 Big Ten, 5-0 overall). After fin- ishing a best-ever fifth place at the NCAA Championships last year, the team is on pace to eclipse that mark this March. The core of the team revolves around NCAA swimmer of the year, Lara Hooiveld, Humphrey, a five-time All-American in 1993, and diver Cin- namon Woods, runner-up at NCAAs last year. In addition to those three standouts, the Wolverines have one of the NCAA's premier recruiting classes. If anyone can mesh all this talent to- gether, last year's NCAA Coach of the Year Jim Richardson can. "They're a great team that repre- sents the university so well," Richardson said. "They represent ev- erything that student-athletes should be." During the last decade, Michigan has been the only northern school to be consistently competitive at the NCAAs. Taking into account the ca- pricious Ann Arbor weather, Michi- gan has done an admirable job com- peting with the powerhouses of the NCAAs - Stanford, Florida and Texas. On the verge of breaking into this elite class, Michigan has established itself as a force to be reckoned with nationally. Richardson was humble in his out- look for the team. "We've gotten to the point where we can challenge (the powerhouses) in some events," Richardson said. "(But) the parity in (women's) swim- ming has come (mainly) from fifth place to 12th place." The loss of standout swimmers Mindy Gehrs, Kirsten Silvester, Missy McCracken, Jenny Sutton, Claudia Vieira and Jennifer Zakrajsek to gradu- ation could have been devastating to the team; however, Michigan has been able to regroup with an outstanding freshman class. The team lost 163 points out of last year's Big Ten meet. Without the strong corp of freshman, the team would have been hard felt to compete with the likes of Northwestern and Ohio State in the Big Ten. "It is hard to replace someone like Mindy Gehrs and Kirsten Silvester," Humphrey said. "The freshmen have to come in and take their place." Led by prep All-Americans Anne Kampfe, Rachel Gustin, Jody Navta and Melisa Stone, this year's freshman class is expected to make an immediate impact on the future of the team. Al- though, they are not as prolific as Michi- gan men's basketball coach Steve Fisher's Fab Five freshman in 1992, Richardson has aptly termed his re- cruits the "Terrific Twelve." "They have bonded as well as any freshman class I have seen," Richardson said. The freshmen know that they are central to keeping this year's team as competitive as they have been in the past. There is a lot of unproven talent in the class and Richardson needs for all the freshman to be motivated. "We know what he wants of us," Gustin said. "He wants us to swim as fast as (we) can swim. He hasn't ever put any extra pressure on us." The depth on this year's team is likely to propel the squad to its eighth straight conference title. Consistently strong in the back and breast stroke, an improved individual medley corp, distance swimmers and a five-woman strong diving team will carry the Wolverines higher in NCAA competition. "Everyone has at least had one big race where they showed that they could be competitive in the Big Tens," Michigan tri-captain Tara Higgins said. Possibly Michigan's most impres- sive feat is its outstanding academic achievement. Once again, the team exceeded a 3.0 GPA for the semester. The team had 15 Academic All-Big Ten Conference honorees last year and looks to be equaling that mark again this year. "He (Richardson) makes it clear, when recruiting, that academics are of primary importance," Humphrey said. "Jim wants us to do well in school because quite frankly, you can't make a living from swimming." Even the freshman have disciplined themselves to handle the adjustment to college life well. They have balanced academics, swimming and a social life. "People on the team are very sup- portive of us," Gustin said. "We had people there to help us adjust." Probably the most difficult ad- justment for the rookies is the travel. Michigan heads north this weekend for the University of Toronto Invitational. There they will be competing against the top swimmers in Canada. The team will be working toward their ultimate goal of an eighth con- secutive Big Ten title that will be on the line Feb. 19 in Indiana. SPORTS INFORMAi All-American Alecia Humphrey will be counted on for leadership as the Wolverines attempt to take their eighth straight Big Ten swimming title. Adverse conditions help fuel Stone's inner fire Here are the Women's and Men's Division I swimming polls from the College Swimming Coaches Asso- ciation of America. Women's 1. Stanford 2. Florida 3. Texas 4. Michigan 5. SMU By RAVI GOPAL DAILY SPORTS WRITER Competitor. If anyone on the Michigan women's swim team deserves that name, it is freshman Melisa Stone. Stone's gutsy performance vs. Oakland last Friday keyed the Wolverine attack. Despite having problems breathing before the meet due to a sore throat, Stone led the Wolverines with a total of three (irst- place finishes and one second-place finish. In fact, the breathing problems followed her into the pool as well. "During the backstroke events espe- cially(100 and 200), I could feel my throat juststartingtofillup. But Ijustkeptgoing," said the Mansfield, Ohionative. High-caliber swimming with an ill- ness is nothing new to Melisa. She swam in the 1993 state championships and the 1993 YMCA Nationals afflicted with a similar condition. The results? The 1993 Ohio state champion in the 50-yard freestyle. The 1993 Ohio state champion in the 100 free. The 1993 YMCA National Champion in the SO-meter freestyle. "I think that I always swim better when I'm sick. I always achieve good times when I'm sick," Stone said. "I was probably sick in '92 as well (when she won the same titles she did in 1993). I don'tparticularly like swimmingwhen I'm sick, but since I was in high school, it just happens that I fall sick and I perform better than I would have under normal conditions." This performance under duress can be attributed to Stone's competitive nature. Her peers know her as a tough swimmer who fights to win, both in the pool and in the classroom. Her years in the National Honor Society in high school exemplify her high academic standards. Her swimming record speaks for itself. "She's a real competitor," fellow freshman freestyler Anne Malley said. "But at the same time, the team concept is there with her as well. She would like to perform well individually, but she puts the team's interests before her own." "Stoner," as she is referred to by her friends, likes psyching herself up men- tally for all meets, which only serves as a fan for her competitive fires. "I really push myself in the mental aspect (of swimming). I'm out there to swim the best race I can. I only concern myself with my performance, not any- one else's," Stone said. Having learned how to swim at the age of seven, with competitive swim- ming beginning at age 10, swimming came as a gradual learning process for Stone. Every year she found ways to make herself better and better, which ultimately led to state and national titles in high school and top-notch college programs vying for her services. Coming out of high school, Melisa was heavily recruited by top-ranked swimming schools such as SMU, North- western, Tennessee and Ohio State, as well as Michigan. What made Stone come to Ann Ar- bor? Like most, it was a certain combi- Men's 1. Stanford 2. Texas 3. Michigan 4. California 5. USC nation. "I liked the coaching staff here a lot," Stone said. "I also selected Michi- gan because of its academics. Itwasjust a really good school." The transition from high school to college life was eased, she said, by the entire team, and especially by her fresh- men classmates. "The entire team has just been great," Stone said. "And it's helped that all the freshmen are friends with each other. My roommate (Jodi Navta) and I are helping each other out. It's been great." Melisa is currently enrolled in the School of Kinesiology and hopes to one day teach elementary school. But be- fore teaching, Stone has one goal in mind. "I'd love to swim in the 1996 Olym- 'pics," she said. With her competitive attitude, any- thing can happen. SWIMMING Continued from page 1 his Brazilian star. "Gustavo is Gustavo," said Urbanchek of his top sprinter. "I mean, Gustavo is going to step up and do what he has to do every swim." Going into the meet, Michigan knew that diving would be a key if it was to have a chance of winning. The Wolver- ine divers came through grabbing first, second and fourth places in the one- meter diving event and first, third and fourth in the three-meter. "We couldn't let them win any of the diving events," Michigan's Eric Lesser said. "We just had to make sure someone was going to do it." Michigan received one minor sur- prise - the services of backstroker Royce Sharp. The sophomore was not sure he'd be competing until a couple days before the meet but still won the 200 backstroke. "Royce is back, and I think he took the challenge real well in the 200 back- stroke," Urbanchek said. The first day of competition con- sisted of unscored events. Tom Dolan's a By CHARLIE BREITROSE DAILY SPORTS WRITER When Michigan men's swimming coach Jon Urbanchek arrived in 1982 to take over the head job in Ann Arbor, the Wolverine swimming team was a squad struggling to make the big time. Michigan had not been higher than 10th at the NCAA championships since 1972 and had not captured the Big Ten title in 22 years. That all began to change when Urbanchek took the helm. In 1986, the Wolverines reclaimed the conference championship, and by the following year, they had vaulted into sixth place in the NCAAs. This jump into the top 10 was a big step, but Urbanchek knew that he would not stay there if Michigan did not face quality competition. "The Big Ten was no longer a challenge," he said. The next season a prominent name was added to the slate for the Wolverines -- Stanford. Urbanchek sought the best and put the Cardinal on the schedule. Stanford was the defending national champion and brought with it future 1988 Olympic gold medalist Jay Mortenson. Urbanchek responsible for Bue re-emergence "(The competition) just pulled us up another level," Michigan sophomore Royce Sharp said. "It's good to get teams like that in there." The intensity has been there for every meeting between the two teams. The meets have been very tight and usually come down to the final relay. The first dual meet in the six-year stretch, 1988, brought back vivid memories for both teams' coaches. Stanford's Skip Kenney was amazed by the atmosphere, as was his team, who dropped the meet, 65-46. "I can tell you the most exiting dual meet I've ever been a part of was the first year we went back to Michigan and swam in that old pool," Kenney said. "There was standing room only ... just a crowd. They were all over the walls. It was noisy; it was unbelievable. You felt like you were at a basketball game with 17,000 people. "They kicked our tails, and they kicked our tails good." The 1994 Stanford meet came right after a rigorous winter training camp, but Urbanchek said that benefits the Wolverine efforts all the more. "You're tired and still swimming, still racing, still forcing tourbody to go as fast as possible,"