The Michigan Daily - SPORTSMonday - Tuesday, January 17, 1995 - 5 Nr'ou cok crown Balanced women's team strives for NCAA .Michigan sets sights on first national title WOMEN' SWIMMING AND DIVING By JOHN LEROI Daily Sports Writer It is only a matter of formality. For the Michigan women's swimming team, the regular season is of little significance. As of Friday, the Wol- verines, ranked second nationally and have not been seriously tested during the regular season. Winning a ninth- straight Big Ten championship should hardly be more of a challenge. What does matter is the NCAA Championship meet March 16-18 in Austin, Texas. The NCAA Championships are not an unfamiliar place to the Wol- verines. Michigan will attempt a fourth-straight NCAA top eight fin- ish. The Wolverines finished eighth at last year's NCAA meet in India- napolis. Michigan returns nine swimmers who pulled down All-American hon- ors last year. The Wolverines are led by senior co-captain, Alecia Humphrey. Humphrey is an eight- time All-American, two-time U.S. Open backstroke champion, two-time Big Ten Swimmer of the Year and . twelve-time conference champion. Humphrey leads a trio of backstrokers that have dominated the Big Ten for the past two years. Humphrey, fellow co-captain Jenni- fer Almeida and Beth Jackson each placed at last year's NCAA Champi- onships. Humphrey, Almeida and Jackson hold three of the top six posi- tions on the Big Ten's all-time 100 and 200-yard backstroke performance list. Michigan head coach Jim Richardson labeled his backstrokers "the finest trio ever in the Big Ten Conference, and the finest collegiate trio this year in the country." Humphrey, for one, will not be satis- fied with another eighth-place finish. "We've shifted our emphasis this year to the NCAAs," Humphrey said. "We've trained harder this season than ever before and we know that we can place in the top three." The triumvirate swimming the backstroke will get plenty of help from a group of talented new Wolver- ines. Michigan's freshman class, rated second-best in the nation, solidify the team's strengths and fill previous weaknesses in the sprints and relays. Newcomer Kerri Hale has been in- valuable to Richardson in the dis- tance events. Hale and fellow freshman Talor Bendel have made the butterfly a strength for the Wolverines. Two All- Americans, Anne Kampfe and Beth Jackson, have both had strong show- ings in the fly already this year. The Wolverines also picked up a three-time All-American. Junior Megan Gillam transferred from Texas where she was named All-Southwest Conference in four events. Gillam, a native of Dearborn, Melisa Stone and freshman Kim Johnson have filled a gaping hole in the sprints for Michi- gan. Last year, Stone became the first Wolverine ever to score in the 50- yard freestyle at the NCAA Champi- onships. In the breaststroke, the Wolver- ines are led by sophomores Rachel Gustin and Jodi Navta. Gustin earned All-American honors last season with her performance at NCAAs and scored in each of the seven events she com- peted in at NCAAs. Navta earned All- American recognition after placing fifth in last year's 200-yard breast- stroke. The addition of the freshmen coupled with the return of nine NCAA All-Americans gives Richardson an extremely talented and versatile team. The Wolverines pack a powerful punch that stretches three and four- ing to compete in the Pan-American Games in Argentina instead. "If we get 13 or 14 swimmers in NCAAs, we'll be in real good shape," Richardson said."We need to have a strong showing at Big Tens for more ships) but we're going into the meet sticking together as a team." Early in November, Michigan got a taste of just how good of a team that it could be. At the Lady Mustang Classic, the Wolverines finished well- ahead of five nationally ranked teams, winning the meet. The Wolverines have recently been promoted to the No. 2 ranking but face an uphill battle if they want to dethrone defending NCAA champion Stanford. And though Richardson does not believe that last weekend's dual meet against the Cardinal is much of an indicator of his team's success at the NCAA meet, the feeling around Canham Natatorium is that the Wol- verines may be the bridesmaids again. "I think that we are a very, very good team," Richardson said. "We have a lot of depth where other teams naturally don't. But Stanford is so strong and they'll have to give away the national championship. We have to hit on all cylinders just to have a shot." In the year before the 1996 Olym- pics in Atlanta, Humphrey and other Wolverine Olympic hopefuls have an extra incentive to post fast times. The team has concentrated their training and their hearts on the NCAA Cham- pionships. "Obviously we want to win Big Tens," Humphrey said."But this year, our emphasis is on the NCAAs. I know we'll have to swim out-of-our- minds, but we're shooting for number one." And so in Austin, while watchful observers will be eyeing the time clock, don't be surprised if the Wol- verines' eyes are set on a national championship. Jennifer Almeida: Senior ... Backstroke/Freestyle-... All- American ... Two-time Big Ten champion ... Co-Captain EVAN PETRIE/Daily In her second year, Jodi Navta looks to garner another All-American accolade. Much of Michigan's hopes ride on the success of its sophomore swimmers. deep in almost every event. "For the first time since I've been here, we have no glaring weaknesses and we have depth in every event." Richardson said. But Michigan may not be quite deep enough. Seven Wolverines -Bendel, Gustin, Hale, HumphreyAlegra Breaux and Lisa Butzlaff-are almost assured toqualify for theNCAA meet in March. Richardson is hoping that six more swimmers will post qualifying times at the Big Ten meet. The Wolverines will especially need the added depth due to the loss of All-American diver Carrie Zarse, who will not dive at the NCAA meet, opt- girls to place." The Wolverines are more confi- dent that they can place near the top of the standings at the NCAA meet this year than ever before. Part of this new-found confidence is a result of a great amount of extra training. Michigan spent the holidays in Hawaii, training extensively with the NCAA Championships in mind. The squad swam nearly 1,000 yards longer each day than usual. Swimming over a mile a day may give Michigan the extra push that it needs. "Everyone worked really hard in. Hawaii," Gustin said. "Each one of us is ready (for the NCAA Champion- Talor Bendel: Freshman . Butterfly/Freestyle ... 1994 YMCA Swimmer of the Year. ranked No. 1 amongst high schoolers in 100-yard fly, No. 2 in 200-yard free Newcomers fill gaps in Wolverine roster, bolster title hopes * Second-ranked recruiting class and junior transfer give Michigan the depth and power to challenge top teams By MARC DILLER Daily Sports Writer In years past, Michigan women's swimming coach Jim Richardson was pleased with a top-ten national finish and was skeptical about breaking into the elite rank of teams at the NCAA Championship. After four consecu- tive top ten finishes at the NCAAs and back-to-back highly-touted re- cruiting classes, the Wolverines have higher aspirations for this year's squad. "We have really high goals," Michigan co-cantain Alecia Humphrey said. "This team wants to win NCAAs." What makes this Michigan team so much better than years past is that it can now compete with the colle- giate swimming powerhouses - Stanford, Florida and Texas. The No. 2 Wolverines amended their weaknesses by filling in the gaps with new, talented swimmers who have meshed easily with the veteran, established swimmers on the team. "This is the deepest and most bal- anced team we've ever had here at Michigan," Richardson said. "No area in particular is any stronger than the others." After having acquired one of the premiere recruiting classes in the nation last year, Richardson bet- tered his feat and recruited the sec- ond-rated freshman class in the na- tion this year. Now the Wolverines boast one of the best all-around teams in the country. "I don't necessarily recruit to fill gaps in the team," Richardson said. "I recruit people who belong at Michi- gan and have a strong interest in this school." Luckily for Michigan, everything just seems to fit into place. The Wol- verines' strengthened their once weak events - individual medley, butter- fly and sprints - with talented new swimmers and the emergence of their sophomores. The Wolverines' freshmen - Talor Bendel, Alegra Breaux, Kim Johnson and Kerri Hale - are the most experienced of the ten-mem- ber class. Johnson, the lone mem- ber with international experience, finaled in the 50-meter freestyle at the 1994 Goodwill Games. Bendel, Breaux and Hale all enjoyed valu- able exposure in high school, hav- ing been nationally ranked in their respective events. "The freshmen are not inexperi- enced," Richardson said. "They've all been to senior nationals and faced big time experience." The freshmen have adjusted well to the college level. Each of the fresh- men have benefited the Wolverines in one way or another. Hale and Bendel removed the burden from sophomore Anne Kampfe in the butterfly. Hale, a three-time Michigan state champion, placed fourth in the 200-yard butter- fly at the 1994 Senior Nationals. Bendel concluded her high school career ranked No. I nationally in the 100 butterfly. "It has been an easy adjustment with the team so far," Bendel said. "We've worked really well together as a team." Michigan snagged three of the top five nationally-ranked high school IM swimmers in Breaux (No. 1), Johnson (No. 2) and Karin Bunting (No. 5). Add Kampfe, who finished second in the 400 IM last year, and the Wolver- ines now boast one of the top IM teams in the country. "We tend to be stronger in the IM," Richardson said. "That's prob- ably a good race to be strong in be- cause they can race other races." The most unexpected, yet benefi- cial acquisition this year was Megan Gillam, a transfer from Texas. Gillam, a Dearborn native, brings an abun- dance of talent and big race experi- ence to Michigan. The junior was a three-time NCAA All-American for the Longhorns. Gillam and Johnson help to form a formidable sprint team for Michigan. Along with the emergence of sopho- more Melissa Stone, the Wolverines can now compete with any of the top- ranked sprinters in the nation. "I like to think this year and next year I'll add my experience with Texas," Gillam said. "I know what it's like swimming for a top-ranked team and I try to act like a leader. "This team has just as much talent as any other team I've swam on. There's no superstars: it's more a team than individuals." Rachel Gustin: Sophomore ... Breastroke/Individual Medley ... All-American ... Two-time Big Ten champion ... Represented U.S. in 1994 World Championships Alecia Humphrey: Senior ... Backstroke/Individual Medley,... All-American ... Two-time Big Ten Swimmer of the Year ... 12-time Big Ten champion ... American record (SC) 200-meter backstroke ...Two Big Ten Conference records ...Three Michigan records ... Co-captain Senior Alecia Humphrey co-captains the Wolverines in the quest for their first national championship. *Stanford outtouches Blue in battle for top ranking No. 2 Wolverines fall to No. 1 Cardinal by four points; swim well enough to overcome California By REBECCA MOATZ Daily Sports Writer In football, the end of the game is designated by the clock running out. In swimming, the meet ends when the last relay team touches the timepad. Sometimes, though rarely, that last touch can determine who wins the meet, and the excitement level can rival that of a winning touchdown pass with no time on the clock. slightly less than one second, 3:29.57- 3:30.54. The first and third place fin- ishes pushed the Cardinal ahead to win the meet and extend the team's dual meet winning streak to 45 victo- ries. Double-winning for the Wolver- ines were Lisa Butzlaff in both the 100-yard (1:04.01) and 200-yard breastrokes (2:17.96), Alecia Humphrey in the 100-yard (56.19) coach Jim Richardson said. Stanford returned U.S. Olympian Jenny Thompson, who won the 100 freestyle and contributed to Cardinal vic- tories in the 400 medley and free relays. "Thompson has the leading time in the country in the 100 free. When you are dealing with athletes of this caliber, the fact that you have had a couple more dual meets than they've had doesn't make a difference," Richardson said. ThP n nn,'cxxiPAnPnCC ,, PxAdcint verines their most numerous victories with Humphrey and Beth Jackson consistently placing in the top three. Saturday's meet also involved the U.S. National Team, that included former Stanford star and four-time Olympic gold medalist Janet Evans. Evans, who won the 500 and 1000 freestyles, and Angie Wester-Krieg (200 fly) were the only team mem- bers to win events for the team. Michi- nn"hn~ tkA TT Qtam 0OflQ from the Stanford meet. "The. Stanford meet was a very emotional meet, and that uses your training energy, not only physically, but also emotionally ... we went into Berkeley a little flat," Richardson said. "1 think we swam just well enough to win the meet but I was a little disap- pointed in the preparation of the team prior to the meet." With the weekend split, the team 'cnntnnei ts ,mid to thepNCtA A uiiet Beth Jackson: Junior ... Backstroke ... All-American . Two-time Big Ten champion . rl l{...' .