8B - The Michigan Daily - SportsMonday - March 4, 2002
Ketchum shines asJ
M alls to Minnesota
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By Courtney Lewis
Daily Sports Writer
BLOOMINGTON - Michigan
swimmer Dan Ketchum wrestled with
mixed emotions after the Men's Big
Ten Swimming and Diving Champi-
onships on Saturday. The sophomore
tied for most points earned and was
recognized twice during the post-meet
ceremonies, once as a member of the
All-Big Ten team, and once as Big Ten
Swimmer of the Year.
But then Ketchum stood poolside
with his back to the podium, unwilling
or unable to watch as Minnesota was
crowned Big Ten Champion. For the
second consecutive year the Wolver-
ines finished second to the Gophers in
the team standings, despite some out-
standing individual showings.
"I thought a lot of people swam real-
ly, really well, but we were second, and
you're always shooting for first - so
to get second is just tough," Ketchum
said. "But at the same time I had a
great meet and I'm really excited with
my swims."
Michigan began the final day trailing
Minnesota by 71.5 points, and it hoped,
to jumpstart a comeback bid in the first
race, the 1,650-yard freestyle.
Although four ,Michigan swimmers
finished in the top five spots - includ-
ing champion Brendan Neligan - it
wasn't enough to pull even with the
Gophers, and the Wolverines knew
their title hopes were dead. Minnesota
finished with 711.5 points, 75 ahead of
Michigan.
"We definitely thought we had a
chance," Ketchum said. "We knew we
had a real strong mile and we almost
caught them after the mile. They just
got the best of us this time."
Neligan excelled throughout the
meet. He grabbed second place in the
400-yard individual medley and helped
Michigan's 800 freestyle relay to first
place. Neligan was most impressive in
the 1,650 free, where he led from the
start and finished 11 seconds faster
than his nearest competitor, teammate
Andrew Hurd. It was the 10th consecu-
tive year a Wolverine won the event,
and Neligan's dominating performance
showed why the Big Ten coaches
named him Freshman of the Year.
Neligan said receiving his medal
on the podium was an experience he
won't forget.
"It felt really special, seeing my dad
up in the stands and seeing him smil-
ing," he said. "And look to my left and
see three other guys, it was something
special and it was just keeping the tra-
DAfINYIVULUOHJF'j Id
Michigan's Jordan Watland and the rest of the Wolverines finished second behind Minnesota in the Big Ten Championships
for the second straight year. This time, however, Michigan narrowed the gap from 248 points to 75 points.
dition alive." ,
Last year's Big Ten Freshman of the
Year, Ketchum, starred for Michigan
all weekend. His time of 4:16.30 in
Thursday's 500-yard freestyle not only
won the race, but also set a pool record,
and he followed that by winning the
200 free in a school and Big Ten meet
record 1:34.19. Ketchum added sec-
ond-place finishes in the 200 butterfly
and the 400 freestyle relay.
"I think Dan is performing extreme-
ly well this year," Michigan coach Jon
Urbanchek said. "He's swimming up to
his potential. He looked good all year
and he's just an awesome person to
coach - he's a coach's dream."
Rounding out Michigan's individual
champions were Tim Siciliano, who
won his fourth 400-yard individual
medley title, and diver Jason Coben,
whose 528.35 points in the platform
event set a pool record. In all, eight
Wolverines swam NCAA automatic
qualifying times at this meet.
But Minnesota dashed Michigan's
hopes again by finishing first in two
relays and performing well in several
sprinting events as well as the distance
races.
The Wolverines are narrowing the
gap, though. The 75-point deficit
showed improvement from last year,
when the Gophers won by 248 points.
That had the Wolverines thinking about
the 2003 Championships, which
Michigan will host.
"I just can't wait for them to come to
Ann Arbor next year," Ketchum said,
finally breaking into a smile. "We'll be
ready for some revenge - in our
pool."
Tankers shave offjust about anything for extra speed
By Courtney Lewis
Daily Sports Writer
BLOOMINGTON - When asked if there is
anything swimmers won't do to shave seconds off
their times, Michigan junior Garrett Mangieri had
to stop and think.
"A while ago people used to put vasoline and
stuff on, but that's illegal now so I don't think peo-
ple will do something that's going to get them in
trouble," Mangieri said.
But he added that they'll do "anything humanly
possible to get the edge against everybody else."
The Wolverines - and most of their competi-
tors - brought out their best tricks for the Big'
Ten Championships this weekend. For Michigan,
that included full-body shaves and long shorts or
pants instead of their usual speedos.
Mangieri admitted that those things can make
swimmers faster to a certain point, but the physi-
cal advantage isn't the only benefit.
"I mean, a suit is a suit," he said. "This does
bead water off, but it's all about training. I think
we could wear whatever suit we wanted, and I
think we'd still swim the fastest. Thinking that you
have the edge is probably the biggest part."
But don't tell senior Tim Siciliano it's all in his
head. On Thursday, the first day of the meet, Sicil-
iano struggled in the 200-yard individual medley
prelims, barely qualifying for the finals. That
night, he finished second in the final heat, swim-
ming an NCAA automatic qualifying time of
1:46.97 and shocking his teammates and coaches.
"I mean, he's never been that fast - not even
close to that fast - in the 200 individual medley,
and he just came out of nowhere," Mangieri mar-
veled.
Siciliano didn't put in extra training time or
change his strategy for the finals, but he did do
something else between races.
"I hadn't shaved my back yet, and my room-
mate Heath (Novak) shaved my back, and I could
actually feel it (during the final heat)," Siciliano
said. "I could actually feel the difference, so I do
think it helps."
Even if shaving really does make swimmers
faster, isn't it still a little weird?
Mangieri said most of his friends are used to it
now, but he did get teased When he was younger.
"I'd come back from a meet in middle school,
and people would be like, uhh ... really," Mang-
ieri said, raising his eyebrows to imitate the
strange looks his classmates gave him. "We're
around swimmers the most anyway, so if every-
body shaves down at the same time, you can't get
made fun of"
But Mangieri did think of one thing he won't
do to improve his times. Unlike many of his team-
mates, including Siciliano and Big Ten Swimmer
of the Year Dan Ketchum, Mangieri said he will
never shave his head.
"My family, I don't think they'd let me hear the
end of it," he said. "And I've got a big bump on the
back of my head, so I'll just stick with the cap."'
9 1
Hoosiers stnpped of title due
to false start, but lose gracefully
Indiana swimmer jumps off wall early, giving Penn State the crown
:,1~t4
Tankers
take fifth
in unusual.
season
By Kyle O'Neill
Daily Sports Writer
This wasn't a typical year for the
Michigan women's swimming and
diving team.
It was quite apparent when, after
the third day of the Big Ten Cham-
pionships (Feb. 20-23), the Wolver-
ines found themselves in fourth
place, 174 points behind then-first
place Indiana and with just two
medalists going into the final day
of competition.
Though the Wolverines ended up
in fifth behind Penn State, Indiana,
Wisconsin and Northwestern - far
from their traditional spot of first,
which they had been in 13 of the
past 16 years - Michigan did pro-
vide some memorable finishes to
leave a positive impression on the
championship meet.
Sophomore Annie Weilbacher, a
medallist in the 200-yard medley "
relay and the 100 butterfly in the
first three days, earned second and
third place honors last Saturday in
the 400 freestyle relay and 100
freestyle.
"Of course I always wish I could
do better, but that's what keeps you
in the sport," Weilbacher said. "If
you ever become completely con-
tent, you're not really going to go
anywhere. I'm happy with the way
things went and I'm using (the
meet) as, 'I'm here, now where do I
move forward.' There's still things I
want to do. And as a team I think
there's a lot more to do."
As a team this meet, Michigan,
concentrated on the efforts of indi-
viduals in hopes of getting some
final qualifiers into the NCAA
Championships (Mar. 21-23). The
Wolverines fell short, though, as no
names were added to the four
already going to NCAAs - Weil-
bacher, Lindsay Carlberg, Kelli
Stein and Amy McCullough.
There were hopes that last-year's
All-American, Emily-Clare Fenn,
would qualify in the 1,650-yard
freestyle - the event she finished
sixth in at NCAAs last season. But
Fenn couldn't join fellow miler
McCullough, who qualified last
month, as her time of 16:49.26 was-
n't near the automatic qualifying
time of 16:29.51.
"Her tempo dropped off," Michi-
gan coach Jim Richardson said.
"Emily's had a different winter this
season. It didn't come as easy as last
year, but I think in part it was
because we worked a lot harder out
of the pool this year. And it's possi-
ble her muscles haven't fully recov-
ered from a lot of the
out-of-the-pool work we've done.
She's obviously a great swimmer,
she'll come back and perform well. I
think she'll be back to form this
summer."
Michigan's only other medallist in
the meet was McCullough in the
1,650-yard freestyle with a time of
16:27.76 - just behind Wisconsin's
Carly Piper and Indiana's Sarah
Fiden.
Piper, the Big Ten Freshman of
the Year, was also the Big Ten
Swimmer of the Meet with wins in
the 500-yard freestyle, 200 free and
was a part of the winning 800
freestyle relay.
Indiana's Susan Woessner was
named the Big Ten's Swimmer of
the Year and earned pool, meet and
conference records in the 100-yard
backstroke with her time of 53.59.
The meet was also the final time
that the Michigan seniors would
compete in Canham Natatorium.
Carlberg, the only point scorer in
the senior class, was fourth in the
100-yard backstroke and seventh in
the 200 backstroke.
Senior co-captain Andrea Kurrle
was an alternate for the finals in the
200-yard breaststroke with her time
of 2:20.67 and was 19th in the pre-
liminary round of the 100 breast-
stroke. Career-bests were posted by
senior Kathleen Gilbert in the pre-
lims of the 200 breaststroke, 200
and 100 freestyles. Diver Lindsey
McElroy had two top-25 finishes in
the one- and three-meter competi-
tions.
"This last month, I've been trying
not to think about (being done),
because I've been swimming since I
was four," Carlberg said.
"I didn't know how I was going to _
By Kyle O'Neill
Daily Sports Writer
"Indiana relay! Indiana relay!"
That chant echoed through Can-
ham Natatorium last week (Feb. 20-
23) to conclude the Big Ten
Women's Swimming and Diving
Championships.
But unfortunately for the Hoosiers,
the crowd did not chant for celebratory .
reasons. The fans chanted out of.
.respect for a 400-yard freestyle relay
team that was disqualified in the final
event of the four-day meet to not only
lose the event, but also the Big Ten
title to Penn State.
The controversial and somber end-
ing took away from a meet known for
the deafening cheers from the crowd
and sidelines, the colorful rainbow
made by each team's colors and the
sights and sounds of 11 teams giving it
their all in this last conference compe-
tition of the season.
With the tone of the meet set early
on, it was only fitting that the final
event should have decided who was
going to be champions.
Indiana, with just two events
remaining, was down 32.5 points on
then-leader Penn State. The Hoosiers
used two top-16 finishes in the 200-
yard butterfly to gain 31 points and
shrink the No. 14 Nittany Lions'
lead. The 400 freestyle relay would
decide it all.
Wisconsin jumped out to an early
lead in the relay and never looked
back. Michigan and Indiana fought it
out for second, while Penn State's fans
and athletes could only watch as their
team struggled to hold on to fourth. As
long as the 19th-ranked Hoosiers were
ahead of the Nittany Lions at the end
of the race they would be Big Ten
Champions - no matter what place
they finished.
The race ended.
The Badgers cheered for their win-,
ning team. Michigan fans and team-
mates applauded their relay team for
its third-place finish. And Indiana
could not help but explode in joy as
its 400-yard freestyle relay team not
only beat Penn State by two spots in
the relay, but also seemingly secured
the Big Ten Title by three-and-a-half
points.
The judges the walked up to
Indiana's relay team. The crowd was
silent. There were no happy faces.
No 50-year-old parents jumping up
and down like they were kids again.
No red-and-white "IU" flags being
waved. Just quiet, depressed faces.
Within 20 seconds, Big Ten offi-
cials notified the Indiana four that
they were disqualified for jumping
early on one of the legs of the relay.
Freshman Erin Smith was believed to
have gone off the block early on the
last 100 yards.
Forgotten was the Hoosiers' 1-2-3
sweep in the 400-yard individual
medley. Forgotten was Indiana senior
and Big Ten Swimmer of the Year
Susan Woessner, who won both
backstroke events and set new pool,
meet and conference records in the
100-yard backstroke. Now the
Hoosiers and every other team sat
stunned, not knowing what to make
'of these difficult developments.
As Indiana coach Dorsey Tierney
went to console her relay team,
which was still gathered around the
diving block, the scene resembled
that of a Kevin Costner baseball
movie.
Hoosier fans stood up - followed
by the Wolverines, Boilermakers,
Nittany Lions and every other parent
in the crowd - to chant "Indiana
relay!"
Even Penn State's team, which still
hadn't comprehended that it was the
2002 Big Ten Champion - the first
in its history - got up and cheered
for the teary-eyed competitors from
Bloomington who stood strong in the
face of this new adversity.
"This team that we have here is
the hardest working team in the Big
Ten," Tierney said. "They went
through day after day of training
and they came into today and swam
their hearts out. The whole weekend
we swam as hard as we could."
After the tears were shed and the
crowd woke up from trying to make
sense of the final minutes of the
meet, cheers once again filled Can-
TOM FELDKAMP/Daily
Sophomore Annie Weibacher swam for Michigan in the 400-yard freestyle relay
that decided the Big Ten Championships' winner of Penn State.
ham. The Nittany Lions, after receiv-
ing their first-place medals, took a
dive into the pool in their warm-ups,
only to be followed in by Penn State
coach Bill Dorenkott, who was still
wearing his suit and tie.
"It's never the way you want to see
a championship decided, it's just
not," Michigan coach Jim Richard-
son said. "But when a kid makes a
mistake, there's just nothing you can
do about it. Billfeels badly because
he's such a competitor. He wanted to
go head-to-head and let the best
team win.
"You're sure that one team jumped
and you're not sure how good they
could have been had they not
jumped, so it's frustrating. If you do
a sport long enough, things like this
are going to happen. They don't hap-
pen very frequently, thank goodness,
but they happen."
The Hoosiers finished 33.5 points
behind Penn State and went home
with three All-Big Ten honors in
Woessner, Brooke Taflinger in the
400-yard individual medley and
diver Sara Reiling in the one-meter
diving competition. Wisconsin,
Northwestern and Michigan rounded
out the top five.
What makes this difficult for Indi-
ana was that with the star in Woess-
ner and the supporting cast of the
individual medley swimmers and
multiple top-10 divers, this was its
best chance to win its first ever Big
Ten Title in the sport.
But the Hoosiers are young, and
they plan on making their mark at
the NCAA Championships in March
and at Big Tens next year in West
Lafayette.
"Losing Susan is huge," Indiana
coach Dorsey Tierney said. "Losing'
the 2002 conference swimmer of the
year, the 100-yard backstroke Big
Ten champion, the 200-yard back-
stroke Big Ten champion and proba-
bly one of the fastest relay swimmers
... losing her is huge, there's no
doubt. As far as the freshmen, we've
got a great crop coming in, we've got
a great crop'now that are just going
to grow. Erin Smith, she came up
huge. She's had a great meet and
she's going to improve the rest of her
career."
The Hoosiers left Canham as "the
best second-place team in the
nation," proclaimed the meet
announcer, but they should be forev-
er remembered as great sports. Even
with the controversial ending, they
accepted their fate without protest
and left with their heads up high.
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