6B - The Michigan Daily - SportsMonday - October 31, 2005
Nothing but first place
for Blue against Spartans
By Nate Sandals
Daily Sports Writer
Emily Brunemann confirmed she was ready for the rigors of
collegiate academics when she finished her first round of mid-
terms last week. Friday night, the freshman proved she's ready to
compete at the highest level of collegiate swimming as well.
Brunemann's first-place finish in the 1,650-yard freestyle
event helped lead the Michigan women's swimming and diving
team to its first victory of the season, as the Wolverines (1-0 Big
Ten, 1-1 overall) defeated Michigan State (0-1, 1-1), 158-128.
The Crescent Springs, Ky., native's winning time of 16:48.41
was more than a minute ahead of the second-place finisher and
surpassed the NCAA "B" standard time, guaranteeing her con-
sideration for a spot in the NCAA championships.
Brunemann's teammates cheered enthusiastically from the
pool deck, and coach Jim Richardson flashed her the OK sign
as she completed the final lap.
"I'm very happy with my performance," Brunemann said. "To
make NCAA "B" cut in my second meet is just incredible."
Brunemann's strong swim was just one of many perfor-
mances that pleased coach Richardson on Friday night.
"I like where we are as a team, both in and out of the pool,"
Richardson said.
The coach was satisfied for good reason. Michigan swim-
mers came in first place in every event of the meet.
Michigan's effort was solid from the outset Friday. In the first
race, the Wolverines finished 1-2 in the 400-yard medley relay.
Following Brunemann's 1,650-yard win, Michigan further
extended its lead by sweeping the top three spots in the 200-
yard freestyle. >'
Sisters Lindsey and Hannah Smith made the 100-yard back-
stroke a family affair when freshman Hannah, with a winning
time of 57.56, edged out her junior sister. n.
The younger Smith beamed proudly at Lindsey as they exit-
ed the pool following the race.
The Wolverine's quick start erased Richardson's initial fears . a.
of a letdown after a 167-128 loss to California Thursday night.
"I was a little concerned by the Cal result," Richardson said.
"I told the team that it needed to bring its A game to every
meet. That's what happened (Friday night). Every swimmer
left everything she had in the pool." .. . . . ......Y
Michigan also performed well in the diving events. Sopho- ,- .
more Elyse Lee took first place in the one-meter springboard
with a score of 282.15. Lee added a third-place finish in the.kt °,<.
three-meter event. .g.
The Wolverines dominated the meet so completely that, with
thet scr 5-2 cado h s o xhibi yti hawimersK.{..
the score 152-52, Richardson chose to exhibition his swimmerst four events. Junior Lindsey Smith took second in the 100-yard backstroke against Michigan State on Friday.
Michigan's determined performance on Friday confirmed
Richardson's sense that this team has the potential to achieve Much of Richardson's confidence comes from the hard work The extra effort seems to1
impressive results. the Wolverines have put in during dry-land training in the percent of the returning Wol
"We've had good teams the past two years," Richardson weight room. times than they did at any tin
said. "Both years we finished in the top 15 at NCAAs: This A key component of the training program is the leg weight- Richardson hopes to see th
year is different though. This team has the ability to be in the lifting that the team does three times a week. Many swimmers Michigan continues its seaso
top 10 at the end of season." have put in long hours to get stronger coming into the season. at Canham Natatorium.
AARUN SWIK/DaLily
6
I
be paying off already. Sixty-five
Verines have already posted better
me last season.
that percentage grow when No. 15
n Saturday against No. 3 Georgia
NANOOKS
Continued from page 1B
the game with a shot from the point.
At the other end of the ice, Michi-
gan's defense was infallible on Satur-
day, snuffing out any chances that the
Nanooks could muster. The Wolver-
ines killed off all seven of the Alaska-
Fairbanks power plays and allowed
just 23 shots during the game. This
was a far cry from Friday night's per-
formance, when the Nanooks were 1-
5 on the power play and scored three
even-strength goals.
During Friday night's game, the
Nanook's power-play goal came on a
shot through the middle and from the
point, when Michigan's defensemen
were drawn too far to the wings on the
wider ice surface. But the Wolverines
quickly eliminated those mistakes
after watching tape of Friday's game.
"Our power play and penalty kill
units both went over video because
(on Friday) they were average," Ruden
said. "We fixed our problem. The pen-
alty kill let them set up once or twice
in the second period but that was it.
We blocked a lot of shots and cleared
the rebounds. You'll kill a lot of pen-
alties that way."
Behind the improved defense,
Ruden was also on form, stopping all
23 shots that came his way. Late in the
first period, Nanooks forward Lucas
Burnett was awarded a penalty shot
when he was taken down by Johnson
on a breakaway, but Ruden stood tall
and stopped it easily.
With the victory, Michigan improves
to 1-1-1 in the CCHA. The Wolverines
will now prepare for a home-and.
home series with Notre Dame on Fri-
day in South Bend and on Saturday at
Yost Ice Arena.
HARRIERS
Continued from page 1B
Following their cool down, the
Wolverines may have realized that;.
while they fell short of their goal this
weekend, there was still a chance to'
prove themselves in the following
weeks.
"I don't know if there's anything
really positive that we can take from
this," Bauer said. "But we certainly
will be looking to redeem ourselves
in the next race."
The ultimate indication of hope for
their upcoming races was Warhurst
Long after the race, it occurred to
him that there were a few solid indi-
vidual performances during the day.
"We might not be too bad off after
all," he said.
BIG TENS
Continued from page 1B
Those girls were finally awarded
for their dominance. Kolhmeier and
Webster automatically qualified for
all-Big Ten selection by finishing in
the top seven. But, while the front of
the pack ran as planned for the Wol-
verines, there was some cause for
concern in the back.
"I was a little disappointed with
our third wave," McGuire said.
"They got out of the box too slow
and just had too much to make up
down the stretch. We won't win any-
thing at the NCAA if our third wave
doesn't run better."
With the regional and NCAA cham-
pionship meets coming up, players
and coaches agreed that tightening
up the back of pack will be essen-
tial if they are to be successful on
the more comnetitive stes. There
4
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