12 Thursday, July 7, 2016 The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com SPORTS By ORION SANG Summer Managing Sports Editor Michigan head swimming coach Mike Bottom was named an assistant coach of the U.S. men’s team for this summer’s Olympic Games. “I’ve been dreaming about this since I was 10 years old,” Bottom said in a statement Sunday. “This is my Olympic dream. I’m ready to do whatever it takes to help the U.S. be successful in Rio. I can’t wait to get started.” Despite this being his first time coaching the U.S. team at the Olympics, Bottom has had a lot of experience at the Games — he has coached at the past five, and had also previously said that he would be coaching Michigan sophomore Mokhtar Al-Yamani and Al-Yamani’s country, Yemen, at this year’s competition in Rio. “In the past I’ve been with other small countries,” Bottom said at a press conference May 31. “The nice thing about coaching with a small country is that I can coach everybody. I’ve signed something that says I won’t coach against the U.S. team, so that gives me the freedom to do what I do.” Bottom, who coaches both the men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams at Michigan, spent the early part of the summer in Ann Arbor helping current team members and alumni — as well as other athletes representing countries from across the world — train for the U.S. Olympic Team Trials, which have taken place over the past week. Bottom has been in Omaha for the trials as several current and former Wolverines have competed for coveted spots on the national team. Notable performances came from alum Connor Jaeger, who also swam at the 2012 Olympic Games, qualified for the 1,500- meter freestyle and 400-meter freestyle by winning both events, while alum Tyler Clary, who won a gold medal in 2012, narrowly missed out on qualifying for this year’s games after finishing third in the 200-meter backstroke. Bottom will now get a chance to be part of the U.S. team for the second time in his life — he had previously qualified for the 100- meter fly in 1980, but the U.S. boycotted that year’s games as they were held in Moscow during the Cold War. Now, close to 40 years later, he will look to help his country to success — this time, though, he will be out of the water. RITA MORRIS/Daily Mike Bottom coached in the previous five Olympic Games for other countries. Mueller talks about his experience playing in U.S. Open as amateur Despite missing the cut, Mueller was able to keep up with the world’s best golfers By MATTHEW KENNEDY Daily Sports Writer It was during his freshman year of college that Michigan junior Kyle Mueller realized he had a legitimate chance of one day qualifying for the U.S. Open. He had tried to qualify a few years prior, before coming to Ann Arbor, but missed out by five strokes. “I was an okay golfer in high school — not a great golfer,” Mueller said. “But when I got to Michigan my game started to develop, I became a better player and I got some confidence.” So when a year and a half later Mueller competed at the U.S. Open Sectional Qualifier in Springfield, Ohio, it was no surprise that he was able to come in second place — securing his spot among the best in the world at Oakmont Country Club outside of Pittsburg, June 16-19. Heading into the week, the tournament didn’t feel all that different from the collegiate or amateur tournaments Mueller was accustomed to. He still had to sign his scorecard, he still had to think through what 14 clubs to put in his bag and most of all, he still had to shoot a low score. But for an amateur used to playing against other student- athletes, there was one notable difference: the competition. “When you’re driving in the front gates or driving at the driving range, you’re surrounded by the best players in the world,” Mueller said. “It was pretty cool to just be surrounded by all these guys, and growing up you idolize these guys and want to be like them.” Mueller was surrounded by many of the world’s most- idolized players early in the week, playing practice rounds alongside defending U.S. Open champion Jordan Spieth, defending British Open Championship Zach Johnson and two- time Masters champion Bubba Watson. He also played alongside James Hahn, whom Mueller had met six years earlier when Hahn was playing a tournament in Mueller’s hometown of Athens, Ga. Hahn stayed at Mueller’s house during the tournament, and has since been one of his favorite players. “I was definitely in contact with some of the best players in the world,” Mueller said. “I really got to pick their brains about what they were thinking about the course, course management and really just how they play golf.” When Thursday hit, Mueller played alongside professionals Richie Schembechler, a distant relative of Michigan great Bo Schembechler, and Derek Chang. On Thursday he shot a seven-over-par, 77, and on Friday he shot a three-over-par, 73, for a total of a ten-over-par, 150 — a decent score for a first- time amateur, but alas below the six-over-par needed to make the cut and play on the weekend. “I would say I played a lot better than my score reflected,” Mueller said. “I was a little disappointed I missed the cut; I felt that I had some silly mistakes throughout both rounds that could have easily been avoided, just stuff I don’t normally do when playing competitive golf. I wasn’t really nervous. I felt comfortable in both rounds.” But although his weekend ended early, the two days he spent in the tournament, in addition to the practice days earlier in the week, gave him a more important revelation than the one experienced during his freshman year: he felt comfortable amongst the best in the world. Where Mueller at first saw professionals as otherworldly athletes, he later saw entirely different things — human compatriots with the same motives and goals as he had. “I would pass Jordan Spieth in the locker room, and the first couple days I was there I was like, ‘Wow! That’s Jordan Spieth,’ ”Mueller said. “But by the end of it, he was just another guy trying to do what I’m doing.” For the rest of the summer, Mueller is scheduled to play in various amateur tournaments across the United States, culminating in the U.S. Amateur at Oakland Hills Country Club in Bloomfield Hills, Mi. — only 40 miles from Ann Arbor. These tournaments will feature the players Mueller is more accustomed to: high schoolers and college students trying to establish a footing for themselves. But as his week at Oakmont taught him, no matter the tournament, the competitors have the same goal, and no matter the competitors, Mueller can feel right at home. MEN’S GOLF “Growing up you idolize these guys and want to be like them.” “I got to pick their brains about what they were thinking.” “I played a lot better than my score reflected.” Bottom named an assistant coach for U.S. Olympic team