After a dual meet against Eastern Michigan two weeks ago, the Michigan men's swimming and diving team will jump into the 1996-97 season with a dual meet Saturday against the top-ranked Texas Longhorns at Canham Natatorium.
The fourth-ranked Wolverines will use this weekend's matchup against the Longhorns as an indicator of where they stand among the elite of the country. With this being the last meet of the fall semester, it will be used it as a jumpstart for the meat of the schedule, which starts in January.
"We're pretty much on track with where we want to be right now," Michigan coach Jon Urbanchek said. "However, we have been training for three months, so this meet will help us see where we are and where we need to go.
"However, this meet is simply a practice meet. No one will remember the winner of this meet in March."
Though the Wolverines lost Olympic gold medalist Tom Dolan from last year's third-place team, the cupboard is not bare. Returning stars include sophomore Tom Malchow, who took the silver in the 200-meter butterfly in Atlanta, and senior John Piersma, who won the consolation heat of the 400 freestyle at the Olympics.
Michigan is shorthanded in the sprints this season, as leading sprinter Jason Lancaster injured his shoulder in the preseason, which forced Urbanchek to redshirt him. With the Longhorns specializing in sprinting, the Wolverines will use their distance swimmers to stay competitive.
"Sprinting is a real weakness for us, so our plan this season is to cover up that hole with our distance swimmers, who should be very strong this year," Urbanchek said.
Among the swimmers expected to pick up the slack this season are junior sprinter Derya Buyukuncu, a native of Turkey, long-distance individual medley specialists Andy Potts and Owen von Richter, along with senior middle-distance mainstay Chris Rumley.
The Wolverines also boast some experienced divers, as sophomores Brett Wilmot, Al Fleming and Nate Shepard are coming off scoring performances at last year's Big Ten championships.
Michigan is also looking for some production out of this year's freshman class. Leading the crew is Canadian Mike McWha, regarded as one of Canada's leading distance swimmers. The Wolverines are also looking for contributions from Scott Meyer and El Salvador Olympic breastroker Paco Suriano.
The Wolverines will be facing a very balanced Texas team, led by Neil Walker, who competed at this year's Olympic trials.
"Walker can compete in any event he is asked to," Urbanchek said. "He is an all-around star."
The Longhorns also boast hotshot freshman sprinter Brian Jones and 200-yard freestyle specialist Chris Ackerman.
With Texas owning the advantage in the short-distance events, and Michigan having the advantage in the longer distances, the meet will likely come down to the relays. This plays into the Longhorns' hands, as Texas won every relay at last year's NCAA championships.
"(Texas) is very strong at relays," Urbanchek said. "We just have to capitalize on the opportunities we are given. We will try to make it as close as we can."