INDIANAPOLIS - The Big Ten women's swimming championship wasn't the 446.5-point blowout of last year. But in the end, the Wolverines pulled away, winning their 11th consecutive Big Ten title by 99.5 points.
Freshman Shannon Shakespeare won all three of the individual events in which she swam. Shakespeare, named co-Big Ten Swimmer of the Year, set Big Ten championship records in the 200-yard individual medley (2:00.87) and the 200 freestyle (1:47.34) and missed breaking fellow Wolverine Talor Bendel's 100 free record by one-hundredth of a second (49.95). The last Wolverine to win three individual Big Ten titles was Mindy Gehrs in 1992.
"I'm just so happy for our team," Shakespeare said. "We've won 11 championships in a row. We've faced some rough times this year, but we overcame them, and that was the bottom line. This is just the icing on the cake."
Shakespeare - as well as seven other Wolverines - is still training for the NCAA championships to be held next month and was not tapered for this meet.
"I just wanted to do what's best for the team," Shakespeare said. "If that meant winning and setting records, then that's what I was going to do."
The Wolverines took advantage of a strong third day to pull away from runner-up Minnesota.
Minnesota "had a chance to step it up and give us some real problems (Saturday) morning, and they didn't," Michigan assistant coach Mark Lambert said.
After the 1,650 free, the first event of the final day, the 10th-ranked Golden Gophers trailed by only 13.5. Kimberly Wilson, Olga Splichalova and Alicia Hicken finished first, third and ninth respectively for Minnesota, while the only Wolverines to finish in the top 16 were Kerri Hale, who finished fourth, and Melissa Sullivan (16th).
But the Wolverines stepped it up in the next event. Senior Anne Kampfe responded in the 200 backstroke, claiming her second Big Ten title of the meet.
In the 100 free, the Wolverines put the Gophers away.
Shakespeare, Bendel, Jen Eberwein and Kim Johnson finished first, third, fifth and ninth for the Wolverines. Michigan picked up 59 points, while Minnesota gained only 15.
"They're big-time swimmers," Michigan coach Jim Richardson said. "They had to dig deep and get that extra bit out. It's a real testimony to their character and to their competitiveness."
In addition to her three individual championships, Shakespeare was part of the winning 800 and 400 free relays, as well as the second-place 200 medley relay and third-place 400 medley relay.
Shakespeare, Kampfe and Jodi Navta were the top three point-scorers of the meet in the individual events.
Shakespeare's three titles earned the Wolverines 60 points. Kampfe finished with 55 points from her 400 IM and 200 back titles and a fourth-place finish in the 500 free. Navta netted 50 points from second-place finishes in the 200 and 400 IM and a third-place finish in the 200 breaststroke.
Minnesota was led by junior Gretchen Hegener, who finished with 49 points.
Hegener set new Big Ten championship records in the 100 and 200 breast events.
She also finished ninth in the 200 IM. Hegener was named co-Big Ten Swimmer of the Year along with Shakespeare.
Michigan's 99.5-point victory was the fourth-closest Big Ten championship in the meet's 16-year history and the closest since 1993, when the Wolverines beat Northwestern by 48.
SARA STILLMAN/Daily
Senior Melissa Sullivan and the Wolverines won their 11th straight Big Ten title.