Laskowski, Zawacki lead Michigan Open

If only the concessions stand at Canham Natatorium sold cotton candy, this past weekend's Michigan Open could have passed for a circus.

Hundreds of kids - some as young as 10 years old - crowded the lobby and the sides of the pool, awaiting their chance to swim competitively against a few of the world's best.

But Michigan's best men's swimmers were nowhere to be found. The likes of Tom Malchow and Derya Buyukuncu didn't compete in the Michigan Open because they had already registered Big Ten-Championship qualifying times earlier in the season.

In fact, only two Wolverines raced in the weekend-long tournament: senior Chris Laskowski and sophomore Jay Zawacki. Zawacki placed second in the 200- meter freestyle preliminary round on Saturday, and Laskowski won the 200 individual medley by nearly five seconds during yesterday's preliminary.

MARGARET MYERS/Daily The Wolverines are relaxing their practice load in preparation for the Big Ten championships in two weeks. Michigan has won the Big Ten 11 of the last 12 years.

"The only reason they swam was to get times for the Big Tens," Michigan assistant coach Eric Namesnik said. "There weren't really any expectations, there was no pressure. They were only legal swims to get entry times, because Laskowski and Zawacki haven't swam these events all year."

Despite placing well enough in their respective races, neither one swam in the evening finals because the looming Big Ten Championships grossly overshadow the Michigan Open. In two weeks, the Wolverines will shoot for their 11th conference title in 12 years, and they'll need all the rest they can get.

"Laskowski's was just an easy Sunday morning swim without a lot of pressure," Namesnik said. "Now, it's back to bed."

Few of the Wolverines even came to watch their teammates compete - much to the disappointment of the kids who wanted to meet their heroes.

Scott Tanner, a 13-year-old native of Cincinnati, swam in six events over the weekend. But he didn't get to meet Malchow, one of his idols.

"It's really cool to be here," Tanner said. "I plan on swimming in college someday and it would be nice to go to Michigan."

Despite the absence of the more notable Wolverines, many kids were just thrilled to compete in the cathedral-like Canham Natatorium, where swimmers like Olympic medalist Tom Dolan have left their mark.

"I guess it's an honor to swim here," 16-year-old P.J. Garberson said. "You look up at the scoreboard and see all those times and it feels good."

Laskowski knows what kind of role big-time college athletes play in the minds of younger kids. Even though he's not a household name in college swimming, the co-captain is happy to make an impression on today's youth.

"I know what it's like," Laskowski said. "I'm from Seattle, and when I was younger, I used to go see college meets at the University of Washington.

"The one thing I hope is that these kids see me still swimming at 21, and they stick with the sport."

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