'M' swimmers place seventh

MINNEAPOLIS - Throughout this season, Michigan women's swimming coach Jim Richardson has been saying that he is not concerned about where his team places, just how hard it works and how it fights.

According to the placement and the effort put out by the Wolverines at the NCAA Championships this weekend, one can assume that Richardson's request has been granted.

The Wolverines finished seventh at the NCAA Championships with 249.5 points, matching their final national ranking. Stanford also matched its ranking, winning its sixth national championship in seven years. The Cardinal ended up with 422 points, outdistancing runner-up Arizona by 44 points.

"People ask from time to time 'Does it ever seem the same" Stanford coach Richard Quick, who has won 12 national championships as the coach of Texas and Stanford. "Each year the chemistry is different, the athletes are different, and it never gets old."

The main element in Quick's formula this year was freshman swimmer Misty Hyman, who won five titles - three individual and two relays - on her way to winning Swimmer of the Meet honors. Hyman began with a victory in the 100-yard butterfly in an NCAA-record time of :51.75 on Friday.

While that accomplishment in itself would set Hyman apart from most swimmers, her performance during the final day of the meet was even more remarkable. She captured the 200 backstroke and 200 fly within 40 minutes of each other - setting pool records in both events to boot.

"I was pleasantly surprised with the outcome," Hyman said. "I was excited for my first NCAAs but I didn't expect anything like this."

While the Wolverines didn't capture any titles, they did receive two second-place finishes.

Oddly enough, the two Michigan swimmers who were runners-up - senior Talor Bendel and sophomore Shannon Shakespeare - finished second in the same event. They finished behind Southern Methodist's Martina Moracova in the 200 freestyle with a time of 1:46.58.

"It's great for Michigan," Shakespeare said. "It's great to have that kind of competitiveness on a team. It's a strange thing that happened, but you know that you are competing with the best."

The best were certainly on display at the meet this weekend, as six NCAA and 12 pool records were set over the three days of competition.

"It's fast isn't it?" Richardson said of the meet. "This meet has really taken a huge step forward. Just to say that you are one of the 235 swimmers here is a major, major accomplishment."

Along with getting to the meet, Michigan provided a rare feat, as junior Jennie Eberwein finished fifth in the 200 free.

Grouped with Bendel and Shakespeare, the Wolverines grabbed three of the top five places in the event. Michigan was the only team to enter three swimmers in the championship heat of any event.

"Its great to have three people from the same team in a final period," Shakespeare said. "I don't know if we've ever done it before, but it's a great accomplishment."

Eberwein led the way for the Wolverines, tying for fourth-place in the 50 free and in fifth in the 100 and 200 free. Michigan exerted its strength in freestyle races throughout the weekend. The Wolverines came in second in the 200 free relay and fifth in the 400 and 800 free relays.

Along with a seventh-place finish by Shakespeare in the 100 and a 16th-place finish by senior Linda Riker in the 500, Michigan piled on points in the freestyle.

"We had six people competing in the 100 and 200 free, so we definitely have the most depth in those two events," Eberwein said.

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