On to Auburn

Wolverines ready for 'cocky' Stanford

This time of year, some things aren't as inevitable as they normally would seem. Spring doesn't always bring warm weather. Billy Crystal won't always host the Oscars.

But as long as the men's swimming NCAA Championships are on the horizon, you can bet Stanford is in the hunt. Stanford won the Championships last year and appears on the threshold of yet another one. The Cardinal carries the No. 1 national ranking into the season's final meet, which begins today in Auburn, Ala.

"Right now Stanford is the Mecca for good swimming," Michigan coach Jon Urbanchek said. "They have a fab-five every year - usually the top five recruits end up at Stanford."

JOHN KRAFT/Daily Ten Michigan men's swimmers, including junior Tom Malchow, and one diver start competition in Auburn, Ala., today. Competition starts at 11 this morning and continues through Saturday.

As if that's not enough, agents in the national capital are probably calling Stanford the "First Team" - as in the favorite hangout of the "First Lady's" daughter. According to Michigan junior Tom Malchow, Stanford's most popular freshman, Chelsea Clinton, is dating Cardinal swimmer Anthony Robinson.

So it's no wonder other top-notch swimming teams bristle at the mention of Stanford. They're sick and tired of hearing about the Cardinal legacy - especially from the Cardinal swimmers themselves.

"Stanford's cocky, we can't stand them," Michigan junior Tom Malchow said. "No one else has a real fondness for them either."

Urbanchek isn't a Cardinal fan either, especially since his seventh-ranked Wolverines will be trying to make waves in Auburn as well.

But the 15-year coach recently took advantage of his swimmers' disgust for Stanford's arrogance. A week ago he printed out a sign from Stanford's swimming home page and taped it up next to the pool for every Wolverine to see.

The sign read "We won Pac 10s, now on to NCAAs ... see schedule/result for the results" - as if to say Stanford already has the title wrapped up.

After finishing his warm-down laps, captain Owen von Richter walked by the display and shook his head.

"You got to do it in the pool," he said. "Not just on paper. Anybody can do it on paper."

But in all likelihood, the Wolverines won't keep up with Stanford this weekend. And they already know it.

"The top three spots are pretty much taken, based on how they qualified people for the meet," Urbanchek said, referring to Auburn, Texas and Stanford, which qualified 18 swimmers for NCAAs.

Urbanchek thinks Tennessee, California-Berkeley, Georgia and Michigan will all battle for fourth place.

"To finish fourth we'll have to swim out of our suits, literally," he said. "We're not going to win it, but if every athlete does his job and puts points on the board, we could make the top four."

Eleven Wolverines will compete in Auburn, including diver Brett Wilmot, who secured a spot with his second-place finish on the 10-meter springboard two weeks ago at the Diving Zone Meet.

Malchow, a silver medalist in the '96 Olympics, leads the way for Michigan. Despite the junior's success in Atlanta, he has never won an individual national championship. But this weekend, Malchow is favored to win the 200 freestyle and the 200 butterfly.

"It will be really hard for me to win twice," Malchow said. "I'll be satisfied with one win and top-eight finishes in all three races. I've been denied a championship so far, so it would be great to win a title for Michigan - to stand up there on the block in maize and blue."

Senior Derya Buyukuncu is another Olympian who hasn't won an NCAA title. Despite a strong season, Urbanchek is skeptical about his chances.

"Derya's been one of our most valuable swimmers the last four years," Urbanchek said. "If he gets psyched-up he can do unbelievable things. I'll be pleased if he gets second ... it would be a very big upset if Derya did win. Finishing as high as second would be a very honorable way for him to graduate."

Perhaps Michigan's best shots at winning titles are in the 800 freestyle relay and in freshman Chris Thompson's 1,650 free performance. The 800 free relay historically belongs to the Wolverines, who have claimed the past five titles. Only Malchow and junior John Reich return from last year's quartet.

Thompson excels in the long distance events - his team's area of expertise. Thompson is favored to win the 1,650 free, which he has dominated all year.

"Thompson's supposed to win the 1,650, but he's going to be up against guys who were in the Olympics," Urbanchek said. "So he'll have his work cut out for him. He's definitely capable of winning."

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