MINNEAPOLIS - It has been only one day, but already the Michigan women's swimming team is performing up to Michigan coach Jim Richardson's expectations.
The Wolverines swam to third-place in the Big Ten Championships last night with a score of 134 after one day of events, despite not having any swimmers in the 500 freestyle finals.
Minnesota finished the evening in first place with a score of 181, followed by Northwestern at 166.
The meet exploded out of the gates with an exciting 200 free relay, in which Michigan finished second to the Wildcats by only .02 second.
"Those are the two fastest times in the country," Richardson said.
As she has done all year, junior Shannon Shakespeare won the 200 individual medley to capture her third straight Big Ten title. In a rare display of emotion after the race, Shakespeare pumped her fist to the crowd and flexed her biceps.
In what may be the comeback story of the year, senior Jen Eberwein finished second in the 50-free, losing to defending Big Ten champion Jennifer Christy of Indiana by only .04 seconds.
Suffering from Epstein-Barr Syndrome, Eberwein missed half of December and the entire month of January - it was questionable whether she would be able to return for the Big Ten Championships.
"It is a testament to how tough she is and what kind of racer she is," Richardson said.
02-19-99
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