Women split duals against league foes

By Steve Jackson

Daily Sports Writer

Put your thumb and forefinger together. That distance between nails - that's how close the Michigan women's swimming team came to sweeping its first Big Ten double-dual meet Friday at Canham Natatorium. The Wolverines dropped a close decision to Wisconsin 150-144 but handled Iowa 202-96.

"We had a lot of close races, and usually those even out. But we lost them all," Michigan coach Jim Richardson said.

"Give Wisconsin credit - they deserved to win. They came out very aggressively and they really finished strong. They stepped up big when they needed to," Richardson said. "But we have a young team, and I feel good about where we are right now."

In five separate races, a Michigan swimmer finished behind a Badger by less than half a second. The Wolverines even led several of those races heading into the final 25 yards, but they couldn't match their opponents' sprints at the end.

Richardson has put the early-season emphasis on endurance rather than speed. Michigan has been training hard throughout the week, including a workout the morning of the meet.

"There might have been some fatigue involved in those finishes," Richardson said. "But we're building an identity around our tough training. It's easy to just swim Monday to Wednesday and look good on Friday."

Despite the training regimen, two freshmen looked good for Michigan - freestyler Samantha Arsenault and diver Tealin Keleman. Each turned in two individual first-place performances.

Arsenault, a gold medalist in Sydney, won the 200- and 500-yard freestyles. She posted NCAA consideration times (1:49.64 and 4:53.63) in both events.

"What Sam is doing for us is great," Richardson said. "She has only been with us for three weeks, whereas the other girls have been training for seven. I was especially pleased with her race in the 500. She is really swimming strong."

Keleman also made her Michigan debut with a bang. She placed first in both diving events, posting NCAA zone diving qualifying scores in each. "She is going to be something special," Richardson gushed.

Another impressive showing came from the 200-yard freestyle relay team of Arsenault, Jennifer Crisman, Missy Sugar and Laura Kaznecki. The foursome finished in a time of 1:33.68, edging Wisconsin, which touched the wall in 1:33.96. Richardson was duly impressed.

"That was not a first-semester time," he said. "They were two or three seconds faster then we were anytime during last fall. I'm really pleased."

Iowa's first-year coach, Garland O'Keeffe, didn't have as much to be happy about - the Hawkeyes were beaten convincingly by both Michigan and Wisconsin. But Richardson forecasts a bright future for Iowa.

"Garland is a great coach," Richardson said. "She has worked at camps here before, and I know she will do a good job of rebuilding that program."

Helpful prep

Since every meet in the Michigan swimming season serves to "get the team ready for NCAAs," The Michigan Daily sports staff would like to help in that objective.

This season's NCAA's will be held in Long Island, N.Y. Here are some ways the Wolverines can get ready:

n Flood Canham Natatorium with hospital waste.

n Shout random obscenities as encouragement during practices.

n Lose all ability to swim straight and safely.

n Convince each other that they are indeed the center of the universe.