EAST LANSING— Michigan men's swimming and diving coach Mike Bottom was pretty excited when he realized junior Chris Brady would have a chance to break one of Mark Spitz's final collegiate pool records this Sunday at Michigan State.

But there would be some rules.

Bottom wanted it to be done as close as possible to the way Spitz himself set the record. To do that Brady had to do three things: swim fast, wear just a simple Speedo suit (instead of a high-tech Speedo LZR racer bodysuit) and, most importantly, grow one of Spitz's signature mustaches.

When the Wolverines and Spartans met in East Lansing, his preparation paid off. Sporting a traditional Speedo suit and a mustache, Brady smashed Spitz's pool record in the 100-yard butterfly by 1.61 seconds. The record had stood since 1972, the same year Spitz won a then-record seven gold metals at the Munich Olympic Games. Spitz set the record as a senior at Indiana.

"It was pretty awesome because it was Mark Spitz, and everyone knows who he is," Brady said. "It's so exciting to do because of who he is and what he has done. So its special. Mike told me I should be trying to beat it, and he wanted me to look as retro as possible."

No. 3 Michigan went on to win the meet, 176-109. The victory completed the team's regular-season competition. The Wolverines were perfect in Big Ten dual meets (6-0) and lost only once all year, to No. 1 Texas in November.

The final results were surely no surprise to either team. The Wolverines lead the all-time series between the in-state rivals 79-5. The Spartans last win in the annual battle came in 1976. No other Michigan varsity team has a longer active win streak against Michigan State.

Despite the lopsided series, Bottom said his team still had a lot to gain from the competition.

"I think that it's good for these guys to come over and swim in a pool they're not used to," he said. "This is not an easy pool to swim in. It's a six lane pool. It's shallow at one end, and you're starting off the bulkhead, which is different for us. Any time we come into a different situation, it's good for us to learn how to adjust and learn how to race."

But adjusting was never an issue for the Wolverines, who won 14 of the meet's 16 events and went on to set two more pool records, in the 200-yard medley and freestyle relays.

Two Michigan swimmers won two events each. Senior co-captain Matt Patton won the 200-yard freestyle and backstroke events and freshman Dan Madwed won the 100-yard backstroke and the 200-yard individual medley. For the second straight meet, senior co-captain Jamie Martone won the 50-yard freestyle with a time of 20.23.

The Wolverines also took the top two spots in the one- and three-meter diving events. Senior Kyle Schroeder won both.

Because Michigan can bring a limited number of athletes to away meets, the Wolverines also competed without some key swimmers. Sophomores Tyler Clary and Neal Kennedy and juniors Alon Mandel and André Schultz all volunteered to practice in Ann Arbor instead of competing in the meet.

Regardless of the easy victory, Bottom acknowledged that he had higher expectations for his team in areas like the 200-yard butterfly and breaststroke events— the only two that Michigan did not finish first in.

"We did show a couple weaknesses," he said. "And we could have swam faster in some areas, but it's always good to come out swim one of your rivals."

The Wolverines have three weeks off before swimming in the Big Ten Championships on Feb. 26-28.