February 28, 2011 - 11:23pm
'M' swimming and diving leads Big Ten Championships after Day 3
BY ANDREW BAUSCHELT
The drive for thirty-five is almost complete.
Going into Day Four, the No. 9 Michigan men's swimming and diving team is one strong day of performances away from capturing the team's 35th Big Ten championship. The Wolverines have a 63 point lead over Indiana going into the final day of competition and have led since the event began on Wednesday night.
Following the template that allowed the team to reel off five straight Big Ten conference wins, Michigan has maintained its lead due to overall team efforts. The 200-yard medley and 800-yard freestyle relay teams allowed the Wolverines to jump out to lead on Wednesday.
On Day Two, freshmen Sean Ryan and Kyle Whitaker stole the show, winning the 500-yard freestyle and 200-yard individual medley respectively. Michigan swept the 500-yard freestyle podium, with junior Dane Vanderkaay and sophomore Ryan Feeley rounding out the top finishers. The Wolverines' 400-yard medley relay team was also able to follow the lead of the Day One relay teams with a first place finish, as well.
Today, Michigan was able to maintain their lead over the Big Ten competition as Whitaker added another victory to his rookie Big Ten championship experience by winning the 400-yard individual medley race. Junior Dan Madwed continued his conference championship onslaught in the 200-yard freestyle, providing the Wolverines with another first place finish. Madwed now has won the 200-yard free at all three Big Ten championships he has attended.
""I think the difference in this team and other teams is that they really believe in each other," Michigan coach Mike Bottom said. "If a guy falls, and we had a couple guys fall tonight, they don't get down."
Michigan will look to finish the job on Saturday as preliminary events begin at 11 am CT and finals begin at 6:30 pm CT. Check back to www.michigandaily.com for full coverage on the final day and the meet as a whole for the Wolverines.
