EAST LANSING -- The 200-yard medley relay, the first event in yesterday's women's swimming and diving meet between Michigan and Michigan State, was a microcosm of the entire contest. The two top swimmers were neck-and-neck, racing tightly for first place.

Unfortunately for the Spartans, their best swimmer came in a distant third.

No. 9 Michigan dominated a Spartan team (0-2 Big Ten, 1-2 overall) that finished dead last in the Big Ten last year. The Wolverines controlled the meet, winning 11 out of 12 events and breaking multiple pool records on their way to a 153-85 victory.

Junior Justine Mueller, who won two individual events and participated in the winning 200-yard medley relay, smashed two pool records on the evening. Her time of 4:19.52 in the 400-yard individual medley easily bested the old record at Charles McCaffree Pool. Her 200-yard medley relay also broke the pool record.

"It's always fun to break pool records," Mueller said. "I like being able to go to a team's pool and see my name on their record board."

Michigan coach Jim Richardson, although happy with the outcome, stressed that his team has a lot more work to do. He said the team emphasizes getting better and faster every week.

"We don't place too much value on the meet because, the way we see it, it's just one day out of seven in the week," Richardson said. "The other six days of the week are just as vital to the team's improvement as the meet is."

Richardson was pleased with the performances in the 200-yard medley, 400-yard individual medley and 1000-yard freestyle, but he realized that a more back-to-basics approach would be necessary in practice for the team to improve.

Tighter turns and streamlining were problems Richardson wants to address in the next week of practice. He also saw a need for better underwater swimming.

"We just have to learn to swim in meets how we can swim in practice," Richardson said.

"We'll address these problems and be back in the pool tomorrow."

Even though the Wolverines (1-0, 1-1) work hard in the pool, their ultimate goal is not always winning.

The team created a mission statement at the beginning of the year, which stresses character attributes, like responsibility, commitment and work ethic. The goal of the mission statement, which Richardson said is more important to the team than win-based goals, is to teach each member of the team to use integrity in every asset of her life.

"I want to see these values transfer in what the players do after the sport," Richardson said. "At a place like the University of Michigan, we're trying to make great people, not just great players. We're trying to turn out people that will make a difference in the world."

The Wolverines travel to Athens, Ga. for a two-day meet against Georgia this weekend.