COLUMBUS – Attitude is everything.
For the No. 14 Michigan women’s swimming and diving team, a dual meet in Columbus on Friday afternoon was not an opportunity to suspend the team’s demanding conditioning schedule. With more than four months left in a grueling season, mental and physical toughness is the key to competitive progress for coach Jim Richardson’s squad.
Friday morning, a rigorous dry-land routine got the team’s blood flowing hours before boarding a bus heading to the shiny confines of the stainless steel McCorkle Aquatics Pavilion. The Wolverines split the dual meet, showing no sign of fatigue as they set six pool records in a strong all-around team performance in their first competitive appearance at the Buckeyes’ sparkling new facilities.
The Wolverines handled the Buckeyes 208.5-91.5, led by the strong performance of juniors Kaitlyn Brady and Lindsey Smith. Both Brady and Smith won a pair of individual events with pool-record times and teamed up to win two relay events, including a 200-yard medley relay victory that set another McCorkle pool record. Sophomore Valeria Silva and senior Carolina Sierra rounded out the quartet that finished in 1:43.14 and shaved four tenths of a second off the team’s best mark of the year, a full second ahead of second-place finisher Purdue.
In the meet’s final race, Michigan capped the day with a thrilling victory. Smith, the team captain and unit anchor, managed to overcome Purdue’s lead in the final leg of the 400-yard freestyle relay.
“The relays are a lot of fun,” Smith said. “I just like the intensity, and it’s usually a close race. Being able to go up against a group of fast people with your teammates is always exciting. Everybody gave a great effort today.”
Junior Susan Gilliam made her mark in the 1,000-yard freestyle race, setting the pool record with a time of 9:55.87 in the distance race.
“If you baby people along the way, you’re never going to develop the necessary toughness,” Richardson said. “You ask people to do things that are demanding, and then you race. That’s how you develop toughness, and there’s no other way to do it. Our conditioning program this year is the most strenuous we’ve ever had, and the girls have responded very well. Toughness is going to help us down the road, and I like the character we have shown thus far.”
The Michigan squad’s toughness might have been best illustrated by the gutsy performance of freshman Emily Brunemann. Brunneman – who spent Thursday night at the doctor’s office – employed a healthy stroke to battle the competition in tandem with antibiotics to fight her illness on her way to an impressive second-place finish in the 400-yard individual medley and a fourth-place finish in the 1,000-yard freestyle race.
The undefeated Boilermakers (5-0 overall) emerged from the pool with two victories – overcoming the Wolverines, 156-144, and the Buckeyes, 231-69 – to continue a strong start to the young season.
“I think Purdue might have their best squad ever,” Richardson said. “Their depth of talent is impressive, and they could do some big things this season. I think we hung tough and look forward to continued improvement as the season progresses. We’re showing the type of character that will allow for great things.”
Michigan’s highly touted freshman class continued to live up to its reputation, and Hannah Smith’s victory in the 200-yard backstroke highlighted the group’s progress.
“We’re posting better times every week,” Brady said. “We’re focused on improvement, and we’re getting results. If we keep working as hard as have every day, our excitement and success is bound to continue.”