The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/122487
ncaa tournament: women's swimming Deirdre Jones as part of the 200-yard medley relay team. The fifth, junior Angela Chokran, finished 22nd in the 200-yard breaststroke. Her final time in the morning preliminary session was 2:10.87. Chokran admitted that a goal of shaving time off in that event had been on her mind since the Big Ten Championships. "It was the last day of the meet for me, and I was very, very close to my best time in that event," she said. "My best time had been at Big Tens a couple of weeks earlier. It was a great way to close out the meet and I was happy with it. I wanted to score points for the team, but it has given me the opportunity to think about next year and get into the finals." Before the team could think about next year, they had work to do. Their defining moment at the NCAA Championships would come against eventual national champion Georgia. DeLoof, Mattingly, Cohagen, Jones and Chokran stood toeto-toe with the Bulldogs in the 200-yard medley relay. The Wolverines finished 13th with a time of 1:38.10, ahead of Georgia. Chokran cited the team's finish in the relay as a potential springboard for next season. "I think it's easy for teams to get caught up in the big names, and be a little starstruck," she said. "Seeing that we had beaten them might have been enough for some schools. It could've been the end all, be all for us, but we wanted to keep scoring points and win for Michigan. It was great to get to the finals at relays, but next year hopefully we'll score more points and win it." Biedler agreed that next year will be the team's proving ground. Expectations will be high both inside and outside the team, and it's up to the swimmers to fulfill them. "I think we started off slow this season, but we showed growth at NCAAs," Biedler said. "It's a huge improvement, we're really excited for next season. … This year was a transition year, and now that we're all on the same page, we're only going to get better. I think we're ready to get it done next year." Bottom offered his final thoughts on this season, the changing culture within the program, and hope for the future by invoking a familiar name. "I think understanding the culture and idea of 'team' is translating to our women's program," Bottom said. "That's what Michigan's all about, right? We buy into Bo Schembechler's mantra of 'team, team, team.' 'Those who stay will be champions.' Those two phrases are on t-shirts, and are emblazoned in the minds of all our athletes. "If they can get to the end of the road here, they're going to be champions. [Assistant coach] Mark Hill's saying is, 'We're not selling easy.' You come to Michigan, and you will be a champion. But you're going to have to study hard, train right, eat right, and you're going to have to sleep while others are having fun. "You're going to have to make decisions between 'good' and 'best,' both for you and your teammates. The girls are starting to understand that." — Geoff Chiles