The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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inside michigan athletics Men's Swimming Team Claims 19th National Championship In program History Newly christened men's swimming and diving National Coach of the Year Mike Bottom will forever remember March 30, 2013. It was a day unlike any other; it was as good as gold. The Wolverines captured the program's 19th national championship in school history (12 titles, plus seven won before the sport was sanctioned by the NCAA in 1937). The victory earned U-M the rarefied air of being the only university in collegiate swimming and diving with championships won by four different coaches (Matt Mann, Gus Stager, Jon Urbanchek and Bottom). In short, this team was a maizeand-blue behemoth that went to Indianapolis on a mission. Nothing else would matter if it didn't win the national championship that had been its goal from day one. And win it did. As was the case all year, the NCAA Championships were an unquestioned success. Michigan led the national meet wire-towire, finishing with 480 total team points. California finished in a distant second place with 406. The rest of the field saw nothing but winged helmet-style caps and block M's in front of them. Michigan's motivations were long since established. But it was the unbeatable combination of poise, positivity and depth displayed by the roster that lifted it to greatness. Five swimmers won individual national championships (two individual, and one relay), and 15 Wolverines were bestowed with All-America status, tallying an amazing 49 honors between them. The gravity of the moment was almost unreal for Bottom. "There are a lot of feelings for me," he said. "First of all, it feels great. Winning a national championship doesn't happen very often. Michigan did it back in 1995, and the one before that was 1961. Two national titles in 30-plus years. Those are the kinds of things that as a coach, you say, 'Oh, wow.' "We have our nose to the grindstone during the season, we're not thinking about numbers. As coaches and athletes, we focus on goals, and once we get them, we don't realize what we've done until later." Junior Connor Jeager proved why he was an Olympian in 2012, showcasing a dominant display of endurance in the 1,650 freestyle. Jeager, this year's Big Ten Swimmer of the Year, was opposed by 2011 NCAA champion Michael McBroom of Texas, who kept their individual battle close throughout the contest, but it was Jeager that found a second gear to pull away near the end to clinch victory for Michigan. Jeager's time of 14:27.18 was a career best and also was the second-fastest time in school