The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/230001
fifth place in the lineup, is a battle. Everyone is pushing each other." James is working on his parallel bars, vault and floor exercise. And senior Jordan Gaarenstroom, a rings specialist last year, has drastically improved his skill set and will compete in the all-around in 2014. Gaarenstroom suffered an injury as a senior in high school in Laguna Hills, Calif., and has not competed in the all-around since then. "He has been working steadily in the shadow of several other guys," Golder said. "He hasn't been able to get it together to do the all-around for us. This fall has been really good for him, and he's going to do the allaround for the first time in five years. That will be pretty fulfilling for him to go, 'In my senior year, I worked my way back to it.'" To top it off, the Wolverines will have the extra motivation of competing in front of a home crowd at the 2014 NCAA Championships, which will be hosted in Crisler Center. No Michigan team has failed to win a national championship event it hosted since the 1958 swimming and diving team. "I have been studying this for a long time, how teams perform in championship meets, and above all other factors, hosting the championships usually brings out the best in a team," Golder said. "I am really, really looking forward to it. We're doing a lot of work and putting a lot of thought into it. "There isn't a daily talk about it, but it seems to always be there in the gym with us." Swimmers Ready To Go Unlike the gymnastics team, which is essentially bringing back the entire squad from its championship run, the Michigan men's swimming and diving team must replace a talented group of seniors who played a big part in the run to the title. Miguel Ortiz, Sean Fletcher and Zach Turk, three pieces of last year's NCAA Championship 200-yard medley relay team, are gone. As is Ryan Feeley, a 2013 All-American in the 1,650-yard freestyle. But the Wolverines have plenty of talent in the pool — enough to repeat the magic from last season. "The team is driven to reach their potential," Bottom said. "This is a different team than last year, and they know it. We lost an incredible senior class, and there is a lot of points that are gone there. Everyone understands that we are a different team and that they'll have to step it up." The biggest piece back is senior distance swimmer Connor Jaeger, a captain this year. With another strong season, Jaeger could cap one of the most decorated careers in Michigan swimming history. He has already won two NCAA individual championships (500-yard freestyle and 1,650-yard freestyle, both in 2013) and seven NCAA AllAmerica distinctions, including four last year (200-yard freestyle, 500-yard freestyle, 1,650-yard freestyle and 800-yard freestyle relay). "We are led by an Olympian and NCAA champion in Connor Jaeger,"