The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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BIG TEN CHAMPIONSHIPS: MEN'S SWIMMING It was the program's 38th all-time Big Ten championship and marked the first time since 1992-95 that the Wolverines clinched four consecutive conference crowns. Perhaps more impressively, though, every single member of the team con- tributed points, in either individual events, relays or diving events, making the win truly a team victory. "That doesn't ever happen," Jaeger said. "We had guys scoring on relays, indi- vidual events and divers scoring. That's 100 percent. That success — that is the definition of success, regardless of the final score. We are a team that wants to push from the bottom up, and we were able to do that." "That is one of the most exciting things I have been a part of," head coach Mike Bottom added. "To be part of a group of guys, where every single member contributes to the win, is special. That is very uncommon." The Wolverines set the tone early on the first day of competition, with an un- believable performance from the 800-yard freestyle relay team of Jaeger, senior Mike Wynalda, junior Justin Glanda and sophomore Anders Nielsen. The quartet finished the race in 6:09.85 — the fastest time ever recorded in the event. It broke the NCAA record set by a Texas team in 2009 (6:10.16) that included Olympic gold-medal winners David Walters and Ricky Berens. "Everyone who is around swimming understands that that record has been around for a while, and it was set with a number of Olympians on the team," Bottom said. "That is an incredible achievement for those guys. When that relay went well under the national record — which we didn't expect to win — we knew our guys were ready to swim fast. It didn't look like anyone was ready to step up to what our guys were putting out." Along with the 800-yard freestyle and Jaeger's two individual titles, the Wol- verines claimed 11 event championships at the meet. The 200-yard medley relay team of senior John Wojciechowski, juniors Bruno Ortiz and Richard Funk, and sophomore Peter Brumm won with a time of 1:24.38. The 400-yard medley relay team of Funk, Ortiz, Wojciechowski and freshman Jason Chen won with a time of 3:06.08. And the 400-yard freestyle relay team of Ortiz, Nielsen, Glanda and Wynalda won with a time of 2:51.07. Senior Kyle Whitaker won the 200-yard individual medley with a time of 1:41.3 and the 400-yard individual medley title with a time of 3:38.51. Wynalda took the 200-yard freestyle crown with a time of 1:32.52. Funk won the 100-yard breaststroke with a time of 1:32.52. Sophomore Dylan Bosch won the 200-yard butterfly with a time of 1:40.54. For seniors such as Jaeger and Whitaker, they capped off their careers having never lost the Big Ten championship. "When this class came in as freshmen, we knew they were going to be special, but we didn't know how special," Bottom said. "They came in with an attitude that stood up, saying, 'We are going to be champions.' There was an expectation