The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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OLYMPIC SPORTS two coaches on deck, which is what they were used to, have six coaches that are coaching them. There's a lot of attention that needs to be put into that program, and we're able to do that because we are running a wom- en's practice and a men's practice, and then we also combine them on occasion. "My coaches are so good and so dedicated. That's how both of these teams have gotten to where they are." Bottom has both U-M teams among the NCAA's elite this year, leading the men to a No. 5 ranking and the women to the aforementioned No. 12 rating as of Dec. 10. "The culture at Michigan is out- standing," he said. "There is an understanding of what excellence means. Excellence isn't just getting a good grade or a good time, but it's understanding what you're studying and learning and how to apply that to a world that needs to be better. "That's what we do here — we teach them so that they understand what they're doing so that they can apply it to make their community better and their team better, so that eventually they can go out into the world and make it a better place." Bottom swam for USC and spent time coaching at Auburn and Cali- fornia, as well as various stops inter- nationally. He's recognized as one of the finest sprint coaches in the world. There are only five current coaches at Michigan that have won a na- tional championship with the Wol- verines — Red Berenson, hockey; Carol Hutchins, softball; Kurt Golder, men's gymnastics; Marcia Pankratz, field hockey), and Bottom in men's swimming in 2013, and he hopes to have the women competing on that level soon. "I don't mean this to sound ego- tistical, but everyone that knows me knows that I will figure out a way to win," he said. "That's just who I am. That's just what I'm about; that's my drive." MEN'S CROSS COUNTRY Michigan finished in 11th place at the NCAA Championships Nov. 22 in Terre Haute, Ind. … It was a 10- spot improvement from last year 's squad that paced 21st. … Redshirt junior Mason Ferlic led the way for the Wolverines, finishing 13th in the 10,000-meter race that featured more than 250 athletes to garner All-Amer- ica honors … The St. Paul, Minn., na- tive became U-M's first back-to-back Redshirt junior Mason Ferlic finished 13th in a field of more than 250 runners at the NCAA Cross Country Championships Nov. 22, becoming the first Wolverine to earn All-America accolades in back-to-back years in a decade. PHOTO COURTESY MICHIGAN ATHLETIC MEDIA RELATIONS