The Wolverine

April 2012

The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports

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BIG TENS: MEN'S SWIMMING Hungry Wolverines Dominate Big Ten Championships maize t-shirts, the Michigan men's swimming and diving team jumped into the waters of Iowa's Campus Wellness and Recreation Center in elation before joining together in a stirring, and floating, rendition of "The Victors." The scene, and celebration, Donned in commemorative was a familiar one for a Wolver- ines squad that had just seized its second consecutive Big Ten title Feb. 25, and its third in head coach Mike Bottom's four-year tenure. "All year we were focused on winning the Big Ten champion- ship again," said sophomore Kyle Whitaker, who finished first in three races and was one of 10 Wol- verines to earn 2012 All-Big Ten honors. "We knew it wasn't going to come easy with teams like Ohio State and Indiana breathing down our necks. We were the ones with the target on our back this year." Not only did the reigning con- ference champs dodge the bul- lets of their adversaries, but they turned their predators into prey in dominant fashion throughout the season in building momentum to- ward the Big Ten Championships. The Wolverines won all nine of their regular-season head-to-head meets and finished atop the leader board in four of five multi-team competitions. "Every member of our team had a job to do and went to work," Whitaker said. "From day one until the last race, it was hammer down the entire time to get the best results as a team. We just went after it and were tenacious from the very beginning." Michigan smothered any title aspirations its rivals may Senior captain Dan Madwed was named Swimmer of the Championships after earning Big Ten titles in four events. PHOTO COURTESY MICHIGAN ATHLETIC MEDIA RELATIONS since 1995, but the Wolverines have consistently per- formed like a national title contender throughout the 2012 campaign. And judging by the times posted in Iowa City, they appear to be peaking at the right time. "We always say that top 10 is our goal, but I think this year have had, winning 10 of 18 swimming events, including three of five relays, and claiming 10 runner-up finishes. The Maize and Blue crowned seven individual Big Ten champi- ons, finished one-two-three in three different events, and outscored second-place Ohio State 738.5-552.5. "I definitely think that this is the best team, depth-wise we are looking to finish a little bit better than that," said Bottom, who was named Big Ten Coach of the Year. "We have not been in the top seven since I've been here, so I'd love to finish better than that. If you can position yourself in that top grouping, anything can happen. "Knowing that we did not give these guys full rest going and talent-wise, that we've had since I've been at Michi- gan," said senior captain Dan Madwed, who was named Swimmer of the Championships after earning Big Ten titles in four events. "We really have come together as a team, worked really hard and put our own goals aside for the betterment of the group. I think that is something unique to this team." The 2012 Wolverines are hungry for much more than consistent conference supremacy — they want the block M on the national marquee. "Our ultimate goal is to move on to the NCAA Champion- ships and win it every year, which is the most difficult thing for a team to accomplish," Madwed said. Michigan has not won an NCAA team national crown into the Big Tens, and for them to have that much left in the tank, if we continue to work really hard alongside some good recovery time between now and the NCAA Champi- onships, we have a shot." The 2012 Wolverines have certainly continued a tradition of excellence, and mastered the post-conference champi- onship fight song sing-a-long, but belting out "The Victors" together on the biggest stage in collegiate swimming and diving, at the NCAA Championships March 22-24, would be an ideal ending to a remarkable season. "Winning should be expected here," Madwed said. "To settle for anything less would not be acceptable for Michi- gan standards — this team wants to keep that legacy go- ing more so than anything else." — Kevin Minor APRIL 2012 THE WOLVERINE 93

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