|
Three Big Ten Student-Athletes Capture Individual Titles at NCAA Men's Swimming and Diving Championships
March 28, 2005
Final Release in PDF Format The Big Ten Conference added three more individual national champions to its storied history as Michigan teammates Davis Tarwater and Peter Vanderkaay, and Northwestern's Matt Grevers, each claimed event titles at the 2005 NCAA Division I Men's Swimming and Diving Championships held March 24-26 at the University Aquatic Center in Minneapolis, Minn. Tarwater claimed Michigan's first NCAA championship in the 200-yard butterfly since 1967, as the junior set a new pool record in the event, 1:42.30. Vanderkaay became the first Wolverine to repeat as NCAA champion since Tim Siciliano won three consecutive titles in the 400y/400m individual medley in 1999-2001. The Rochester, Mich., native won the 500-yard freestyle in a new pool record time of 4:09.82. This is the third NCAA individual championship of his career, as the junior also claimed titles in the 400- and 1,500-meter freestyle events last year. Vanderkaay also posted two runner-up performances in the 200- and 1,650-yard freestyle events. The Wolverines also recorded a second-place finish in the 800-yard freestyle relay, while Chris DeJong clocked a 1:41.26 in the 200-yard backstroke to finish third for Michigan. Grevers posted a career-best time of 45.62 to win the 100-yard backstroke and gave the Wildcats their first NCAA individual championship in any sport since 1999. The sophomore is the first NU men's swimming NCAA champion since Dave Pemberton won the 200-yard backstroke in 1958. Michigan led all Big Ten squads with a sixth-place finish in the team standings, followed by Northwestern (8th), Minnesota (11th), Indiana (16th), Wisconsin (19th), Purdue (20th), Ohio State (T-22nd) and Penn State (29th). Also highlighting the three-day event were top three finishes by other Big Ten student-athletes, including Northwestern's Mike Alexandrov as he posted a runner-up time in the 200-yard breaststroke and third-place finish in the 100-yard breaststroke, while Minnesota's Justin Mortimer took home third in the 500-yard freestyle. Full results can be found at ncaasports.com.
|
|
