Michigan State University
Michigan
Men's Swimming Falls to No. 9 Michigan
2/3/2001 12:00:00 AM | Swimming and Diving
Feb. 3, 2001
EAST LANSING, Mich. - The Michigan State men's swimming and diving team lost their last dual meet of the season to state rival Michigan today at McCaffree Pool in East Lansing. The Spartans scored 95 points against the Wolverines' 133, dropping their record to 0-4 in Big Ten meets, and 3-4 overall. Ninth-ranked Michigan improved their undefeated record in the conference to four wins, and 5-4 overall.
MSU's strong points for the meet were the sprint freestyle events. Junior Scott Shafer (Centerville, Va.) and senior John Munley (Kalamazoo, Mich.) dominated the 100 and 200 free, with Shafer swimming 1:40.51 to take first in the 200 free, and Munley taking a close second with a time of 1:40.56. Shafer also placed first in the 100 free (46.57) with Munley taking second (46.68).
The 400 free relay team of Munley, Shafer, Rick Nichols (Mercersburg, Pa.) and Joe Brennan (Poway, Calif.) swam a close race in the final event to place second with a time of 3:06.14, less than two seconds behind Michigan's 3:04.63.
The Spartan diving team also greatly aided the Spartan effort with sophomore Nick Visscher (Holland, Mich.) placing second on the one-meter (269.175) and junior Mike McKee (Sterling Heights, Mich.) took second on the three-meter (272.325). Senior Phil Hillary (Freemont, Mich.) took a consistent third place in both events.
In addition to the win, the Wolverines left two new McCaffree pool records. The 200 medley relay team of Jordan Watland, Scott Werner, Tony Kurth, and Matt Raines set the new record at 1:31.48, and Michigan's Tim Siciliano broke the 1000 free record with a time of 9:10.06.
Head coach Jim Lutz commented on the team's performance: "The score is pretty deceiving, if you look across the board, the times were really close from the second to the fifth place finishes. There were some good races going on today...right now the team needs to rest up for Big Ten's."
The Spartan men conclude the conference season at the 2001 Big Ten Championships in Minneapolis, Minn., February 22 and 23.
