Jan. 31, 2004

Final Stats |  Photo Gallery

EAST LANSING, Mich. - Michigan State swimming earned team victories against Oakland Saturday to close the Spartans' home season. The men defeated the Grizzlies, 147-95 while the women earned the 131-110 victory. The women next travel to the Big Ten Championships while the men travel to Ann Arbor to face Michigan Feb. 6.

"Today, we got some breaks," said head coach Matt Gianiodis. "Last night, the women's team didn't get any breaks. I was really proud of our team this afternoon. Both the men and the women showed toughness - some of the kids swam doubles and triples. It shows that this team wants to win and improve."

Bouncing back from tough losses to Ohio State and Notre Dame Friday night, the women's team opened with first and third place finishes in the 400 medley relay. The team of Rachael Hagerman, Courtney Ellabarger, Tammy Jones and Alicia Copestick won the event wit a time of 3:54.76 while Carly Zenk, Lindsay Fetters, Megan Reponen and Marsena Vranesic turned in a time of 4:01.12.

Ellabarger won the 200 breast with a time of 2:21.46 while Erika Templeton took third in the event with a time of 2:24.25.

Tesla Hughes won both distance events, winning the 1,000 free in 10:29.86 and the 500 free in 5:05.56. Tammy Jones won the 200 free wit ha time of 1:54.13 while teammate Megan Reponen took second with a mark of 1:55.12.

Zenk took second in the 200 back with a time of 2:11.71

Freshman diver Amy Schmidt qualified for NCAA Diving Zones with her mark of 272.70 on the three-meter board. She joins teammates Katie Edwards and Justin Laskowski in Spartan divers qualified for the "C" zone. Edwards, a freshman, qualified against Purdue while Laskowski earned his way against Notre Dame.

"To have two freshmen qualify is pretty special," said diving coach Eric Best. "Amy had never trained on the three-meter board before this fall and she qualified on the three-meter. Overall, I'm very proud of their performances this season."

Schmidt won both the one-meter and three-meter events to lead the diving contingent.

The men's divers took the top spots in the three-meter as PJ Sheahan-Stahl won the event with a score of 278.33. Freshman Matt Akerley was second with 272.18 and Justin Laskowski was third (261.83). The one-meter event saw Laskowski take top honors with Sheahn-Stahl and Akerley rounding out the final spots.

The women's "A" team was disqualified in the 400 free relay. The men's 400 medley relay "A" team was also disqualified Saturday. The men's 400 medley relay team swam the event in a pool-record time, but the effort does not count in the event.

David Habel and Chad Wilson went one-two in the 1,000 free with times of 9:49.87 and 9:56.32, respectively. Jason Vadney took the event title in the 200 free with a time of 1:41.85 while Peter Politi finished third (1:43.37).

Nick Harley and Matt Wisniewski also took the top spots in the 50 free with times of 21.39 and 21.57, respectively. Ian Clutten won the 200 IM with a time of 1:55.11 and Mike Rigali finished third in the event (1:56.20).

Bryant Steele won the 200 fly with a time of 1:56.90 while Habel took second (1:57.31). The 100 free saw Patrick Saucedo finish second (47.62) while David Lessard finished third (48.07).

Johan Sunryd turned in one of his best performances as a Spartan, taking the event title in the 200 back while teammate Rudolf Wagenaar was 1:53.96.

Vadney, Politi and Habel took the top three spots in the 500 free with times of 4:38.16, 4:45.44 and 4:49.03, respectively.

Michigan State's men's team wraps up the regular season Feb. 6 at Michigan before advancing to the Big Ten Championships. The women now prepare for their conference championships Feb. 18-21.