By Erin Greene
ANN ARBOR, Michigan, May 20. THE Eric Namesnik Memorial Grand Prix, held in Ann Arbor, Mich., May 17-12, concluded today with the last morning finals session. Katie Hoff earned two victories on the final day, while Michael Phelps earned an unprecedented second-place finish.
Women's 800 freestyle
The distance title for the meet went to Emily Brunemann, as she headed the race from the first 100 meters and never looked back. The member of Club Wolverine turned in a time of 8:50.26 to lower her entry time for the win.
Monica Drake was Brunemann's closest competition, closing in at 8:54.37. Teammate of Brunemann, Emily Hanson, clocked in next at 8:56.22 for third place. Caroline Burckle just bypassed getting under the 9-minute mark in a time of 9:01.89.
Claire Maust found herself amongst the Top 8 yet again when she posted a time of 9:02.59. Laurabeth Guenthner hit the wall behind Maust with 9:03.28. A pair of 17-year-olds Alexa Komarnycky and Bojana Duric rounded out the final heat in times of 9:03.67 and 9:05.45, respectively.
Men's 1500 freestyle
It is not every day you can say you beat a world champion. But it is also not surprising that an athlete capable of doing that is a two-time Olympian himself. Erik Vendt picked up his first gold of the meet when he out-swam a talented field of distance swimmers that included none other than Michael Phelps.
Vendt began to build a lead around the 600-meter mark only to extend it for the next 900 meters for a final time of 15:31.29. Phelps went head-to-head with St. Petersburg Aquatics' Robert Margalis until Phelps' competitive drive literally kicked in for a second-place finish with a time of 15:34.18.
"I am pretty happy with how I split," Phelps said of the race. "I was pretty even and negative split it. I was probably too relaxed in the beginning, which is probably due to a lack of experience. But, it was good practice. It showed I am in better shape than last year."
When asked if the event was something he wanted to add to his already long list of events, Phelps answered in the affirmative saying it was a race he hopes to swim at Nationals this year.
"I wanted to swim it [the 1500] here," Phelps explained of the off-event. "I wanted something that was in the Top 8 in the country. It was right after training in Colorado Springs. I figured it was the best time to do it coming off of altitude training. I am not disappointed with the time, but I would have liked to have been faster."
The remaining swimmers in the top eight were Tom Koucheravy (15:47.73), Sebastien Rouault (15:48.28), Troyden Prinsloo (15:50.72), Matt Patton (16:11.88) and Omar Enriquez Tenorio (16:19.86).
Women's 200 backstroke
Waiting until the final session to take home a victory, Katie Hoff swam a time of 2:13.37 to clinch the gold. Hoff was followed by the dynamic 14-year-old duo of Elizabeth Beisel and Felicia Lee. Beisel completed the race in 2:14.27, while Lee turned in a time of 2:16.28.
Aleksandra Putra just missed the medal range with a time of 2:16.61. Mary Descenza hit the wall next in 2:17.63. Courtney Kalisz came in at 2:21.04. Swimming for Auburn Aquatics, teammates Ava Ohlgren (2:21.53) and Rachel Goh (2:22.06) were responsible for the final two places.
Men's 200 backstroke
Chris DeJong, who owns the short course yards pool record in this distance, stopped the clock first clear ahead of the competition. With a time of 2:01.86, DeJong secured the lead by more than a second. Keith Beavers earned the silver in a time of 2:03.33.
Coming in four seconds later was Ian Clark at 2:07.69. Thomas Haffield swam a time of 2:08.31 for fourth place. Finishing in the fifth-place spot was Charlie Houchin with 2:09.43.
Occupying the final three spots in the championship heat were Austin Surhoff (2:10.29), Dane Grenda (2:10.81) and Mathew Garson (2:13.07).
Women's 100 freestyle
In what was an even heat for the majority of the sprint race, Northwestern's Andrea Hupman took the reins to pull in her first win of the meet with a time of 56.94. Leading a slew of times in the 57-second range was Allison Schmitt who finished as the runner-up in 57.70. Hupman's teammate, Emily Wong, rounded out the Top 3 in 57.77.
Vanessa Garcia, who was seeded first heading into the race, slipped to the No. 4 position in a time of 57.90. Kim Jasmer hit the wall just .08 seconds later in 57.98. Club Wolverine's Lindsey Smith swam a time of 58.67 for sixth. Caroline Burckle remained in her seventh-place standing in a time of 58.75, while Rachel Goh took eighth in 58.95.
Men's 100 freestyle
Reminiscent of yesterday's race, Peter Vanderkaay (51.23) and Joe Doyle (52.01) held steady in their first- and second-place seeds. However, Chris DeJong (52.52), coming off of a win in the 200 backstroke, joined his gold-medal winning teammate on the podium for the bronze. Tying DeJong in third place was Bennet Clark of Mizzou Swim team.
Finishing in the lower half of the heat was Kyle Smerdon (52.68), Bobby Savulich (52.72), Bryan Lundquist (53.04) and Joseph Smutz (53.20).
Women's 200 breaststroke
Although she waited until the final day to demonstrate why she is a world record holder, Katie Hoff went out in true form by adding a second gold medal to her collection for the day. Hoff dropped a two-second decision to the breaststroke division when she recorded a time of 2:32.76.
The remaining swimmers finished the race in nearly two-second successions of one another. Ashley Wanland was the runner-up in 2:34.86, while Jessica Ward posted a time of 2:36.73. Agus Degiovanni was next at 2:38.16.
Helen Pitchik (2:38.61), Mhyria Miller (2:39.03), Kaitlin O'Brien (2:41.13) and Amilee Smith (2:42.65) completed the heat.
Men's 200 breaststroke
The race for Neil Versfeld was over before his competition even had a chance to get to the flags. Versfeld opened a six-second margin between himself and the next swimmer when he lit up the scoreboard first with the time of 2:15.94.
Scott Spann secured the silver medal in 2:21.26, while Clark Burckle was responsible for the bronze in 2:23.54. Bogdan Knezevic edged Rob Holderness for fourth place by one-tenth in a time of 2:24.49.
In the race for sixth place, Tyler Harris beat out Marco Monaco by just .03 seconds in 2:26.18. Brad Craig completed the Top 8 in 2:28.17.
Women's 200 butterfly
In what was again a display of teenage tenacity, six of the eight available places went to swimmers not yet 20 years of age. Seventeen-year old Jemma Lowe lowered her preliminary time by three seconds to take first in 2:10.24. The only two veterans, Kim Vandenburg and Kaitlin Sandeno, took home the remaining medals in times of 2:11.75 and 2:15.62, respectively.
Nineteen-year-olds Kailey Morris (2:16.69) and Karie Haglund (2:17.90) went 4-5 in the race. Kaia Simmons (2:18.66), Brittany Barwegen (2:21.16) and Julie Policht (2:21.40) concluded the women's individual portion of the meet in the final three spots.
Men's 200 butterfly
Daniel Madwed hunted for a win all weekend long and finally emerged with the kill in the last individual event of the day. Challenged by Club Wolverine's Davis Tarwater, Madwed managed to hold Tarwater off to take the victory in 2:00.42. Tarwater finished next in 2:02.39.
In the race for third, Omar Enriquez Tenorio came out with the medal in a time of 2:06.38. Pablo Marmolejo earned fourth in 2:07.14. Roy Felipe Barahona clocked the fifth-fastest time of 2:07.80.
Swimming in the outside lanes, Gil Stovall (2:08.33), Joe Houchin (2:08.77) and Adam Pendry (2:08.88) concluded their individual events in sixth, seventh and eighth places, respectively.
