Blueseventy Swim of the Week: Krause, Michigan Rising

Disclaimer: BlueSeventy Swim of the Week is not meant to be a conclusive selection of the best overall swim of the week, but rather one Featured Swim to be explored in deeper detail. The BlueSeventy Swim is an opportunity to take a closer look at the context of one of the many fast swims this week, perhaps a swim that slipped through the cracks as others grabbed the headlines, or a race we didn’t get to examine as closely in the flood of weekly meets.

It’s a strange time of year, with fewer meets taking place around the holidays, and a number of the week’s top swims coming in short course meters. But this weeks’ Swim of the Week is still hugely significant to the NCAA because it represents a big breakthrough for the rising Michigan women.

Defending champs of the Big Ten, Michigan completed its training trip with a stop at the Orange Bowl Classic in Key Largo, Florida. Freshman Vanessa Krause won all four of her races, setting meet records in each one. That included short course meter wins in the 50 fly (27.84) and 100 fly (1:00.93), plus the 200 medley and 200 free relays.

Krause represents a triumph of both recruiting and development for Michigan. The Wolverines knocked off Indiana for the conference crown last year, but in order to maintain it, they’ll have to keep pace with a torrid IU recruiting effort. But Krause is a major victory on that front. A former high school state champ in Indiana, Krause was a major get for the Wolverines last year in recruiting.

She’s also developed extremely well – Krause has already hit new lifetime-bests in the 100 and 200 fly this year with Michigan, with the postseason still to come. Meanwhile her lifetime-bests in the 50, 100 and 200 frees were set last year, and she’s already been with in .03 of her best in the 50 while competing for Michigan and has put up the third-fastest 200 free of her career while in college. That kind of early return on Michigan’s investment is making the Wolverines one of the fastest-rising programs not only in the conference, but nationwide.

WE MAKE SWIMMERS.

There isn’t a second that goes by when the team at blueseventy aren’t thinking about you. How you eat, breathe, train, play, win, lose, suffer and celebrate. How swimming is every part of what makes you tick. Aptly named because 70% of the earth is covered in water, blueseventy is a world leader in the pool and open water. Since 1993, we design, test, refine and craft products using superior materials and revolutionary details that equate to comfort, freedom from restriction and ultimately a competitive advantage in the water. This is where we thrive. There is no substitute and no way around it. We’re all for the swim.

Visit blueseventy.com/pages/swim to learn more.

Instagram: @blueseventy

Twitter: @blueseventy

Facebook: facebook.com/blueseventy

blueseventy is a SwimSwam partner.