Nov. 21, 2004
MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. - No. 17 Purdue received wins from Giordan Pogioli, Romain Maire, Blake Scholz and Steve LoBue en route to a second-place finish at the Minnesota Invitational. Despite a strong finish, the sixth-ranked Golden Gophers were declared winners with 1,443.5 points.
The depth of the Purdue roster was largely responsible for Boilermaker's exceptional point total, as 28 individuals scored through Sunday's six events. A pair of 400 freestyle relay squads also scored, giving the Boilermakers a three-day total of 1,001 points.
Although the Boilermakers finished second, they achieved their goal of beating No. 20 Wisconsin. The Badgers finished a distant third with 522 points, becoming the fourth top 20 team Purdue has defeated in as many weeks.
The Boilermakers list of conquests this season also includes No. 21 Arizona State, No. 19 Texas A&M and No. 14 Northwestern.
"We had some good swims, but as a coach I can't help but say that I wish we swam better in some races," said head coach Dan Ross. "Overall, our relays were improved, but they need to get better if we hope to win at Big Ten's. Today's relay could have been faster, but the guys are tired and are deserving of a break."
Pogioli completed his breaststroke sweep, winning the 200 breast with a meet record and NCAA provisional time of 1:58.85. The next closest competitor, Iowa's Dragos Agache, finished over four seconds behind Pogioli. Sophomore Steve Miskovetz moved up two places in the finals to finish sixth at 2:08.93.
Maire earned his victory in the 200 backstroke with a NCAA provisional and lifetime best mark of 1:46.80. The Frenchman was one of four Boilermakers to score in the `A' finals, along with runner-up Louis Paul, Eric Prugh and David Hughes.
The 200 butterfly finals produced a nice surprise, as junior Blake Scholz shaved three seconds of his prelim time to win the race in 1:49.92. Freshman John Mullen, a relative newcomer to the 200 fly, placed fourth in 1:52.42 and Mark Enoch claimed the seventh-place points.
Purdue also had a few individuals record top-eight showings in the freestyle races. Trey Smith with seventh in the 100 free at 46.46 and Mark Wolfred was fifth in the 1,650 free with a personal record of 15:51.00.
LoBue won the platform competition with a team and season best score of 509.20 points, beating runner-up John Schmidt of Minnesota by 35 points. Purdue diving won all three competitions this weekend, sweeping the top three spots in the 1- and 3-meter springboard.
Schmidt and teammate Shaun Kennedy interrupted a third-straight Boilermaker sweep with their second and third-place scores. Josh Karshen, the Minnesota Invite's 3-meter champion, was fourth at 465.60 and was followed by Clay Davis, David Hanisch and J.R. Hillis.
Carrie McCambridge and Amanda Miller finished first and second off the platform, with scores of 410.40 and 379.20. McCambridge's score was a few points short of breaking her varsity record of 413.50, while Miller's total was a lifetime best.
Purdue's four-woman diving contingency scored 107 points this weekend, beating the team efforts of Saint Cloud State 63), St. Olaf (32), Gustavus Adolphus (22) and South Dakota State (8).
The Boilermakers next compete on Saturday, Dec. 4 at 1 p.m. with the Iowa/Southern Illinois triangular. The meet, which will also feature Indiana, takes place at the IUPUI Natatorium in Indianapolis.