Dec. 2, 2006
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - Great performances were turned in by Boilermakers past and present Saturday night during the final day of competition at the U.S. Open. Former All-American Giordan Pogioli posted the program's best showing, finishing fourth in the 200-meter breaststroke with a time of 2:17.78.
Pogioli's mark was two seconds better than his prelim of 2:19.78, placing him in lane one within earshot of his Boilermaker teammates and coaches.
"We felt 2:17 would be a good swim, and that's been around his best unshaved time," said Purdue men's head coach Dan Ross. "If I could change anything, I'd like to see him out a little bit more at the start. I counted 15 strokes on his first length and most everyone else was at 18."
Pogioli, who hasn't competed in a big meet since U.S. Nationals in August, was pleased with his fourth-place effort.
"I reached the top five and was just short of my goal of 2:16," said Pogioli, who won two All-America citations in the 200 breast. "I wanted to show everyone that I'm here to race, and it was exciting to swim in front of so many family and friends at my home pool."
Pogioli's training partner, Scott Usher of Wyoming Aquatics, placed second in 2:14.53, losing out to champion Eric Shanteu of Swim Atlanta, who posted a 2:13.46.
Ross said he and Usher's coach, T.J. Johnson, should be able to learn a lot from both their athletes as they continue to train together. Usher is planning to travel with the Boilermakers to Hawai'i later this month.
"Giordan and Scott have different styles in their stroke. Giordan is more of a leg guy, in that, he's got a great kick, while Scott can really use his hands well. Seeing them swim side-by-side on videotape will really teach us a great deal. They're both great kids who just want to get better," said Ross.
Prior to Pogioli's outing, current Boilermaker Jin-Soo Kim gave an inspired performance in the bonus final of the 200 breast. Kim battled out of last place after the first 50 meters to place second in the heat at 2:23.92, which was close to a personal best.
Kim hugged the line between lanes three and four and turned up his speed in order to chase down Jo Qupty of the Bolles School, going from eighth to second in a span of 100 meters. Qupty took third in 2:24.89.
Carlene Takaki finished strong in a consolation final for a second straight night, placing 11th overall in the 200 butterfly with a personal best of 2:16.27. Takaki got as high as second in her heat, but was touched out at the wall by .05 seconds by Auburn's Julie Stupp.
Takaki and her head coach Cathy Wright-Eger acknowledged it wasn't the prettiest of swims, but the senior still got the job done.
"Carlene is such a fighter and she's learning that you don't have to be perfect in order to swim fast," said Wright-Eger. "Tonight's swim took a lot of guts on her part; her legs are tight and I'm sure she's tired. But she's trusting her talent and I know that will get her to the next level."
Saturday night's swim concluded a three-week training phase for an exhausted Takaki.
"I'm way past the fresh phase and more into the dying phase; I'm very tired," said a kidding, but relieved, Takaki. "All I really wanted to do tonight was finish better than I did this morning, and I got my goal of swimming below 2:17. I did not expect a personal best though."
Swimming next to Takaki in that heat was teammate Stacie Lesneski, who placed 15th overall in 2:18.62. Freshman Sam Wilcher also held his own in the 200 fly, finishing 14th overall in 2:04.15. Both Lesneski and Wilcher posted faster finals times by a few fractions of a second.
Purdue's 400 free 'A' relay just missed the top eight with their time of 3:58.15. The Boilermaker team of Kimbre Vogel, Leah Henninger, Katharine Telfer and Susan Hentschel were in second after prelims, but had no choice but to watch their mark slip down the list during finals.
For a second time in two days, a Boilermaker men's relay placed sixth overall. Last night it was the 400 medley, tonight it was the 400 free of Romain Maire, John Schmitt, Craig Thompson and Trey Smith who posted a 3:31.43.
"I think our relays did a heck of a job," said Ross. "Our time was about as fast as it was during the summer and that was shaved. Romain, Craig and the rest of the gang were really on it."
In the university team standings, the Purdue men placed sixth with 85 points and the women were fifth with 64 points. The Boilermakers' combined pointstotal of 149 points was good for fourth place.
USA Swimming - U.S. Open Recap
By Jamie Fabos
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - Michael Phelps and Mary DeScenza took away the men's and women's individual high point awards Saturday on the final night of the 2006 U.S. Open. Katie Hoff also earned some recognition, winning the ConocoPhillips Performance Award for her meet record in the 200m IM, which she swam on Thursday.
Phelps, of Club Wolverine won two individual events Saturday - the men's 100m freestyle and 200m butterfly. He took the men's 100m free in 49.16, about a second ahead of NC State's Cullen Jones, who finished in 50.15. Simon Burnett of Tucson Ford was third in 50.21. Phelps then won the men's 200m butterfly in 1:55.77, just 11-hundredths off the meet record set by Tom Malchow in 2002. Juan Veloz of Tucson Ford was second in 1:59.39 and Club Wolverine teammate Davis Tarwater was third in 1:59.99.
The wins were Phelps' third and fourth of the week, after taking the 200m IM on Day 1 and the 200m free on Day 2. He encountered a little trouble along the way, including a disqualification for a false start in the 200m back and a rare loss in the 400m IM.
"I was really happy with a 49.1 in the 100," Phelps said. "I joked with Bob that when I came up after the first 25 (meters), I saw I was in first, and I was kind of shocked and taken aback by it. And a 1:55 in the 200 fly right now for me is really good.
"If this doesn't get me excited to train, I don't know what does. The ball is rolling in the right direction. It's my job to keep it going."
DeScenza, of Athens Bulldog Swim Club continued her string of success Saturday with a win in the women's 100m free, her third title this week. Her time of 56.19 was just two-tenths of a second ahead of Petra Klosova of SMU (56.39). Finishing third was Teresa Wilson (unattached) with a time of 56.96.
DeScenza would later finish third in the 200m butterfly behind Olympian Kaitlin Sandeno and Kim Vandenberg, a member of the 2007 World Championships team.
Hoff, of North Baltimore Aquatic Club also won her third event of the meet Saturday in the women's 800m free, out-touching Hayley Peirsol of Auburn University, 8:33.35 to 8:33.67. Hoff and Peirsol battled most of the way, and Peirsol actually held the lead through the 550-meter mark. Hoff took over at 600 meters and built a lead of just 43-hundredths of a second going into the final turn, holding off Peirsol down the homestretch. Flavia Rigamonti of Switzerland, representing the Dallas Mustangs, was third in 8:36.38.
Hoff set U.S. Open meet records on Thursday in the women's 200m IM and Friday in the women's 400m IM.
"I'm on course to do what I want to do (at World Championships) in March," Hoff said. "I'm in really good shape right now, and with my lactate (testing), I'm recovering quickly. I'm happy with where I am right now at this point in the season."
Cailtin Leverenz of El Dorado Aquatics Club, a member of the 2007 U.S. Pan American Games team, won her first title of the week in the women's 200m breaststroke, turning in a time of 2:29.53. Leverenz finished ahead of Olympians Tara Kirk (2:30.04) and Megan Jendrick (2:30.84), both of whom will be competing at the 2007 World Championships in March.
"I was the top seed coming in tonight, and I was very nervous," Leverenz said. "But I was also very confident, and I was glad I was able to pull out ahead. I was pretty close to my best time, which is where I wanted to be at this point in the season."
The men's 200m breast went to Eric Shanteau of Swim Atlanta, who will swim this event at the 2007 World Championships in March. Shanteau finished with a time of 2:13.46, followed by Olympian Scott Usher of Wyoming Aquatics (2:14.53), who is also a member of the 2007 World Championships team. Andrew Bree, unattached, was third in 2:16.79.
"I was pretty confident coming in tonight, and I was really looking forward to this race," Shanteau said. "I'm pretty happy with where I'm at. I didn't shave at all for this meet, and I don't normally put on a racing suit (for in-season meets), but I wanted to see what kind of in-season times I had. I'm really happy with this meet."
As mentioned earlier, Sandeno of Club Wolverine won the women's 200m fly with a time of 2:10.10, followed by UCLA's Vandenberg in 2:10.45 and DeScenza in 2:11.07. The race was close the whole way, with only four-tenths of a second separating the three at the 100-meter mark. Sandeno surged ahead in the final length for the victory.
"I'm starting to get into shape," Sandeno said. "It's really encouraging, especially the 200 fly, because you really can't fake that. I began swimming in May and swam through the summer. Training with all guys (at Club Wolverine) works me every day. It's never a dull moment with all these guys."
In the final event of the meet, Robert Margalis of Saint Petersburg came out on top of the men's 1500m free, turning in a time of 15:21.17. Open water standout Chip Peterson of North Carolina Aquatic Club was second in 15:25.92, while Indiana University's Sergiy Fesenko was third in 15:29.12.
"It was fun," Margalis said. "It was my best unshaved time for me ever, and I feel very happy with where I am in-season right now. My 400 free and the mile were both my best unshaved times, or close to it. I can't complain."
Club Wolverine took the top spot in the combined team scoring for clubs, with 380 points. The North Baltimore Aquatic Club was second with 331 points, while the UBC Dolphins were third with 249 points. In the university team scoring, Auburn was the No. 1 team with 427 points, followed by the University of Florida with 266 points and the University of Alabama with 183 points.