Feb. 18, 2007
COLUMBUS, Ohio - Purdue finished sixth at the Big Ten Championships for a second-straight season, but 16 of 17 individuals who scored this weekend are coming back next year with hopes of moving up.
The Boilermakers scored 375.5 points, which was their highest total since collecting a team-record 384 points in 1997. That record total placed them fourth, going to show how competitive the conference has become over the past decade.
Purdue scored 29.5 more points than last season, and 24.5 more points that its 2005 and fifth-place total of 351 points.
Minnesota won the conference title with 612.5 points, edging out Michigan with 608.5 points. Championship host Ohio State placed a distant third with 495 points.
"Sixth-place is not what we wanted, but it's what we expected," said head coach Dan Ross. "We just missed our goal of scoring our most points at Big Ten's, but we have a heck of a nucleus to build on. I think we can go after a top-3 finish with the team we`re bringing back."
During Sunday's final day of racing, Romain Maire proved worthy of a team MVP title with his third-consecutive top-8 finish, claiming fifth in the 200 backstroke with a time of 1:43.63.
Maire's prelim of 1:43.54 was a personal record and only .03 seconds shy of Louis Paul's varsity record of 1:43.51.
Over the course of the three-day championships, Maire posted personal bests in both individual medley's in addition to the 100 back, and recorded varsity records in the 400 IM, and with the 800 and 400 free relays.
Maire's 400 IM time of 3:47.33 broke a 10-year-old varsity record previously held by Matt Brown. The 800 free relay finished in 6:34.63, while the 400 free relay came in at 2:57.41.
Maire swam third on the meet-closing 400 free relay, teaming with John Schmitt, Trey Smith and Eddie Kenney. The previous record of 2:57.49 was set in 1998 by Ross Croasdell, Kirk Larsen, Kevin Cornehl and Mike Ullom.
MVP consideration can also be reserved for Purdue's diving corps, which had all four of its divers (three of them freshman) score in all three competitions.
Danny Cox led Purdue off the platform tower with a personal best total of 364.50 points and earned a share of Big Ten Freshman of the Year honors with Ohio State diver Berkley Showe.
In addition to his bronze-medal performance, Cox was fifth off the 1-meter and sixth off the 3-meter, totaling a team-high 43 points.
Zach Schultz placed behind Cox off the tower with a lifetime best of 358.65 points and rookie J.P. Perez was seventh with 332.65 points. Newcomer Kyle Mitrione just missed finals, scoring a 10th-place total of 284.90 points.
Boilermaker freshmen played an important role in the competition pool. Ilia Ayzenshtok, a January addition, finished 11th in the 200 back in 1:46.26 - the fourth best time in school history.
Sam Wilcher held onto his seventh-place prelim showing in the 200 butterfly, touching the wall in 1:46.94. Wilcher's prelim time was slightly better at 1:46.77 - second best mark in school history.
Aaron Koger clocked a personal best of 2:00.29 in the prelims of the 200 breast, but slipped to 2:01.64 in finals to take 14th-place. Junior Jin-Soo Kim claimed the 16th-place point at 2:03.70, but had a 2:00.61 in prelims.
Sophomore Schmitt, Purdue's Big Ten Sportsmanship Honoree, concluded his breakthrough weekend at Big Ten's, coming in 12th in the 100 freestyle at 44.38. His prelim mark of 44.22 was a personal best and the second fastest in Purdue history.
Final Team Standings
1. Minnesota 612.5
2. Michigan 608.5
3. Ohio State 495
4. Indiana 494
5. Northwestern 470
6. Purdue 375.5
7. Penn State 295
8. Wisconsin 245.5
9. Iowa 118
10. Michigan State 106
Diver of the Year: Kellen Harkness, Ohio State
Diver of the Championship: Kellen Harkness (Ohio State) and Berkley Showe (Ohio State)
Diving Coach of the Year: Vince Panzano, Ohio State
Freshman of the Year: Danny Cox (Purdue) and Berkley Showe (Ohio State)
Swimmer of the Championship: Mike Alexandrov, Northwestern
Swimmer of the Year: Matt Grevers, Northwestern
Swimming Coach of the Year: Bob Bowman (Michigan) and Bob Groseth (Northwestern)
All-Big Ten Teams
First Team
Matt Alexandrov, Northwestern
Sal Barba, Michigan
Bruno Barbic, Northwestern
Kyle Bubolz, Northwestern
Igor Cerensek, Minnesota
Mario Delac, Minnesota
Matt Grevers, Northwestern
Kellen Harkness, Ohio State
Ben Hesen, Indiana
Eric Nilsson, Northwestern
Matt Patton, Michigan
Bobby Savulich, Michigan
Tyler Schmidt, Minnesota
Berkley Showe, Ohio State
Alex Vanderkaay, Michigan
Mike Woodson, Minnesota
Second Team
Evan Bernier, Minnesota
Joe Doyle, Ohio State
Mike Holmes, Minnesota
Ryan Jefferson, Ohio State
Nate King, Ohio State
Matt Lenton, Indiana
Romain Maire, Purdue
Todd Patrick, Indiana
Pat Penoyar, Indiana
Taylor Roberts, Indiana
Patrick Schirk, Penn State
Ales Volcansek, Minnesota
Nick Walkotten, Indiana
High-Point Scorer (Each School)
Indiana: Ben Hesen, 47 points
Iowa: Dragos Agache, 29 points
Michigan: Alex Vanderkaay, 57 points
Michigan State: Adam Schmitt, 7 points
Minnesota: Igor Cerensek, 41.50 points
Northwestern: Mike Alexandrov, 60 points
Ohio State: Berkley Showe and Kellen Harkness, 35 points
Penn State: Patrick Schirk, 31 points
Purdue: Danny Cox, 43 points
Wisconsin: Scott Rice, 31 points
Big Ten Sportsmanship Honorees
Indiana: David Legler
Iowa: Jake Moore
Michigan: Jamie Martone
Michigan State: Matt McNichols
Minnesota: Dan Berve
Northwestern: Daniel Walls
Ohio State: Joe Doyle
Penn State: David Kraft
Purdue: John Schmitt
Wisconsin: Taylor Mathis