Oct. 13, 2007
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - There are a number of new faces on Purdue's men's and women's swimming and diving rosters and almost all of them made a significant impact at Saturday's seventh-annual Indiana Intercollegiates.
Freshmen Allie Smith and Lisa Butler each won two individual events as the women's team finished with 785 points. Indianapolis placed third with 400 points and IUPUI was third with 382 points.
Smith won the 200 individual medley in 2:07.62 and the 100 backstroke in 56.78. Butler's two victories came in the 50 and 100 freestyle with times of 24.04 and 52.16.
Freshman Christine Mankus led off the meet with her win in the 200 free, touching the wall in 1:52.31.
Sophomore Christine Inman (57.30 - 100 fly), Nicole Weatherman (5:01.61 - 500 free) and Jennifer Lavers (100 breast - 1:05.09) also picked up individual victories.
"There is great competition within this team and I love it," said women's head coach Cathy Wright-Eger. "They love it, they need it and they want it. Allie Smith is coming off a wrist injury and she looked great in the 100 back. Her technique and stroke is beautiful."
West Virginia transfer Andrew Langenfeld led the men with two wins as he won both the 50 free and 100 fly, while rookie Matt Stewart took first in the 500 freestyle at 4:39.11.
Purdue men totaled 835 points, Indianapolis was second with 405 points and IUPUI placed third with 366 points.
"We were a lot faster than I thought we would be," said men's head coach Dan Ross. " I can't explain it, considering we had a full workout this morning. Maybe it's because we had this meet so early in the season that we weren't as tired.
"Ilia's and Tim's (Watt) splits in the 200 medley relay (11.69; 11.65) were within hundreds of a second of each other, and I knew we had great speed with Andrew (Langenfeld) and Matt (Stewart). Eddie's (Kenney) 21.01 in the 50 free was one of his best early season times."
Purdue's deep sophomore class collected four wins. Sam Wilcher won the 200 free in 1:43.34, Ilia Ayzenshtok was No. 1 in the 100 back at 51.16, Aaron Koger was first in the 100 breaststroke at 57.28, and Kyle Mitrione was tops off the 3-meter with 305.40 points.
Watts, a junior, was first in the 200 IM at 1:55.82.
Newcomer David Colturi set a Boilermaker freshman record, scoring 331.50 points on 1-meter. Danny Cox held the previous record of 323.85, which he set last season.
Sophomore Chelsea Johnson swept the springboard competitions, scoring 255.65 points on 1-meter and 297.40 off 3-meter.
Overall, the Boilermaker clubs combined to win 23 of 24 events. Indianapolis' Alex Arestis won the 100 free in 46.86.
Both Purdue teams have the next few weeks off. The Boilermakers resume competition Nov. 2 at home vs. Notre Dame at 5 p.m.