Nov. 16, 2007
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - Both Boilermaker men's and women's swimming and diving teams stand in third place after day one of the Purdue Invitational.
The women, with 174 points, are 21 points behind leader Louisville and 19 points behind current runner-up Missouri.
The men, with 153 points, are 50 points behind Missouri and 17 behind Louisville.
Swimmers from Florida, Missouri State and Southern Illinois are also competing at the three-day meet this weekend, as are the Stanford divers.
Purdue's lone day one victory was earned by freshman David Colturi, who scored 317.70 points off the 1-meter springboard, beating Stanford's Brent Eichenseer by close to 12 points.
The Boilermaker men were forced to play catch-up through most of the night after their 200 freestyle relay was disqualified in event one. Freshman Matt Stewart and Romain Maire helped the Boilermakers respond with a pair of third-place showings in the 500 free and 200 IM, then Andrew Langenfeld followed with a runner-up time of 20.55 in the 50 free.
Langenfeld also swam fly on Purdue's second-place 400 medley relay, which completed its course in 3:17.75.
Purdue's women's team continued to be sparked by its youth. Three freshmen: Lisa Butler, Katie Beck and Ariel Martin combined with second-year Leah Henninger to place second to Louisville in the 200 free relay, and Allie Smith later finished third in the 200 IM at 2:05.96.
Smith and Butler completed their night teaming with seniors Jennifer Lavers and Lauren Hyman to place second in the 400 medley relay at 3:48.39.
Purdue also received a chunk of points from veterans Nicole Weatherman and Elyse Dudar in the 500 free. Weatherman was second at 4:54.62, while Dudar was fifth at 4:59.36.
The Purdue Invitational resumes competition Saturday morning with preliminaries of the 400 IM starting at 10 a.m. Finals begin at 6 p.m.
Fans, remember to bring your spare change to the meet. Dollar bills and coins will continue to be collected for the Penny War between the invitational's six participating schools - each of which will have their own jar.
All donations support Purdue Athletics' year-long cancer benefit.
Boilermaker fans are encouraged to throw their pennies in Purdue's jar and all of their silver coins and dollar bills into any or all of the other schools' jars.
Pennies earn a school points and any other coins or dollar bills take points away. The school with the highest penny point total after Sunday morning's preliminary session at 10 a.m. will be rewarded with free pizza on Sunday night.