Jan. 12, 2008
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - Purdue swimming and diving dominated Michigan State Saturday at the Boilermaker Aquatic Center. The No. 12 Boilermaker men improved to 5-2 with their 181-119 dismantling of the Spartans, while the women rose to 3-6 with their 186-112 triumph over the Green and White.
Senior Eddie Kenney posted the best overall day on the men's side as he won the 50 free in 20.96 and led the 200 medley and freestyle relays to victory.
Kenney teamed with Joe Colley, John Mullen and Jin-Soo Kim on the 200 medley relay, which finished in 1:32.63. The Carmel, Ind., product combined with Andrew Langenfeld, Mullen and John Schmitt on the 200 free relay, which completed the course in 1:21.84.
Colley and Langenfeld also collected individual wins. Colley won tops in the 100 backstroke over teammate Ilia Ayzenshtok, 50.96 to 51.19. Langenfeld won the 200 butterfly with a time of 1:49.54.
The remaining men's victories were posted by Aaron Koger (100 breast; 55.89) and Craig Thompson (500 free; 4:35.72).
"I thought we were OK for the most part, maybe we're still a little tired," said men's head coach Dan Ross. "Michigan State came away with seven wins and I thought they raced really well at our place. We probably would have won more if we used our best possible lineup, but we're going to get our butts kicked in a few weeks by Minnesota and Wisconsin in a few weeks if we don't pick it up."
Women's coach Cathy Wright-Eger also was pleased with the final score, but realizes there's plenty of work to be done before Purdue reaches the postseason in another month.
"I thought we competed hard and showed some signs of improvement in the freestyle," said Wright-Eger. "We are getting better every week, but we need five more good weeks of hard work to get ready for the Big Ten Championships. The team still has a lot of work left in practicing its starts, breathing patterns, final turns and overall tempo."
Freshman Lisa Butler was the Boilermakers' lead contributor, winning four races. Butler, a native of Holland, Mich., won the 200 free with a personal best of 1:51.90 and later captured the 100 free at 52.06. Butler began the meet by anchoring the winning 200 medley relay, which finished in 1:46.91. Her 50 free split was marked at 23.43.
The rookie closed the meet with the 400 free relay, which posted the day's best time of 3:29.98. Butler swam the second leg with a 100 free split of 51.94.
Wright-Eger was impressed with Butler's poise in the 200 free, following a false start disqualification by Nicole Weatherman.
"We needed a fourth person for our 800 free relay and Lisa earned that last spot with today's performance in the 200 free," said Wright-Eger. "Nicole was going to win that race, so it was nice to see Lisa step up in her absence. She's really coming around."
Senior Shannon Grace, who swam behind Butler on the 400 free relay, also came through for the Old Gold and Black as she swept the breaststroke events with times of 1:05.17 and 2:20.38. Grace edged classmate Jennifer Lavers in both events, beating the Katy, Texas native to wall in the 100 breast by .28 seconds, and by over a second in the 200 breast.
Freshmen Ariel Martin, Allie Smith and Morgan Lebsack were among the Boilermakers to win both an individual race plus a relay. Martin won the 50 free in 23.91, Lebsack was victorious in the 100 butterfly with a mark of 58.00, while Smith won the 200 back in 2:01.74. Smith and Lebsack swam the first and third legs of the 200 medley relay; Martin was leadoff on the 400 free relay.
Seniors Lauren Hyman and Weatherman also claimed Boilermaker victories. Hyman won the 200 fly in 2:04.86. Weatherman won the 500 free for a second-straight week with a mark of 4:55.87.
Purdue's defending Big Ten divers of the week, David Colturi and Ashley Karnes, were flawless as they combined for a pair of springboard sweeps. Colturi, a rookie from Sylvania, Ohio, placed first off the 1-meter with 335.78 points and won the 3-meter with a personal best score of 366.30, which was two points shy from breaking J.P. Perez' freshman record (368.15) from last season.
Karnes remains unbeaten in 2008, taking first off the 1-meter with a score of 271.20 and on 3-meter with 320.03. The Bloomington, Ind., native won both springboard events at last weekend's Georgia Invitational.
Purdue returns to action next Saturday at home for a 2 p.m. co-ed dual with Miami University.