Feb. 9, 2008
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - The 12th-ranked Boilermakers (7-4) concluded their regular season with a 143-100 loss at No. 8 Indiana (5-3). Junior Andrew Langenfeld led Purdue with wins in the 50 freestyle and 200 butterfly.
In winning the 50 free, Langenfeld lowered his season best to an NCAA provisional cut of 20.16, which is only .08 seconds off Frank Smardo's varsity record of 20.08.
Smardo's time - set in 1997 - is currently the longest standing of all Purdue's school records. Every other Boilermaker individual swimming record has been reset since 2001.
Langenfeld leads all Boilermakers with three NCAA consideration marks. Earlier this season, the Centralia, Ill., native posted a 48.44 in the 100 fly and a 1:46.97 in the 200 fly.
Saturday, Langenfeld clocked a 1:49.32 in winning the 200 fly. Sophomore Sam Wilcher was the runner-up at 1:49.38.
Purdue's one-two showing in the 200 fly marked the first time all meet two Boilermakers finished one after the other.
John Schmitt claimed first place in the 200 free at 1:38.96, but the Hoosiers finished second, third and fourth. The same pattern occurred during Langenfeld's triumph in the 50 free, preventing the Boilermakers from catching IU in the initial stages.
The Boilermakers dug themselves an early hole, surrendering the first and third-place points to Indiana in the opening 400 medley relay. The Hoosiers dug their heels in further with a one-two showing in the 1000 free and a sweep of the top-three spots on platform.
Junior Zach Schultz prevented a second sweep by IU on 3-meter, taking runner-up honors with a team and season-best score of 370.13 points.
"The Hoosiers handled us pretty good and they're worthy of that No. 8 ranking," Purdue head coach Dan Ross said. "We struggled in some races, but had some pretty good ones too like Andrew's 20.1 in the 50 free. Now it's time to come back home and rest up for Big Ten's."
Elsewhere in the competition pool, the Boilermakers were second and third in the 200 back as Romain Maire and Ilia Ayzenshtok posted times of 1:48.67 and 1:50.15.
Aaron Koger and Jin-Soo Kim also were second and third in the 200 breast with marks of 2:02.12 and 2:02.45.
Freshman Matt Stewart was third in both the 1000 and 500 free. He recorded times of 9:27.13 and 4:34.67.
Indiana's victory gives it a 5-4 lead in the Crimson and Gold Cup Standings. A men's basketball game at Bloomington on Feb. 19 marks the next meeting between schools.
Purdue is off from competition for the next three weeks. The three-day Big Ten Championships commence in Ann Arbor, Michigan on Thursday, Feb. 28.