Jan. 17, 2009
The Purdue men's and women's swimming and diving teams traveled to East Lansing, Mich., and defeated conference foe Michigan State on Saturday by collectively winning 25 of the 32 events.
"I am very pleased with our performances today, especially coming off our training camp and loss to Iowa in Miami last weekend," men's head coach Dan Ross said. "I thought John Schmitt, Matt Stewart, Aaron Koger and Andre Koop had great meets in the pool, and our divers were outstanding going 1-2-3-4 on both boards. It was a total team effort."
Purdue divers claimed the top-four finishes in both springboard events, led by freshman David Boudia extending his victory streak to 13 by winning both competitions for the sixth consecutive meet. The Noblesville, Ind., native won the 1-meter competition with a score of 380.02 and took the top spot off the 3-meter board with a 447.45 showing. Sophomore David Colturi finished second in both events after scoring 342.37 off the 1-meter board and a season-best 400.88 in the 3-meter competition. Sophomore Danny Cox finished third in 1-meter with 304.7 points and fourth in 3-meter with 256.13, while junior Kyle Mitrione was third in the 3-meter with 301.2 and fourth in 1-meter with 279.37.
Team captain Schmitt led the Boilermakers in the pool with three event victories. The senior from Evansville, Ind., won the 200 freestyle in 1:38.86, the 100 freestyle in 44.86 and the 50 freestyle in 20.73. Koger won both breaststroke events, taking the 100 race in 55.22 and the 200 race in 2:02.18. Koop and sophomore Sam Wilcher also added two victories.
Koop won the 200 backstroke in 1:51.92 and the 200 IM in 1:54.58, while Wilcher won the 100 butterfly in 49.43 and the 200 butterfly in 1:51.06. Stewart touched the wall first in the 500 and 1,650 freestyle races, taking the shorter event in 4:37.17 and the longer race in 15:46.3. Senior Tim Watts added a victory in the 100 backstroke with his season-best time of 50.41.
The Purdue women won nine races in the pool, and freshman Casey Matthews won both diving competitions.
"I think our relays, especially our 200 medley, were much better than in the fall," women's head coach John Klinge said. "I think we looked a little tired, but we raced well and are happy to be heading back to West Lafayette with a Big Ten road win."
Junior Leah Henninger won two individual races and contributed to one relay victory for the Boilermakers. The Dayton, Ohio, native won the 100 freestyle in 52.21 to lead a 1-2-3 Purdue finish in the event and bettered the 200 freestyle field with a time of 1:52.47. Purdue's 200 freestyle relay team of Ariel Martin, Lisa Butler, Katie Beck and Hennigner touched the wall first in 1:35.15, while the 200 medley relay team of Allie Smith, Jessica Davis, Butler and Martin won its race with Purdue's best time of the season, 1:45.00.
Freshman Lauren Roth earned double victories for Purdue, touching the wall first in the 500 freestyle in 5:02.95 and in the 1,000 freestyle in 10:18.2. In addition to contributing on the relay team, Smith also won the 100 backstroke with her time of 56.39.
Martin also contributed an individual victory along with her relay duties. The sophomore from Jeffersonville, Ind., won the 50 freestyle in 23.75. Freshman Kristen Gilson touched the wall in 2:04.31 to win the 200 backstroke. Matthews claimed victory off the 1-meter board with her score of 271.80 and won the 3-meter competition after scoring 299.25 points.
The 15th-ranked men's team improved to 5-0 in dual meets this season, and the women's team pushed its all-time record against the Spartans to 23-8. The Purdue women's swimming and diving team is on the road again next weekend against Indiana, while the men suit up next against Minnesota and Wisconsin in Minneapolis, Minn., Jan 30-31.