Feb. 7, 2009
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - The 16th-ranked Purdue men's swimming and diving team fell to No. 7 Indiana 156-144 Saturday in the Doris Z. Holloway Pool inside the Boilermaker Aquatic Center.
The Boilermakers entered the day with a 29-9 lead due to the diving competition, which was held two weeks ago since both teams had divers unavailable on Saturday because of the USA Diving World Championships Selection Camp.
"On paper, there wasn't one event we were faster," head coach Dan Ross said. "To get it to the last relay was remarkable. Our goal was to swim our best meet heading into Big Tens here. We had 15 guys battling for five Big Ten (roster) spots. We put on the new technology suits for the first time this year. Hopefully by Big Tens we can beat these guys. From a personal standpoint, that was the most exciting dual meet I've seen."
Purdue (6-2) earned three school records during the competition, and senior Andrew Langenfeld had a hand in all of them. The Boilermakers started the day with a statement as the 400 medley relay team of Tim Watts, Aaron Koger, Langenfeld and John Schmitt broke the school record while winning the event with their 3:12.61 time. The previous school record of 3:13.54 was set in 2006. Langenfeld also broke his own school record of 19.90 in the 50 freestyle and finished second by one-hundredth of a second by touching the wall in 19.82 before winning the 100 butterfly in 47.21 to break another school record. The previous Purdue record in the 100 butterfly was Chris Etherington's 47.50 time put up in 2006.
"Coming into this meet, there was so much positive energy coming from the team," Langenfeld said. "I was so excited. I just took the team's energy into my races. The team did real well today. It's exciting to see what we can do when it comes time for the championship meets."
Schmitt, a senior from Evansville, Ind., and Purdue's team captain, added another win in the 100 freestyle as he outswam the field to touch the wall in a personal-best time of 44.17 that ranks second on Purdue's all-time performance list in the event. Schmitt also finished fourth in the 200 freestyle in 1:39.22.
The Boilermakers continued to keep the crowd excited as Matt Stewart outtouched Indiana's Bart Ginocchio to win the 1,000 freestyle in a personal-best time of 9:05.80 that ranks second on Purdue's all-time performance list in the event. Stewart was the focus of another exciting finish as he came from behind to take the win in the 500 freestyle with a personal-best time of 4:26.51, just three-hundredths of a second in front of second. Stewart's time moves him to third on Purdue's all-time performance list in the 500 freestyle.
Freshman Jimmy Brooks finished second in the 100 butterfly in a personal-best time of 48.09 that ranks fifth on the school's all-time performance list in the event, while junior Sam Wilcher was fourth with his season-best time of 48.46 and freshman Kyle House finished fifth with a personal-best 49.30 time. Junior Gage Barry finished second in the 200 freestyle with his season-best time of 1:38.90, while senior Sean Davis added another point with his fifth-place finish in a season-best time of 1:40.40. Davis also finished fifth and earned another season-best time in the 500 freestyle, touching the wall in 4:30.69.
Koger eclipsed the NCAA `B' standard in the 100 breaststroke with his second-place, 54.27 finish and finished second in the 200 breaststroke in a season-best time of 1:59.86. Freshman Albert Miller and junior Nathan Taylor placed fourth and fifth, respectively, in the 100 distance as Miller touched the wall in a personal-best time of 55.93 and Taylor stopped the clock in 56.32, which is a season-best clocking for him as well.
Miller and Taylor also scored for Purdue in the 200 IM. Miller swam a personal-best time of 1:52.28 and finished third, while Taylor placed fifth with a season-best time of 1:52.59. Freshman Wyatt Hodges finished third in the 200 breaststroke with his personal-best, 2:01.40 time, and senior Bill Arzner placed fourth in a season-best time of 2:02.03.
Junior Sam Wilcher also exceeded the NCAA `B' standard as he won the 200 butterfly in a season-best time of 1:45.91. Sophomore Ryan Dafforn finished fifth in the race with his season-best time of 1:48.63. Freshman Daniel Jung added a fifth-place finish in the 50 freestyle by touching the wall in a personal-best time of 20.62. Senior Mike Hedge finished third in the 200 backstroke with his season-best time of 1:49.08, and junior Andre Koop finished in a season-best time of 1:49.91 to place fifth and give the Boilermakers another point.
Purdue entered the final event of the day, the 400 freestyle relay, trailing by three points. The Boilermakers' relay team of Langenfeld, Barry, Schmitt and Jung finished second, just missing out on victory, after touching the wall in 2:57.01.
The Boilermakers will be in the water again Feb. 26-28 as the Boilermaker Aquatic Center serves as host of the Big Ten Championships. All information about the championships, including ticket sales and a schedule of events, can be found at purduesports.com.