Nov. 13, 2009
The Purdue men's swimming and diving team leads Eastern Michigan 130-40 after the first day of the team's two-day dual and defeated Carthage 125-80 inside the Boilermaker Aquatic Center on Friday evening.
"We had a good first day," head coach Dan Ross said. "We had some season bests, but not as many as I would like to see. David Colturi had a great contest. I expect to swim better tomorrow."
Purdue won both relays contested Friday evening against Eastern Michigan. Chuck Destro, Albert Miller, Jimmy Brooks and Brendan Joyce took the 200-yard medley relay in 1:33.75, while Alec LaMothe, Sam Wilcher, Corey Bandura and Ben Wachtel won the 800 freestyle relay in a season-best time of 6:53.07.
Wilcher also led a Purdue sweep of the first through fourth finishes in the 200 butterfly with his 1:54.69 time. He was followed by sophomore Zach Johnson in a season-best 1:55.47 clocking and LaMothe and fellow freshman Vinny Donnelly in 1:55.61 and 1:56.21, respectively.
The Boilermakers also earned first through fourth in the 200 IM. Senior Andre Koop took the win in a season-best time of 1:55.64 and was followed by junior Matt Stewart in 1:55.75. Junior Scott Dean was third in 1:56.91, and sophomore Albert Miller, who won the 100 breaststroke in 57.91, placed fourth with his 1:58.28 time.
Purdue claimed the top-four finishes in the 1-meter diving competition, as well. Junior David Colturi put up a season-best score of 358.20 to lead the rout. He was followed by freshman Jimmy Page's second-place, 286.80 finish. Senior Kyle Mitrione took third with 284.78 points, and sophomore Danny Cox finished fourth with 266.55.
Donnelly, LaMothe and classmate Ray Mahon swept the top-three places for Purdue in the 1,000 freestyle. Donnelly touched the wall in 9:34.48, and LaMothe and Mahon earned season-best times of 9:34.71 and 9:43.98, respectively.
Wachtel also grabbed the 200 freestyle in a season-best 1:40.58 clocking and the 50 freestyle in 21.01. He was followed in the longer race by junior Matt Stewart in 1:43.42 and Destro in 21.48 in the shorter distance.
In the Carthage dual, the Boilermakers took nine of the 11 events contested. Sophomore Logan Wetzel won the 1,000 freestyle in 9:56.87, while senior Travis Smith won the 200 freestyle with a season-best 1:45.13 clocking and sophomore Wyatt Hodges took the 500 freestyle in 4:55.75. Freshman Benjamin Ziolkowski clocked a season-best time of 21.34 while winning the 50 freestyle and classmate Sam Niesen won the 100 freestyle in 48.42.
Junior Drew Wolfred won the 200 IM in 1:56.05, and sophomore Kyle House outraced the 100 butterfly field in 50.52. Senior Aaron Koger grabbed the final individual win of the night when he touched the wall in 56.19 to claim the 100 breaststroke. The Boilermakers' 200 medley relay team of Andrew Starr, Koger, Niesen and Smith touched the wall first in 1:37.83.
Purdue returns to the pool Saturday to complete the two-day dual against Eastern Michigan. Action begins at noon ET from Jones Natatorium.