Nov. 20, 2009
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - The Purdue women's swimming and diving team broke two records Friday during the first day of the Purdue Invitational as senior Ashley Karnes took down the facility record in the 3-meter and freshman Caitlin Hamilton broke the school's freshman record in the 500-yard freestyle.
"We had a really solid day," head coach John Klinge said. "I thought tonight went better than this morning, and we had probably 75 percent season-best or lifetime-best times this morning. Obviously, Ashley setting the facility record was a highlight, as well as Caitlin's freshman record. Ariel (Martin) going under 23 (seconds) three times was a really good confidence builder for her. Hopefully, we will just get better each session as the meet goes on."
Hamilton broke her second school freshman record by touching the wall in 4 minutes, 47.51 seconds to finish third. The Normal, Ill., native broke the previous record of 4:48.11 set by Susan Wolfe in 1991 and moved past Wolfe to second on Purdue's all-time performance list in the event. Hamilton also holds the Purdue freshman record in the 1,000 freestyle after her 9:57.11 swim on Nov. 7.
"When I touched the wall I was so excited because it was a lifetime-best time," Hamilton said. "I was not expecting to go that fast. I would have been happy with breaking 4:50. I didn't know it was a freshman record, but it's so exciting. It's cool to be going this fast at this point in the season with no rest, just throwing a Pro (suit) on and seeing what I could do. There was a lot of emotion put into that race, and having a positive outcome is always amazing."
Karnes led four Purdue scorers in the top-seven places from the highest springboard. Karnes, a Bloomington, Ind., native, won the event by scoring 370.20 points, a total that betters the record of 365.40 set by teammate Casey Matthews on Nov. 7. The score puts Karnes at the top of the Doris Z. Holloway Pool list for the second time in her career, as she held the record at 363.50 before Matthews put together her record-breaking performance.
"This was my first meet of the season (contesting the 3-meter) and I was trying a new dive, so really I was just trying to get in the swing of things," Karnes said. "(Head diving coach) Adam (Soldati) said before we competed to have our cue words and focus on that and only on that. A lot of times my mind wanders, but this meet I really tried to focus on my cues and nothing else. I think that's what made this meet so successful."
Karnes was followed by junior Erin Mertz, who finished second with a season-best score of 329.60 that moves her to sixth on Purdue's all-time performance list in the event. Matthews scored 286.90 points to place sixth, and junior Kara Cook was seventh with her score of 284.95.
Junior Ariel Martin added her name to the list of Purdue swimmers that have exceeded the NCAA provisional standard with her time of 22.97 in the preliminary round of the 50-yard freestyle. She then bettered that with a fourth-place, 22.91 finish in the final. Classmate Lisa Butler finished seventh in 23.75 after she swam a season-best time of 23.37 during the morning session. Freshman Lauren Nichols finished 14th with her 23.65 time after touching the wall in 23.60 to qualify.
Purdue's 200 freestyle relay team of Martin, Nichols, Lauren Gustafson and Butler also swam an NCAA provisional-qualifying time of 1:32.31 while finishing third. The Boilermakers' 400 medley team of Smith, Jessica Davis, Seraphina Van and Martin swam to a sixth-place finish in 3:45.99.
Sophomore Lauren Roth won the 500 freestyle 'C' final with an NCAA provisional-qualifying time of 4:52.24. Smith finished seventh in the 200 IM with a season-best time of 2:03.74 after turning in a then-season-best 2:04.10 time in the preliminary round. Van also earned two season-best times in the race as she finished 12th in the final with her 2:05.11 time after qualifying in 2:05.47.
Gustafson finished 19th in the final of the 50 freestyle with her 23.95 time. The Columbus, Ind., native tied for 16th in the morning session with a season-best time of 23.81, but was beaten by one-hundredth of a second in a swim-off for the last 'B' final spot. Junior Katie Beck swam a season-best 24.14 in the preliminary round before finishing 23rd in the final in 24.41, while sophomore Sara Bogert touched the wall in 24.21 in the morning session and finished 24th in the final with her 24.42 time.
Sophomore Amy Gutwein also earned a season-best time in the 500 freestyle when she stopped the clock in 5:02.98 during the morning session. Freshman Courtney Tumbush just missed a season-best clocking with her 5:05.04 time, and junior Jessica Skiba turned in a 5:07.09 finish. Sophomore Kristen Gilson finished the race in 5:09.69, and freshmen Katie Guell and Ellie Roeing touched the wall in 5:13.92 and 5:17.10, respectively.
In addition to Smith and Van, the other seven Boilermakers in the 200 IM also swam season-best times during the morning swim. Junior Mary-Margaret Lopez touched the wall in 2:09.53, senior Christine Inman clocked 2:09.62 and freshmen Katie Hingst and Tumbush stopped the clock in 2:11.33 and 2:12.92, respectively. Sophomore Christina Jacobs recorded a 2:13.02 time, freshman Megan Roach finished in 2:14.72 and sophomore Susie Fawcett touched the wall in 2:15.82.
Also in the morning session, senior Leah Henninger and freshman Emily McIlrath recorded times of 24.34 and 24.52, respectively, in their first 50 freestyle of the season. Freshman Nora Brolsma added a season-best time of 24.79 in the race, and Davis and sophomore Allison Frisbie clocked season-best times of 24.98 and 25.56, respectively. Senior Elizabeth Holmes finished the race in 25.72.
Purdue scored 185 points during the first day of competition and sits third with two days remaining. Michigan leads the team scoring with 211 points and is followed by Louisville's 207 points. Arkansas is fourth with 164 points, while Ohio State's 132 points are fifth and Missouri State's total of 64 points stands sixth.
The Purdue Invitational continues Saturday. Action begins at 10 a.m. from inside the Boilermaker Aquatic Center, and finals begin at 6 p.m. Admission is free, and live results can be found at purduesports.com.