Nov. 22, 2009
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - Seraphina Van broke the Purdue freshman record in the 200-yard breaststroke Sunday as the women's swimming and diving team wrapped up the Purdue Invitational inside the Boilermaker Aquatic Center.
"Overall, we had a really solid meet with a lot of great swims," head coach John Klinge said. "Today went pretty well. I thought we started off really well this morning. The 200 back was good, and the 100 free was very good. Certainly, Seraphina had a good swim setting our freshman record. The 200 fly was solid, and we had some good swims in the mile. We still struggle a bit with our relays. We need to get better with our consistency throughout an entire championship meet and really emphasize the relays."
Van won the `B' final in the 200 breaststroke by touching the wall in 2 minutes, 16.16 seconds. The Cypress, Texas, native bettered the previous record of 2:17.07 set by Jennifer Lavers in 2005. Van's time also moves her to third on Purdue's all-time performance list in the event and is an NCAA provisional-qualifying time.
"I didn't know I had broken the freshman record, but that's pretty amazing," Van said. "I felt really good about swimming a best time, and hearing that I broke the freshman record really makes me feel good about my race. I am very, very excited."
One day after becoming the second-fastest 200 freestyle swimmer in program history, junior Ariel Martin moved to third on Purdue's all-time performance list in the 100 freestyle. The Jeffersonville, Ind., native stopped the clock in 49.98 in the morning session to earn the third qualifying position and eclipse the NCAA provisional-qualifying standard. Martin then finished third in the final with her 50.07 clocking.
Freshman Caitlin Hamilton moved to third on Purdue's all-time performance list in the 1,650 freestyle in her first collegiate attempt at that distance. The Normal, Ill., native, who already holds Purdue freshman records in the 500 and 1,000 freestyle races, touched the wall in 16:34.13 to finish second in the race and provisionally qualify for the NCAA Championships.
Junior Erin Mertz won the first platform diving competition contested by the Boilermakers this season. Mertz scored 265.80 points to better the field of 10 and move to eighth on Purdue's all-time performance list in the event. Classmate Kara Cook finished third with her score of 238.55.
Junior Lisa Butler and sophomore Lauren Roth also scored in the 100 freestyle. Butler won the `B' final with a season-best time of 50.89 after qualifying in 51.63, while Roth was 12th in 51.75 after she recorded a time of 51.77 in her first attempt at that race this season in the morning session. Freshman Lauren Gustafson won the `C' final with a season-best time of 51.93 and was followed immediately by classmate Lauren Nichols, who qualified in 52.31 and stopped the clock at 52.54 in the final.
Junior Allie Smith led the way in the 200 backstroke. She qualified second with a then-season-best time of 2:00.53 before lowering that with a fourth-place, 1:59.52 swim in the final. Sophomore Kristen Gilson advanced to the final with a season-best 2:01.54 clocking, and freshman Ellie Roeing grabbed a season-best time of her own when she qualified in 2:10.92. Gilson finished eighth in 2:02.13, and Roeing was 22nd with her 2:10.78 clocking in the evening session.
Freshman Ellesse Lunde finished 13th in the 200 breaststroke with her 2:21.42 clocking after she registered a season-best time of 2:20.62 to reserve her spot in the final. Classmate Megan Roach finished 23rd in 2:24.93 after touching the wall in 2:24.50 to qualify, and sophomore Christina Jacobs was next in 2:26.53 after she swam a season-best time of 2:23.59 in the morning session.
Freshmen Katie Guell and Courtney Tumbush scored in 13th and 14th, respectively, in the 1,650 freestyle with times of 17:19.46 and 17:20.78. Sophomore Amy Gutwein rounded out Purdue's scoring in the event with her 15th-place, 17:23.60 finish.
Senior Christine Inman recorded a time of 2:04.89 to place 15th in the 200 butterfly final. The co-captain from Williamsport, Ind., advanced to the final with her 2:04.98 swim in the morning. Junior Mary-Margaret Lopez finished 18th with her 2:08.72 time after she stopped the clock in 2:08.49 to qualify for the final.
Purdue's 400 freestyle relay team of Martin, Butler, Smith and Roth wrapped up the meet with a third-place finish after the quartet touched the wall in 3:25.24.
The Boilermakers added five more season-best times in the morning session. Senior Elizabeth Holmes swam her fastest 100 backstroke time of the season by touching the wall in 2:12.78. Sophomore Sara Bogert added a 53.08 clocking for her fastest 100 freestyle of the season, and junior Jessica Davis turned in a season-best 54.96 time in the same race. Sophomore Susie Fawcett turned in her best 200 breaststroke time of the season by stopping the clock in 2:28.27, as did freshman Katie Hingst with her 2:29.37 time.
Also in the morning session, junior Katie Beck finished the 100 freestyle in 53.70. Sophomore Allison Frisbie and freshman Nora Brolsma clocked times of 54.71 and 54.78, respectively, in their first times contesting that race this season.
Arkansas senior Yi Ting Siow broke the Doris Z. Holloway Pool record while winning the 200 breaststroke. Siow, who finished 19th in the event at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, touched the wall in 2:09.01 to better the previous record of 2:09.77 set by Stanford's Caroline Bruce in 2005. Siow is the second athlete to better a facility record this weekend, following Purdue senior Ashley Karnes' 3-meter record score of 370.20 recorded Friday.
Michigan won the team crown with 774.5 points. The Wolverines were followed by Louisville's 739.5 points and Arkansas' total of 680. Purdue finished fourth after putting 535 points on the board throughout the three-day competition. Ohio State was fifth with 446 points, and Missouri State placed sixth with its 134-point total.
The Boilermaker swimmers have completed their fall competitions, but the divers are set to travel to Columbus, Ohio, for the Ohio State Invitational from Dec. 4-6. The entire team gets back together after the calendar switches to 2010 when Purdue hosts Michigan State in a dual from Jan. 7-9.