Nov. 6, 2009
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - The Purdue women's swimming and diving team defeated Notre Dame 171-129 Friday evening inside the Boilermaker Aquatic Center.
"This was a great experience for the team," head coach John Klinge said. "Most of them have put in about 14 months of really great, consistent training, and it's really starting to show up. They are doing a good job day in and day out, and I think that consistency has led to some breakthroughs for a few of them. I have a lot of respect for Notre Dame. Coach (Brian) Barnes grew up in Indiana, and I swam against him while he was at IU and I was here at Purdue. He's really made an immediate impact on the Notre Dame program, and I have a lot of respect for what he is doing there."
In the first individual event that took place in the Doris Z. Holloway Pool, freshman Caitlin Hamilton won the 1,000-yard freestyle in a Purdue freshman-record time of 9:58.56. Her time betters the previous record of 9:58.64 set by Marisa Watts in 1995. Sophomore Amy Gutwein and freshman Courtney Tumbush also swam season-best times of 10:23.21 and 10:25.73, respectively, in the event. Hamilton also added a season-best time of 4:52.33 while winning the 500 freestyle.
"I was completely unaware of the record," Hamilton said. "I was just going in to break 10 minutes and drop from the Miami meet (on Oct. 23). When I heard that I had broken the record, I was really ecstatic. I was so excited. That's a lifetime-best time for me, so it was really exciting."
In the very next event, junior Ariel Martin led a 1-2-3 sweep by the Boilermakers in the 200 freestyle. Martin touched the wall in 1:49.28 and was followed by sophomore Lauren Roth in 1:51.07 and junior Lisa Butler in 1:51.79. Martin also won the 50 freestyle in a season-best time of 23.23 and the 100 freestyle in a season-best time of 50.78. Freshman Lauren Nichols grabbed third in the 50 freestyle in 23.49 and fourth in the 100 freestyle with her 51.69 time, while Butler added a second-place, 51.27 finish in the 100 freestyle.
Fellow junior Allie Smith gave Purdue its third consecutive victory by touching the wall in 55.55 to better the 100 backstroke field. Classmate Katie Beck finished third with a season-best 57.23 clocking. Smith went on to a runner-up finish in the 200 backstroke with a season-best 2:02.21 time. Purdue claimed the second through fourth positions in the 100 breaststroke as junior Jessica Davis finished in 1:04.28, freshman Emily McIlrath clocked 1:05.86 and sophomore Christina Jacobs finished in 1:07.18.
Sophomore Casey Matthews earned wins from both springboards. The Getzville, N.Y., native earned a season-high 287.63 points off the 1-meter and scored 314.40 in her first attempt off the 3-meter this season. Matthews was followed in the 3-meter by juniors Erin Mertz, who scored 289.58 for second, and Kara Cook, who finished fifth with 258.68 points. Senior Ashley Karnes took second in the 1-meter with her score of 281.25, while Mertz finished fourth with 268.13.
Freshman Seraphina Van won her second 200 IM in as many tries this season as she touched the wall with a season-best time of 2:05.83. Senior Christine Inman added another point to Purdue's team total by finishing fifth in the race with a season-best 2:11.81 clocking.
The Boilermakers also grabbed second, third and fourth in the 200 butterfly. Inman led the charge with her season-best 2:04.73 time and was followed by Van in 2:05.63 and junior Mary-Margaret Lopez in 2:08.48. Van led Purdue in the 100 butterfly by finishing second in 56.40. Beck was fourth with her season-best time of 56.77, and Inman placed fifth in a season-best 58.41 clocking. Freshman Ellesse Lunde finished second in the 200 breaststroke with her 2:22.05 clocking.
Purdue's 400 medley relay team of Smith, McIlrath, Van and Butler finished second in 3:46.95, and Beck, Davis, Lopez and Nichols added points with a third-place, 3:52.26 finish. The Boilermakers finished the meet by earning 13 points in the 400 freestyle relay. Martin, Butler, Nichols and Beck won the event in 3:26.08, and freshman Lauren Gustafson, Lopez, sophomore Sara Bogert and Smith placed third in 3:31.09.
Purdue improved to 8-5-1 all-time against Notre Dame with the victory. The Boilermakers return to the pool Saturday when they host Northwestern. Action begins at 1 p.m. ET, and live results can be found at purduesports.com.