Nov. 7, 2009
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - The Purdue women's swimming and diving team defeated Northwestern 156-144 Saturday afternoon inside the Boilermaker Aquatic Center.
"I'm proud of the way the team fought today," head coach John Klinge said. "We knew it was going to be a tough meet, and the team showed a lot of heart and rose to the occasion. Northwestern battled hard the whole day. The meet came down to a very exciting 400 freestyle relay at the end."
Sophomore Casey Matthews took down the Doris Z. Holloway Pool record while winning the 3-meter. Her score of 365.40 points betters the previous record of 363.50 scored by current Purdue senior Ashley Karnes in 2008. Junior Erin Mertz allowed the Boilermakers to sweep the diving events by taking the 1-meter with 293.40 points. Matthews and Mertz finished second in the events they didn't win as Matthews scored a season-high 289.95 and Mertz put 314.63 points on the board. Karnes took third in her first competition of the season with her 287.85 score from the 1-meter that qualifies her for the NCAA Zone C Diving Championships. Junior Kara Cook finished fourth in the 3-meter with 290.70 points and fifth in the 1-meter with 235.05.
In the first individual event, freshman Caitlin Hamilton broke the Purdue freshman record in the 1,000-yard freestyle for the second consecutive day. The Normal, Ill., native won the event in 9:57.11 to lower the record from her 9:58.56 time set in Friday evening's victory over Notre Dame. The record before Friday was 9:58.64 swam by Marisa Watts in 1995. Sophomore Amy Gutwein and freshman Courtney Tumbush joined Hamilton in the scoring while recording season-best times of 10:22.61 and 10:23.83, respectively. Hamilton won the 500 freestyle for the second straight day as well as she bettered the field with her 4:54.11 clocking. Tumbush added another season-best time when she finished fifth in 5:04.79.
Purdue earned 19 points in the two relay events. Junior Ariel Martin, junior Lisa Butler, freshman Lauren Nichols and junior Katie Beck combined to win the 400 freestyle relay in an NCAA provisional-qualifying time of 3:23.02, while sophomore Lauren Roth, freshman Lauren Gustafson, sophomore Sara Bogert and junior Allie Smith finished third in 3:29.15. Smith, junior Jessica Davis, freshman Seraphina Van and Butler finished second in the 400 medley relay with a 3:45.84 time that is the fastest Purdue swim this season. Beck, freshman Emily McIlrath, junior Mary-Margaret Lopez and Nichols added a third-place finish in 3:53.43.
Martin won her third 50 freestyle in as many attempts this season by finishing the race in 23.23, which is identical to her winning time Friday night. Nichols and Gustafson finished the race with season-best times as Nichols took second in 23.32, and Gustafson fifth in 23.97.
The Boilermakers had four scorers in the 100 freestyle and three scorers in the 200 freestyle. Martin finished second in the shorter race in 51.16 and third in the longer race with her 1:50.90 time. Butler was third in the 100 in 51.56 and fifth in the 200 in 1:52.33, while Roth finished second in the 200 with a season-best time of 1:49.90, and Nichols added a fifth-place, 51.90 finish in the 100.
Smith ran her unbeaten start in the 100 backstroke to three as she bettered the field in 56.46. Beck finished second in 57.42. Smith also took the 200 backstroke with her season-best 2:02.05 time, and sophomore Sarah Dunleavy finished fifth in 2:10.21.
Davis finished second in the 100 breaststroke in 1:04.44 to lead three Purdue scorers in the event. McIlrath touched the wall in 1:05.74 for fourth, and sophomore Christina Jacobs was fifth in a season-best time of 1:06.45.
Van and fellow freshman Ellesse Lunde added points in the 200 breaststroke. Van clocked a season-best time of 2:18.89 for second, while Lunde touched the wall in 2:22.78 in her first attempt this season. Van also finished third in the 200 IM by stopping the clock in 2:07.91.
Senior Christine Inman finished third in the 200 butterfly with her 2:05.46 clocking, and Van took fifth in that event by touching the wall in 2:08.06. Beck led three Purdue scorers in the 100 butterfly with her second-place, 57.21 time. Lopez was third in a season-best 57.92 clocking, and Inman added a fifth-place, 58.55 finish.
Purdue is 3-0 in dual-meet competition for the first time since the 2005-06 season and have already bettered last season's win total. The Boilermakers return to action Friday as they begin a two-day dual at Eastern Michigan.