Jan. 23, 2010
Freshman Caitlin Hamilton took down Purdue's record in the 1,000-yard freestyle Saturday, but the 22nd-ranked women's swimming and diving team fell 166.5-133.5 at 14th-ranked Indiana.
"We had some great races today," head coach John Klinge said. "We really fought hard. Caitlin's school record was great and is a nice confidence boost going into the Big Ten Championships next month. Our team showed a lot of spirit all the way through the meet and finished with a very good 400 free relay."
Hamilton won the 1,000 freestyle, which was the first individual race of the day, in 9 minutes, 51.65 seconds to better the previous program record of 9:53.49 set by Marissa Watts in 1998. Hamilton broke her first program record after taking down Purdue's freshman records in the 500, 1,000 and 1,650 freestyle events earlier this season. With her win, the Normal, Ill., native won her ninth race in 11 tries of distances 500 yards or longer.
"That was a great way to start off the meet," Hamilton said. "I really wasn't trying to go for the record. I just wanted to have a great swim, but it's exciting to have the first varsity record fall of the year. Now, the focus turns toward the other ones."
Senior Ashley Karnes won the 1-meter with a season-best score of 313.58 points from the lowest springboard. Junior Erin Mertz made it a Boilermaker sweep of the diving events and moved to sixth on Purdue's all-time performance list in the platform when she totaled 288.23 to win the event. Mertz also tied for third place in the 1-meter and improved her standing in eighth on the program's all-time performance list with her season-best 297.45 score.
Sophomore Casey Matthews scored in third place off the platform and moved to eighth on Purdue's all-time performance list after putting 277.73 points on the board during her five-dive list, and junior Kara Cook placed fifth with 228.68 points.
The Boilermakers concluded the meet by winning the 400 freestyle relay. Ariel Martin, Leah Henninger, Lauren Roth and Lisa Butler combined to finish the race in 3:29.19 and beat the Hoosiers' top relay to the wall by 24-hundredths of a second. Lauren Nichols, Lauren Gustafson, Sara Bogert and Mary-Margaret Lopez added more points to the team score by finishing third in 3:34.42. Kristen Gilson, Christina Jacobs, Seraphina Van and Henninger combined to finish second in the 200 medley relay with a time of 1:47.98.
Roth defeated Hamilton by two-hundredths of a second as the teammates took first and second in the 500 freestyle. Roth won the race and improved her NCAA provisional-qualifying stance with a season-best time of 4:50.61, and Hamilton took second with her 4:50.63 time. Roth also finished third in the 200 butterfly with a season-best time of 2:02.23 in a race that also saw senior Christine Inman score in fifth place with her 2:07.71 clocking.
Junior Allie Smith finished second in the 100 backstroke and improved her NCAA provisional-qualifying time in the event with her season-best clocking of 55.11. Gilson scored in fourth place in the event and just missed a season-best time by finishing in 58.23. Smith finished third in the 200 backstroke with her 2:01.22 time, and Gilson added fifth-place points by touching the wall in 2:04.62.
Martin defeated the 50 freestyle field by completing the sprint in 23.20. The Jeffersonville, Ind., native also finished second in the 100 freestyle by touching the wall in 50.51 and in the 200 freestyle with her 1:48.44 clocking. Butler finished third in the two longer distances, touching the wall in 51.20 in the 100 and 1:50.19 in the 200. Nichols finished fourth in the 100 freestyle and fifth in the 50 freestyle, while Gustafson added a fourth-place finish in the 50 freestyle.
Junior Jessica Davis added another Boilermaker win to the pile by outracing the 100 breaststroke field in 1:04.30. Freshman Emily McIlrath clocked a season-best time of 1:04.94 to finish third in the event, and Jacobs scored in fourth place by touching the wall in a season-best time of 1:05.31.
Van led Purdue in the 200 breaststroke with her third-place finish in 2:21.57. Classmate Ellesse Lunde finished sixth in the event with her 2:23.71 clocking to add one point to the team's total. Lopez was the highest-finishing Boilermaker in the 100 butterfly as she touched the wall in 57.11 and finished third. Inman was next in 58.64, and freshman Nora Brolsma scored in fifth place with her 59.31 time.
Smith touched the wall in 2:06.55 to take fourth in the 200 IM and was followed immediately by Van in 2:06.58. Gilson finished sixth in the event with a season-best time of 2:08.66. Junior Jessica Skiba finished fifth in the 1,000 freestyle with a season-best time of 10:14.68, and Henninger clocked a season-best time of 52.45 while placing sixth in the 100 freestyle.
The Boilermakers lost a dual meet for the first time this season after starting 5-0. The 33-point margin of victory is the closest dual meet between the rivals since 2005, when Indiana won by 18. Purdue returns to action next weekend when it travels to Madison, Wis., to face Illinois, Minnesota and Wisconsin in the Big Ten Quad.