Jan. 8, 2010
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - Caitlin Hamilton broke her third Purdue freshman record Friday inside the Boilermaker Aquatic Center during the second day of the women's swimming and diving team's dual against Michigan State.
"The effort and attitude was great both last night and tonight," head coach John Klinge said. "This is a really special weekend for our seniors. It's their last home dual meet, and the effort of the team and the attitude really reflects everything our seniors have done here for four years."
Hamilton provided the biggest splash of the evening in the longest race on the program when she broke Purdue's freshman record in the 1,650-yard freestyle while winning the event in 16 minutes, 29.91 seconds. Her time, which is an NCAA provisional-qualifying mark, betters the previous record of 16:32.42 recorded by Susan Wolfle in 1991 and takes down the longest-standing freshman record at Purdue. Hamilton also moved to second on Purdue's all-time performance list in the event. The Normal, Ill., native now holds program freshman records in the 500, 1,000 and 1,650 freestyle events.
"After two weeks of really, really, really hard training, that mile was really good," Hamilton said. "To go into the Big Ten Championships with that time is exciting and gives me confidence. It's kind of fun to say that I have all three of the distance freshman records. It shows that I'm not just a mile swimmer and not just a 500 swimmer."
Hamilton led a Boilermaker sweep of the top four places in the 1,650 freestyle. She was followed by junior Jessica Skiba, who touched the wall in 17:11.34. Sophomore Amy Gutwein's season-best time of 17:21.37 was next, and freshman Katie Guell touched in fourth with her 17:28.81 time.
The Boilermakers began day two with a replay of day one. In the evening's first event, the 200 freestyle relay, Purdue swept the top two places to add 15 points to the team race. Lauren Gustafson, Leah Henninger, Allie Smith and Ariel Martin touched the wall first with a time of 1:34.74 and were followed by Sara Bogert, Lauren Roth, Lauren Nichols and Lisa Butler in 1:35.68. Martin, Jessica Davis, Butler and Henninger recorded the fastest Purdue time in the 400 medley relay with a 3:51.99 clocking.
Smith also added an individual victory by touching the wall in 55.24 to outpace the 100 backstroke field. Sophomore Kristen Gilson finished second in the race with a season-best time of 58.13. Roth won the 200 butterfly with her 2:03.48 time in her first attempt at that race this season.
Nichols recorded a season-best time of 51.44 while winning the 100 freestyle. Sophomore Sarah Dunleavy touched the wall in 54.17 in her first attempt at that race this season. Freshman Seraphina Van touched the wall in 2:07.39 to win the 200 IM and earn her third victory in that event this season. Fellow freshman Courtney Tumbush recorded a season-best time of 2:11.10 in the same race.
Davis led Purdue in the 100 breaststroke with her second-place, 1:05.47 finish. The junior was followed in the scoring by sophomore Christina Jacobs, who touched the wall next in 1:05.65, and freshman Ellesse Lunde, who was fourth in 1:07.36.
Purdue leads the team race 110-67. The dual concludes Saturday with action beginning at noon ET. Purdue's five seniors will be recognized in a short ceremony before competition begins. Admission is free, and live results can be found at purduesports.com.