Jan. 9, 2010
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - The 19th-ranked Purdue men's swimming and diving team completed a 244-124 victory over Michigan State on Saturday inside the Boilermaker Aquatic Center.
"Over the years we've had some really good battles with Michigan State," head coach Dan Ross said. "Facility deficiencies have held them back somewhat, but they had some really good performances today and I appreciate them coming here at this time of the year. Having three season-best relays throughout the weekend after a little bit of rest in the fall was really good for us. I think in another week when we go to Dallas and have Ball State here we are going to show our best performances of the season. A lot of teams come out and swim their best times in the fall and then don't repeat them until the conference meet, but we want to be better by the middle of January, so hopefully next week we can do that."
Purdue's divers swept the top five places in the 1- and 3-meter competitions led by sophomore David Boudia. His score of 377.40 points led the 1-meter field and his 469.80 total topped the 3-meter competitors. He was followed on the lowest springboard by junior David Colturi's 330.00 total, while junior Danny Cox took second from the higher board after scoring a season-best 371.78 that moves him to sixth on Purdue's all-time performance list in the event.
Fellow junior J.P. Perez was third in both events as he scored 317.63 in the 1-meter and 370.88 from the 3-meter. Colturi placed fourth in the 3-meter with 358.95 points, and senior Kyle Mitrione was fourth off the 1-meter and fifth from the 3-meter with scores of 308.78 and 352.80, respectively.
Freshman Chuck Destro began the day on a winning note for the Boilermakers. His time of 21.21 seconds bettered the 50-yard freestyle field and was followed by sophomore Kyle House's 21.47 second-place time. Freshman Noah Pashley also scored for the Boilermakers with his fourth-place, 21.62 swim.
Junior Matt Stewart led a 1-2-3 Purdue finish in the 400 IM. The Rochester, Minn., native touched the wall in 4:02.83 to earn his second individual victory in as many days. Senior Andre Koop was next in 4:04.02, and fellow senior Sam Wilcher completed the sweep with a season-best time of 4:09.07.
Sophomore Ben Wachtel grabbed top honors in the 200 freestyle when he finished in a season-best time of 1:39.66. Junior Drew Wolfred and senior A.J. Boeh finished third and fourth, respectively, with times of 1:41.72 and 1:41.81.
Wilcher led three Boilermakers in the top four of the 100 butterfly with his victorious 49.28 time. House finished second with a season-best time of 50.34, and sophomore Brendan Joyce was fourth in 51.13. Freshman Vinny Donnelly won the 500 freestyle with a season-best time of 4:34.62 and was followed by classmate Andrew Starr in 4:35.61.
Three more Boilermakers scored in the 200 backstroke, led by Koop's season-best 1:51.36 time that placed second. Sophomore Tyler Gertz was third with a season-best time of 1:51.94, and Stewart finished fourth with his 1:55.44 clocking.
Senior Aaron Koger, one day after winning the 100 breaststroke, finished second in the 200 breaststroke after touching the wall in 2:02.19. Sophomore Wyatt Hodges turned in a season-best swim and finished third with his 2:05.34 time. Junior Scott Dean also finished in the scoring with his fourth-place swim of 2:07.40. Boeh, Gage Barry, Wolfred and Wachtel recorded Purdue's fastest time this season in the 400 freestyle relay by finishing the race in 3:04.12.
Purdue picked up its sixth consecutive win over Michigan State and now leads the all-time series 19-15. The Boilermakers return to action next weekend when a select group travels to the Dallas Morning News Classic and the rest of the team hosts Ball State on Friday.