March 19, 2011
Saturday Results | Dive-by-Dive Scoring
Complete Meet Results | Final Team Scores
AUSTIN, Texas - Caitlin Hamilton posted a season-best time in the 1,650 freestyle while finishing 11th overall, highlighting the final day of the NCAA Championships for Purdue women's swimming and diving.
Purdue finished the three-day national meet 25th (of 42 scoring teams) with 36 points. Kara Cook, Erin Mertz, Hamilton and the 400 free relay team all scored for the Boilermakers Saturday. The Boilermakers were fifth among the seven scoring teams from the Big Ten Conference. California won the team title with 424 points.
Hamilton finished the mile with a time of 16:04.36, her best mark since setting the school record at the 2010 NCAA Championships. The sophomore earned Honorable Mention All-America honors while posting the top finish by a Purdue swimmer this week. Hamilton was 11th among a field of 37 competitors and earned Purdue six team points.
Cook and Mertz also earned Honorable Mention All-America recognition for qualifying for the consolation final of the platform diving. Cook finished seventh in the consolation final and 15th overall (of 24) while Mertz was close behind, taking eighth in the consolation and 16th overall.
For Mertz, it capped a successful weekend during which the senior finished among the top 16 in all three diving events. She was third nationally in the 3-meter diving and 12th in the 1-meter. Mertz earned Purdue 22 team points with her impressive trio of performances.
The Boilermakers' 400 free relay team of Ariel Martin, Lisa Butler, Allie Smith and Lauren Gustafson also scored Saturday, finishing seventh in the consolation final (15th overall).
Individually, Martin capped her stellar career by finishing 44th (of 63) in the preliminaries of the 100 free. Emily Fogle was 40th (of 50) in the 200 breaststroke.
Purdue will have to bid adieu to Butler, Cook, Martin, Mertz, Smith and their senior classmates. Fogle, Gustafson, Hamilton and Lauren Nichols will headline a group of experienced Boilermakers slated to return for the 2011-12 season.
Purdue Highlights
400 Free Relay Team (Martin, Butler, Smith & Gustafson), 3:19.47 (3:18.81 prelims) - Finished 15th in finals
Platform Diving
Kara Cook, 262.15 (258.95 prelims) - Finished seventh in consolation final, 15th overall
Erin Mertz, 251.60 (257.10 prelims) - Finished eighth in consolation final, 16th overall
1,650 Free
Caitlin Hamilton, 16:04.36 - Finished 11th overall
100 Free
Ariel Martin, 49.65 - Finished 44th in preliminaries
200 Breast
Emily Fogle, 2:13.32 - Finished 40th in preliminaries