Nov. 3, 2012
EVANSTON, Ill. -- Carly Mercer once again led the way with a strong showing in the freestyle sprints as Purdue women's swimming and diving won a dual meet at Northwestern Saturday afternoon to complete a busy travel weekend.The No. 24 Purdue women won 12 of the 16 events on their way to a 187-113 edge in the team scores.
The Boilermakers also competed Friday evening at Notre Dame. The women swept the Notre Dame-Northwestern weekend for the fourth straight year.
"This is always a tough trip with two quality meets within 24 hours," head coach John Klinge said. "Our swimmers and divers really competed hard all weekend."
After winning three individual events Friday at UND, Mercer captured the 100 and 200 freestyle and finished second in the 50 free on this day. She also swam the leadoff leg on the victorious 200 free relay team.
Allie Davis, Emily Fogle, Nika Petric and Rhiannon Sheets each won an event and finished as the runner-up in another. Davis and Petric finished one-two in 500 free, Davis winning with a Purdue season-best time. Petric won the 1000 free and Fogle took the 100 breast. Sheets captured the 200 butterfly and finished second to teammate Alex Todd in the 100 fly.
Francesca Marr cruised to a victory in the 200 breaststroke and was selected as the recipient of the Purdue women's Boilermaker Award after the meet. Colleen Drew (200 back) and Fogle (200 IM) posted season-best times for Purdue while finishing second in their events. Fogle and Sheets also contributed to a relay winner. Lauren Gustafson swam the anchor leg on both victorious relay foursomes, closing out the 200 free relay with a team-best split of 23.19 that allowed the Boilers to win by two tenths of a second.
MacKenzie Tweardy and Maddie Miskulin teamed up for a sweep of the diving events for the women.
The Boilermakers will be idle from competition next weekend as both teams gear up for the three-day, six-session Purdue Invitational the weekend of Nov. 16-18 at the Boilermaker Aquatic Center. However, the second annual Breaststroke 4 Hope swim-a-thon fundraiser will be held at the Boilermaker Aquatic Center next Saturday. A number of student-athletes from both teams are expected to participate.
Team Scores
#24 Purdue 187, Northwestern 113
Purdue Winners & Notables
* -- Purdue Season-Best Time/Score
50 Free
Carly Mercer, 23.65 (Finished 2nd)
100 Free
Carly Mercer, 50.30
200 Free
Carly Mercer, 1:50.56 (Purdue had top 3 finishers: Mercer, Davis & Sheets)
500 Free
Allie Davis, 4:58.95* (Davis & Petric finished 1-2)
1000 Free
Nika Petric, 10:10.22
100 Back
Amy Katz, 57.44 (Finished 2nd)
200 Back
Colleen Drew, 2:03.90* (Finished 2nd by .25 of a second)
100 Breast
Emily Fogle, 1:03.04
200 Breast
Francesca Marr, 2:18.49
100 Fly
Alex Todd, 56.21 (Todd & Sheets finished 1-2)
200 Fly
Rhiannon Sheets, 2:03.83
200 IM
Emily Fogle, 2:05.63* (Finished 2nd by .28 of a second)
200 Free Relay
Mercer, Nichols, Sheets & Gustafson, 1:34.23* (Gustafson best split of 23.19 to close out win by .20 of a second)
200 Medley Relay
Katz, Fogle, Vogel & Gustafson, 1:44.33
1-Meter Diving
MacKenzie Tweardy, 289.05 (Tweardy & Mary Beth Dunnichay finished 1-2)
3-Meter Diving
Maddie Miskulin, 291.30