Feb. 9, 2013
Results | Dive-by-Dive Scoring
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. -- Danny Tucker's sweep of the freestyle sprints as well as individual victories for Chuck Destro and Sean Mokhtari highlighted the day for Purdue men's swimming and diving in a dual meet loss to No. 7-ranked Indiana Saturday afternoon at the Boilermaker Aquatic Center.
The Boilermakers (4-5 in duals) closed the meet with a victory in the 400 freestyle relay but came up on the wrong side of a 179.5-118.5 final in the team scores.
Destro won the 100 butterfly with a Purdue season-best time of 48.66, posting a new season-best mark in the event for the second weekend in a row. He was one of seven Purdue seniors recognized before the meet for their contributions to the program.
Seniors Benjamin Ziolkowski and Destro teamed with Matt Friede and Tucker to win the 400 free relay with a Purdue season-best time of 2:57.66, eclipsing the previous mark by more than two seconds.
Mokhtari won the platform diving event with a Purdue season-best score of 378.68. The sophomore has won both platform diving competitions contested at the Boilermaker Aquatic Center this season.
Tucker won the 100 free with a Purdue season-best time of 43.83, improving on his NCAA provisional qualifying time. He finished in a dead heat with IU's Daniel Kanorr in the 50 free, both swimmers touching the wall in 20.05. The mark was only three one-hundredths of a second off Tucker's Purdue season-best time. The junior upped his team-leading individual victory total this season to 15.
Jan Karel Petric also accounted for a Purdue season-best time (9:23.20) while finishing as the runner up in the 1000 free. Personal season-best times were also posted by senior Corey Bandura in the 200 fly (1:51.02), senior Dan Farrell in a 100 fly time trial (50.94) and Manuel Gutierrez in the 200 free (1:40.35).
More personal season-best times were recorded by swimmers that gave the Boilers four of the top five finishers in the 50 free. Destro (20.23), Ziolkowski (20.33) and Adam Johnston (20.82) placed 3-4-5 behind the dead-heat finish by Tucker and Kanorr in the 50, all three Boilers posted season-best times. In the 100, Ziolkowski was second to Tucker with another season-best time of 45.50.
The meet began with a very tight finish in the 200 medley relay. Purdue's foursome of Brian Kiel, Lyam Dias, Destro and Tucker finished with a team season-best time of 1:29.08, just one tenth of a second behind Indiana. But the quartet was disqualified for leaving the blocks early on the first exchange.
Along with the Purdue seniors, longtime public address announcer Andy Ross and retiring Indiana diving coach Jeff Huber were also recognized before the meet. Ross, the son of Purdue head coach Dan Ross, is set to graduate from Harrison High School in West Lafayette this spring. Huber is in his 24th year as the diving czar at Indiana and was a coach and mentor to Purdue's Adam Soldati.
Selected members of Purdue's team will travel to Ann Arbor next weekend for the two-day Michigan First Chance Meet. The rest of the team will remain on campus and continue training for the Big Ten Championships, set for Feb. 27 through March 2 in Bloomington, Ind.
Purdue's Top Finishers & Notables
* -- Purdue Season-Best Time/Score
^ -- Purdue Season-Best Time/Score
(B) -- NCAA Provisional Qualifying Time
(Z) -- NCAA Zone Qualifying Score
Platform Diving
Sean Mokhtari, 378.68* (Z) - Event Winner
1-Meter Diving
Jamie Bissett, 363.00 - Finished 3rd
50 Free
Danny Tucker, 20.05 (B) - Event Co-Winner (Purdue had 4 of top 5 finishers)
100 Free
Danny Tucker, 43.83* (B) - Event Winner (Purdue had 4 of top 5 finishers)
200 Free
Manuel Gutierrez, 1:40.35^ -- Finished 4th
500 Free
Nate Hopkins, 4:32.55 - Finished 3rd
1000 Free
Jan Karel Petric, 9:23.20* -- Finished 2nd (Petric & LaMothe finished 2-3)
100 Back
Stephen Seliskar, 50.81 - Finished 3rd
200 Back
Evan Barta, 1:53.52 - Finished 4th
100 Breast
Lyam Dias, 56.83 - Finished 3rd
200 Breast
Lyam Dias, 2:01.98 - Finished 2nd
100 Fly
Chuck Destro, 48.66* -- Event Winner
200 Fly
Corey Bandura, 1:51.02^ - Finished 3rd
200 IM
Danny Conway, 1:53.32 - Finished 4th
200 Medley Relay
Kiel, Farrell, Friede & Ziolkowski, 1:31.37^ -- Finished 2nd After DQs
Seliskar, Dias, Destro & Tucker, 1:29.08 (DQ)
400 Free Relay
Destro, Ziolkowski, Friede & Tucker, 2:57.66* -- Event Winner