Feb. 22, 2014
Saturday Results: Prelims | Finals | Dive-by-Dive Scoring
MINNEAPOLIS -- Francesca Marr, Rhiannon Sheets and MacKenzie Tweardy each qualified for the championship final in an event Saturday to cap the final day of action at the Big Ten Championships for Purdue women's swimming and diving.
At the end of the night Saturday, Casey Matthews was recognized as the co-Diver of the Championships and First Team All-Big Ten after winning the Big Ten title from the 1-meter springboard Thursday and finishing second in the 3-meter competition Friday. She shared the award with Minnesota's Maggie Keefer, who also posted first and second-place finishes in the springboard events. Matthews is the third Purdue woman to win Diver of the Championships honors, joining Carrie McCambridge (2004 and 2006) and Ashley Karnes (2009).
Adam Soldati was named the Big Ten Diving Coach of the Year, garnering the honor for the second time for his work with the Purdue women. He was also recognized in 2009 and has won the men's award four times. All four Purdue divers qualified for the championship final of 1-meter diving Thursday and three were among the top eight on the 3-meter Friday. Tweardy was the only Boiler to compete from the platform towers Saturday.
The Boilermakers finished in seventh place in the team scoring, just four points behind sixth-place Wisconsin. While there was more than a 100-point gap between third-place Penn State and fourth-place Ohio State, only 30 points separated OSU and seventh-place Purdue. Minnesota won its third consecutive Big Ten title, claiming the last two titles while hosting the championship meet in its home pool.
Tweardy took third in the championship final of platform diving Saturday to account for the Boilers' top individual finish of the day. She scored in all three diving events for the second year in a row.
Marr posted a new personal-best time (2:11.82) in the 200 breaststroke that continues to rank second in program history. She took sixth in the A final of the event. Sheets took seventh in the A final of the 200 butterfly.
Carly Mercer won the B final of the 100 free. Kylie Vogel also won the B final of the 50 free earlier this week. Grace Hernadez, Mecer, Sheets and Vogel teamed up in the 400 free relay to record the fifth-fastest time in program history.
Nika Karlina Petric improved on her third-fastest time in team history while placing 11th in the 1,650 free. One day after breaking the program record in the 100 butterfly, Alex Todd scored in the 200 fly as well. She moved up to sixth in program history. Trish Regan (second) and Hannah Manger (fifth) each posted times in the 200 backstroke that rank among the top five all-time at Purdue.
Selected swimmers will get a chance to represent the Boilers at the NCAA Championships next month in Minneapolis. Those earning berths will be announced in early March. The divers will look to punch their tickets to NCAAs at the Zone C Championships, set for March 13-15 in Columbus this year.
The Purdue swimmers will have the option of competing Saturday at the annual Boiler-Make-It NCAA Last Chance meet at the Boilermaker Aquatic Center. The time trial meet is tentatively set for noon ET.
Final Team Scores
1. #12 Minnesota, 760
2. #13 Indiana, 649
3. #23 Penn State, 484
4. #15 Ohio State, 374
5. #17 Michigan, 361
6. #19 Wisconsin, 338
7. #21 Purdue, 334
8. Iowa, 199
9. Nebraska, 145
10. Northwestern, 110
11. Michigan State, 87
12. Illinois, 79
Purdue's Top Finishers & Notables
* -- New Purdue Season-Best Time/Score
^ -- New Personal Season-Best Time/Score
(B) - NCAA B Cut Provisional Qualifying Time
(Z) - NCAA Zone Qualifying Score
100 Free
Carly Mercer, 48.91 (B) - Won B Final (9 Points)
Kylie Vogel, 49.79 (B, Prelim Time) - Finished 19th in Prelims, Scratched from C Final; 6th Fastest in Program History
1650 Free
Nika Karlina Petric, 16:23.45 (B) - Finished 11th (6 Points); 3rd Fastest in Program History
200 Back
Trish Regan, 1:58.53* (B, Prelim Time) - Finished 2nd in C Final; 3rd Fastest in Program History
Hannah Manger, 1:59.74^ (Prelim Time) - Finished 27th in Prelims; 5th Fastest in Program History
200 Breast
Francesca Marr, 2:11.82* (B, Prelim Time) - Finished 6th in A Final (13 Points); 2nd Fastest in Program History
Madison Monteiro, 2:17.86^ (Prelim Time) - Finished 6th in C Final
Tracy Glaser, 2:18.01^ (Prelim Time) - Finished 8th in C Final
200 Fly
Rhiannon Sheets, 1:58.09* (B, Prelim Time) - Finished 7th in A Final (12 Points)
Alex Todd, 1:59.77^ (Prelim Time) - Finished 8th in B Final (1 Point); 6th Fastest in Program History Platform Diving
MacKenzie Tweardy, 307.30 (Z) - Finished 3rd in Championship Final (16 Points)
400 Free Relay
Mercer, Vogel, Hernandez & Sheets, 3:19.91^ -- Finished 7th (24 Points); 5th Fastest in Program History
2014 Big Ten Swimming and Diving Awards
Diver of the Championships
Maggie Keefer, Minnesota (tie)
Casey Matthews, Purdue (tie)
Diving Coach of the Year
Adam Soldati, Purdue
Swimmer of the Championships
Ivy Martin, Wisconsin
Freshman of the Year
Gia Dalesandro, Indiana
Swimming Coach of the Year
Kelly Kremer, Minnesota
2014 Big Ten Top Point Scorers
Illinois: Alison Meng (7)
Indiana: Lindsay Vrooman (56)
Iowa: Joelle Christy (19)
Michigan: Courtney Beidler (43)
Michigan State: Alison Menzies (9)
Minnesota: Kierra Smith (55)
Nebraska: Anna Filipcic (16)
Northwestern: Lauren Abruzzo (15)
Ohio State: Ashley Vance (44)
Penn State: Alyson Ackman (52)
Purdue: Casey Matthews (37)
Wisconsin: Ivy Martin (51)