WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – Record-breaking swims from Nikola Aćin and Hannah Hill in the 50 freestyle and four event victories highlighted Day 1 action at the Purdue Invitational for the Purdue swimming & diving teams.
Aćin led the way as the Purdue men produced a memorable 1-2-3-4 finish in the A final of the 50 free. The same quartet teamed up to help the Boilermakers win the 200 free relay. Jordan Rzepka (1-meter) and Emily (Bretscher) Pfeiffer (3-meter) both improved on their prelim scores in a big way while teaming up for a springboard sweep for the Boilermakers.
With a time of 19.31, Aćin eclipsed Andrew Langenfeld's winning time (19.34) in the event at the 2009 Big Ten Championships. Only Matthew Martin's 2001 times in the 1,000 and 1,650 free had stood longer as team records. Aćin also bested the nation's best time this season entering the week, which will produce a reset of national bests with midseason invitationals contested across the country.
Aćin anchored the 200 free relay team to victory with a closing 50 split of 18.66. Ryan Hrosik (19.06) also impressed on the second leg of the race. The two seniors teamed with freshmen Brady Samuels and Idris Muhammad to post an NCAA provisional qualifying time (B Cut) of 1:17.12, good for second place in team history behind only last year's All-American quartet (1:16.50) that also featured Aćin and Hrosik.
Individually, Samuels moved into fifth place in team history with a time of 19.58, registering the same mark in the prelims and finals. He was the top qualifier in the prelims before Aćin posted a 0.44 time drop in the A final.
Even though the 100 backstroke was not a featured event Thursday, Abby Harter and Brett Riley both managed to move into eighth place in program history in the event. They did so with times of 54.67 and 47.91 on the opening leg of the 400 medley relay.
Nick Sherman (200 IM), Greg Duncan (1-meter diving) and Samuels (50 free) all claimed silver with runner-up finishes. Sherman posted a time drop of 0.82 in the A final but was out touched by .12 hundredths of a second by Louisville's Daniel Sos. Duncan was also the top qualifier in the prelim of his event, but Rzepka's 105-point improvement in the final (398.40) was enough to overcome Duncan's season-best score of 385.05. Pfeiffer enjoyed a 34-point improvement in the 3-meter final, winning with a season-best list of 362.75.
Kate Beavon placed fourth in the A final of the 500 free for the Purdue women's top finish of the night in the swimming events. Freshman Maggie Love moved into 11th place in team history in the 200 individual medley (2:00.15) and now ranks among the program's all-time leaderboard in the 100 breaststroke and 200 IM.
The three-day Purdue Invitational continues Friday with prelims at 10 a.m. and finals at 6 p.m.
Aćin led the way as the Purdue men produced a memorable 1-2-3-4 finish in the A final of the 50 free. The same quartet teamed up to help the Boilermakers win the 200 free relay. Jordan Rzepka (1-meter) and Emily (Bretscher) Pfeiffer (3-meter) both improved on their prelim scores in a big way while teaming up for a springboard sweep for the Boilermakers.
| DAY 1 TEAM SCORES | |
| MEN #22 Purdue 266 #10 Louisville 249 Northwestern 183 Missouri State 121 Navy (Swimmers) 97 McKendree 84 |
WOMEN #23 Northwestern 262 #11 Louisville 230 FIU 180 Purdue 147 Missouri State 119 McKendree 56 Illinois State 29 Indiana State (Divers) 1 |
With a time of 19.31, Aćin eclipsed Andrew Langenfeld's winning time (19.34) in the event at the 2009 Big Ten Championships. Only Matthew Martin's 2001 times in the 1,000 and 1,650 free had stood longer as team records. Aćin also bested the nation's best time this season entering the week, which will produce a reset of national bests with midseason invitationals contested across the country.
Hill's time of 23.02 in the 50 free prelims allowed her to eclipse teammate Jade Knueppel's freshman record (23.06) from the 2019 Big Ten Championships. It also earned Hill a berth in the A final of the event Thursday.In Lane 5 at the #PurdueInvite, Nikola Acin eclipses our 50 Free Record that had stood for more than a decade. 19.31 for the Olympian.
— Purdue Men's Swim-Dive (@PurdueMSwimDive) November 19, 2021
He leads a 1-2-3-4 finish for the #Boilermakers in a memorable A Final. #BoilerUp 🇷🇸 pic.twitter.com/qYT8hbmiVY
Aćin anchored the 200 free relay team to victory with a closing 50 split of 18.66. Ryan Hrosik (19.06) also impressed on the second leg of the race. The two seniors teamed with freshmen Brady Samuels and Idris Muhammad to post an NCAA provisional qualifying time (B Cut) of 1:17.12, good for second place in team history behind only last year's All-American quartet (1:16.50) that also featured Aćin and Hrosik.
Individually, Samuels moved into fifth place in team history with a time of 19.58, registering the same mark in the prelims and finals. He was the top qualifier in the prelims before Aćin posted a 0.44 time drop in the A final.
Even though the 100 backstroke was not a featured event Thursday, Abby Harter and Brett Riley both managed to move into eighth place in program history in the event. They did so with times of 54.67 and 47.91 on the opening leg of the 400 medley relay.
Nick Sherman (200 IM), Greg Duncan (1-meter diving) and Samuels (50 free) all claimed silver with runner-up finishes. Sherman posted a time drop of 0.82 in the A final but was out touched by .12 hundredths of a second by Louisville's Daniel Sos. Duncan was also the top qualifier in the prelim of his event, but Rzepka's 105-point improvement in the final (398.40) was enough to overcome Duncan's season-best score of 385.05. Pfeiffer enjoyed a 34-point improvement in the 3-meter final, winning with a season-best list of 362.75.
Kate Beavon placed fourth in the A final of the 500 free for the Purdue women's top finish of the night in the swimming events. Freshman Maggie Love moved into 11th place in team history in the 200 individual medley (2:00.15) and now ranks among the program's all-time leaderboard in the 100 breaststroke and 200 IM.
The three-day Purdue Invitational continues Friday with prelims at 10 a.m. and finals at 6 p.m.
It was an honor to have the opportunity to recognize @NavyMSwim again.
— Purdue Men's Swim-Dive (@PurdueMSwimDive) November 18, 2021
The entire #PurdueInvite field joined together for the excitement of the seniors' Service Assignments being announced. #BoilerUp #NavyAssignments
🇺🇸 Thank you for your service!! 🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/n7ZRnc6Zx3
| PURDUE'S TOP PERFORMERS | |
| EVENT WINNERS Nikola Aćin – 50 Free Jordan Rzepka – 1-Meter Emily (Bretscher) Pfeiffer – 3-Meter Men's 200 Free Relay MORE INDIVIDUAL MEDALISTS Greg Duncan – Silver on 1-Meter Brady Samuels – Silver in 50 Free Nick Sherman – Silver in 200 IM Ryan Hrosik – Bronze in 50 Free WON RACES IN FINALS SESSION Abby Jahns – C Final of 500 Free Jude Wenker – C Final of 50 Free Connor McCarthy – D Final of 50 Free Madeline Greaves – D Final of 200 IM Teagen Moon – E Final of 50 Free |
B CUTS Nikola Aćin – 19.31 in 50 Free Brady Samuels – 19.58 in 50 Free Ryan Hrosik – 19.69 in 50 Free Idris Muhammad – 19.89 in 50 Free Nick Sherman – 1:44.40 in 200 IM Brett Riley – 1:45.74 in 200 IM Men's 200 Free Relay – 1:17.12 MOVED UP PURDUE ALL-TIME LISTS Nikola Aćin – 1st in 50 Free Men's 200 Free Relay – 2nd Men's 400 Medley Relay – 5th Brady Samuels – T-5th in 50 Free Abby Harter – T-8th in 100 Back Brett Riley – T-8th in 100 Back Women's 400 Medley Relay – 9th Maggie Love – 11th in 200 IM Hannah Hill – 14th in 50 Free |
| PURDUE EVENT SCORING BREAKDOWN | |
| MEN 50 Free – 80 Points 1-Meter Diving – 62 Points 200 Free Relay – 40 Points 200 IM – 33 Points 400 Medley Relay – 32 Points 500 Free – 19 Points |
WOMEN 3-Meter Diving – 46 Points 200 Free Relay – 30 Points 400 Medley Relay – 30 Points 500 Free – 23 Points 50 Free – 11 Points 200 IM – 7 Points |