Northwestern Splits With Indiana

BLOOMINGTON, Indiana, October 27. THE No. 8 Northwestern men opened their 2006-07 season with a statement Big Ten dual-meet victory over No. 12 Indiana in Bloomington, 163.5-136.5. The women, however, fell on Friday against No. 17 Indiana, 174-120.

For the men, the Wildcats' 200 medley relay, bolstered by the addition of junior transfer Bruno Barbic (Zagreb, Croatia/V. Gimnazija) from Washington this season, earned a first-place finish in 1:29.42 to open the meet. Seniors Matt Grevers (Lake Forest, Ill./Lake Forest) and Mike Alexandrov (Champaign, Ill./Centennial) and junior Kyle Bubolz (Waukesha, Wis./Waukesha North) comprised the relay with Barbic.

Sophomore Eric Nilsson (Weston, Mass./Weston) followed with a 9:20.51 victory in the 1000 free before Alexandrov and junior Jimmy Sourbeer (Des Moines, Iowa/Dowling Catholic) swept the top two spots in the 200 free with times of 1:39.91 and 1:42.49, respectively.

In an outstanding duel in the 100 backstroke, Indiana's Ben Hensen tied NU's two-time defending NCAA champion Grevers with identical NCAA 'A' standard times of 47.24. Freshman Jake Vogel (Canton, Ill./Canton) and sophomore Adam Beckman (Kearney, Neb./Kearney) finished third and fourth in the event for the 'Cats.

After splitting first-place points in the 100 back, Indiana earned its first outright win in the meet with a Pat Penoyar victory in the 100 breast. Sophomore John Franklin (Fort Lauderdale, Fla./North Broward Prep) took second for Northwestern with a 57.32.

Nilsson captured first in the 200 fly with a 1:50.41 before Grevers notched an NCAA 'B' time of 20.07 to win the 50 free. Barbic (20.54) finished third while junior Jon Ehret (Phoenix, Ariz./Brophy College Prep) (21.48) was fourth for the 'Cats.

Indiana won the 100 free, but Northwestern scored the next three swimmers with Barbic in second, Bubolz in third and Sourbeer in fourth. The Hoosiers also captured the 200 backstroke, but Beckman took second and Vogel took third for the Wildcats to limit the point damage.

Alexandrov was first in the 200 breast with an NCAA 'B' time of 1:58.96 before Nilsson won his third event of the meet with a 4:29.41 in the 500 free. Bubolz then made it three event wins in a row for NU with a 48.65 first-place effort in the 100 fly.

On the 1-meter board, sophomore Alex Kiaie (Milwaukee, Wis./Nicolet) took second for Northwestern with a score of 276.30.

Alexandrov closed out the individual events with an NCAA 'B' time of 1:48.90 to win the 200 IM.

Barbic, Grevers, Ehret and Bubolz swam the 200 free relay in 1:21.33 to give Northwestern a 4.4 second victory in the final event of the meet.

On the women's side, the Wildcats now are 0-2 in duals on the season after opening the year Oct. 12 against No. 1 California.

Northwestern began the meet with a second-place finish in the 200 medley relay, with Genny Szymanski (Haines, Alaska/Haines), Jessie Bailis (Omaha, Neb./Millard North), Katie Braun (Edina, Minn./Edina) and Emily Wong (Nepean, Ontario/St. Joseph's) finishing in 1:45.18.

Freshman Kassia Shishkoff (Raleigh, N.C./St. David's School) earned a first-place finish in the 1000 free with a 9:59.75, good enough to move her up to fifth on Northwestern's all-time list in the event. She began her career sixth in the rankings after swimming a 10:03.28 in the event in her first collegiate meet.

Junior Andrea Hupman (Lawrenceville, Ga./Brookwood) followed Shishkoff with a win in the 200 free, swimming an NCAA 'B' time of 1:48.83. Wong took third in the event for the 'Cats.

After Indiana swept the top three spots in the 100 backstroke, Bailis came in second in the 200 breast with a time of 1:03.87. Braun added a second-place finish in the 200 fly for the Wildcats with a 2:02.85 before Hupman was second in the 50 free with a 23.71.

The Hoosiers swept the top-three spots in the 200 breast, then Shishkoff turned on the jets to win the 500 free by nearly 5.5 seconds with an NCAA 'B' time of 4:51.85. The time lands her at No. 9 on Northwestern's all-time top-10 list.

Braun then took second again in the 100 fly, swimming a 55.46 to finish just .1 seconds shy of a 'B' cut time. Shishkoff finished the meet with a second-place effort in the 200 IM, swimming a 2:06.44. Braun took third in the event for the 'Cats.

On the boards, Beth Campbell (Burr Ridge, Ill./Fenwick) was Northwestern's high finisher on the 1-meter board in fifth, while Tania Lyerly (Libertyville, Ill./Libertyville) was fourth on the 3-meter board.

The Wildcats closed the meet on a high note, winning the 200 free relay in 1:34.57. Wong, Hupman, Hayley Fry (Marion, Iowa/Linn-Mar) and Shishkoff comprised the relay.

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