Northwestern Men Win TYR Invite

EVANSTON, Ill., November 19. THE Wildcat men emerged victorious from their final day of competition. As the host team, Northwestern finished with 1,275 points. Southern Illinois took second with 822 points, while Michigan State finished third with 742 points. Kenyon College placed fourth with 735.

Four more Norris Aquatics Center pool records fell and No. 9 Northwestern captured all but one event Sunday at the TYR Invitational, leaping to a first-place finish at the four-team event.

After breaking pool records in the 100 free, 200 back and 400 free relay Sunday, senior Matt Grevers (Lake Forest, Ill./Lake Forest) was named Swimmer of the Meet.

Grevers kicked off Sunday morning's prelim action with a 1:48.19 to win the 200 back heats. Adam Beckman (Kearney, Neb./Kearney) was third to also qualify for the super final, turning in a 1:50.96. Freshman Jake Vogel (Canton, Ill./Canton) and Eric Simpson (Wellesley, Mass./Wellesley) earned the top two seeds for the `B' final.

Grevers then went ballistic, swimming a beyond-blistering NCAA `A' time of 1:40.66 to win the finals of the 200 back. The time broke the pool, school and Big Ten records.

Beckman took third in the 200 back with a 1:49.70, while Vogel won the `B' final with a 1:51.77. Simpson took seventh overall, third in the `B' final with a 1:54.12.

Northwestern again went first and third during the prelims for the 100 free. Bruno Barbic (Zagreb, Croatia/V. Gimnazija) took first with a 44.88, while Eric Nilsson (Weston, Mass./Weston) was third with a 45.42. Kyle Bubolz (Waukesha, Wis./Waukesha North), Jimmy Sourbeer (Des Moines, Iowa/Dowling Catholic) and Daniel Walls (Tucson, Ariz./Sabino) all made the `B' final for the 'Cats.

Barbic won the 100 free finals with an NCAA `B' time of 44.31, while Bubolz won the `B' final with a 44.86. Sourbeer ended up ninth and Walls took 12th.

Mike Alexandrov (Champaign, Ill./Centennial) and John Franklin (Fort Lauderdale, Fla./North Broward Prep) swept the 200 breast, with Alexandrov qualifying first in 2:05.41 and Franklin second in 2:06.07. Alex Hostoffer (Cleveland, Ohio/Gilmour Academy) went 2:13.71 to make the `B' final.

On cruise control during the prelims, Alexandrov unleashed an NCAA `A' time of 1:55.58 to shatter the pool record and win the 200 breast finals. Franklin took second with a 2:02.31, while Hostoffer ended up in eighth place.

Two more Wildcats made the super final of the 200 fly, with Nilsson qualifying first with a 1:48.97 and Andy Long (Aurora, Ill./Waubonsie Valley) fourth with a 1:53.30. Chris Doman (Pittsburgh, Pa./St. Charles Prep (Columbus, Ohio)) earned the second seed in the `B' final, while classmate Bryan Pinkston (Richmond, Va./St. Christopher's) took the third seed. Jon Ehret (Phoenix, Ariz./Brophy College Prep) also made the `B' swim for NU.

Nilsson turned in a `B' cut of 1:47.39 to win the evening swim of the 200 fly, barely out-touching Antonio Santoro of Southern Illinois by .07 seconds. Long was fourth with a 1:55.74. Pinkston and Ehret made finished sixth and seventh overall, respectively.

In the 1,650 free, Walls was second with a 15:44.61 for the Wildcats.

In the 400 free relay, the team of Grevers, Barbic, Bubolz and Nilsson swam an NCAA `B' time of 2:54.79 to break the Norris pool record and win the event. Grevers' leadoff 100 free leg of 43.13 broke that pool record, as well.

Northwestern as a team now is off until a training trip dual Dec. 16 against USC in Honolulu.

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