No. 18 Purdue Upsets No. 11 Indiana in Big Ten Showdown

WEST LAFAYETTE, Indiana, January 27. NO. 18 Purdue ended its dual-meet season on a high note when the men's swimming and diving team defeated No. 11 Indiana, 125-118. They say a win is a win, but Saturday's victory over Indiana was bittersweet for head coach Dan Ross.

The meet got off to a controversial start when two of the Hoosiers' relay teams were disqualified by the relay touch pads, giving the Boilermakers a quick 15-2 lead. IU's top backstroke swimmer Ben Hesen was also DQ'ed in the 200 back for a false start.

"My enthusiasm is definitely dampened. It's tough as a coach to win this way, but rules are rules." said Ross, whose team beat Indiana for the first time since 2001.

On the bright side, the Boilermakers accomplished a majority of their team goals. Ross wanted this to be their best meet of the season and it was, as seven different swimmers posted team and season bests.

"I think IU is the faster team overall, but today it was us and our swimmers deserve nothing but praise," said Ross. "I'm really happy for our seniors, especially Mark Enoch, who shaved down for this meet and proved to be a major factor."

Enoch, a native of Carmel, Ind., tied for fourth in the 200 IM (1:51.87) with teammate Jin-Soo Kim and was third in the 200 fly (1:50.07) behind winner Sam Wilcher (1:48.58) and IU's Nick Walkotten (1:48.78).

Although Purdue was given an early cushion, IU came right back with a three-place sweep in the 1000 free led by Alex Brunfeldt's 9:24.67. That effort tied the meet at 18-18, but Purdue responded with a three-way sweep of its own in the 200 free, and then claimed the second through fourth-place points in the 50 free.

John Schmitt won the 200 free in 1:39.66, and Trey Smith was the Boilermakers' top finisher in the 50 free with a season best of 20.84.

Schmitt's victory gave Purdue the lead for good, but Indiana was never too far behind. Purdue led by 12 points (119-107) heading into the last relay, but the Boilermakers finished second and third to give their school another point in the Crimson and Gold Cup standings.

Purdue now leads the in-state series 5.0 – 3.5.

Indiana got within seven points at 69-62, following a Taylor Roberts' win off the 3-meter springboard with 390.98 points. Roberts received help from teammates Justin Montrie and David Legler, who finished third and fourth.

Purdue freshman Danny Cox began the meet with a win off the platform with 334.28 points and later finished second off the 3-meter with a season best 349.21 points.

The Boilermakers won just two of the last six events, but were able to secure a number of second and third-place points in order to keep their lead.

Schmitt and Smith were second and third in the 100 free, as were Kim and Aaron Koger in the 200 breast. David Hedge was the runner-up in the 500 free at 4:33.35.

Hesen's false start in the 200 back enabled Ilia Ayzenshtok and Romain Maire to place first and second and collect 13 additional points.

Saturday's win gave Purdue a final dual season record of 7-6 and 4-4 in the Big Ten. The Boilermakers next compete at the Big Ten Championships in Columbus, Ohio, starting Feb. 15.

Results: Indiana Purdue Mens Dual – (01-27-2007 – 01-27-2007)

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