TYR Cup, Day One

EVANSTON, Illinois. November 21. FOLLOWING the first day of action, the Northwestern men lead both Michigan State and Division III powerhouse Kenyon College, but the battle between NU and MSU at the Norris Aquatics Center is very tight.

The Wildcats have 409 points, four better than the Spartans (405) and 157 in front of the Lords (252). Teams are scoring points via three finals races: an eight-person bonus, an eight-person consolation and a four-person super final for the event championship.

Michigan State won the first final event of the evening Friday, capturing the 200 free relay with a 1:21.27. Northwestern's `A' team of Brian Kerr, Sean Mathews, Truman Liang and Eric Nilsson were second with a 1:22.75, while NU also took third with a 1:24.11 from its `B' squad. That time was .27 of a second better than Kenyon College in fourth.

Northwestern began Friday's preliminary heats with just two entrants in the 50 breast. John Franklin qualified first overall for the super final with a 26.07, while Nathan Butler picked up a spot in the consolation final with a 27.13 to qualify 10th overall.

In the super final, Michigan State's Joe Schmitt overtook Franklin with a 25.33 to beat the NU senior's time of 25.78. Butler then was sixth in the consolation final with a 27.18 to remain in 10th place overall in the event.

The Wildcats grabbed the top three spots during qualifying to give NU a trio in the super final of the 500 free. Nilsson swam an NCAA `B' provisional qualifying time of 4:24.56 to win the morning heats, followed by Peter Park in second with a 4:31.99 and Alex Tyler in third with a 4:33.18.

Adam Beckman and John Frutiger took eighth and ninth overall to earn places in the consolation heat, while Chris Doman, Kerr and Mathews swam to places in the bonus final of the 500 free.

Doman and Kerr finished second and third in the bonus final, then Frutiger came from behind teammate Beckman to earn first in the consolation final. Frutiger's time of 4:33.29 bested Beckman's 4:33.76 when Frutiger's 27.80 final split reeled in Beckman's 28.26.

After the back-and-forth between NU's two leaders in the consolation final, Nilsson went out and crushed the field in the super final, breaking his own pool record with an NCAA `B' cut of 4:19.87. Park was second in 4:31.18 and Tyler took third in 4:31.42.

Tyler was NU's third-straight top qualifier when his time of 1:52.00 was tops in the preliminary action of the 200 IM. Mathews also won a spot in the super final with a 1:54.42.

Beckman was the top seed for the consolation final with a 1:54.65 in the morning, while Park (1:55.42) was seventh overall, Frutiger (1:55.90) was eighth and Jake Vogel (1:56.24) was ninth to all represent NU in the consolation heat. Kyle O'Brien, Liang and Butler all won places in the bonus final.

O'Brien won the bonus final with a 1:55.39 before Park finished a close second place in the consolation final with a 1:53.68. Vogel was just .03 of a second out of third in the consolation heat with a 1:54.08, while Frutiger took sixth in the race and 10th overall with a 1:55.03

In the super final, the top three swimmers were separated by only .24 of a second, with Tyler coming in first with a 1:49.58, Michigan State's Marcus Poteete finishing second in 1:49.68 and Beckman taking third in 1:49.82. Mathews was fourth in the heat with a 1:50.96.

In addition to being the top qualifier in the 500 free, Nilsson also showed his sprint prowess with a 20.56 to end up first in the 50 free following morning action. Kerr was second overall with a 20.81 to give the Wildcats two swimmers in the super final. Liang was ninth overall with a 21.44 to become NU's lone representative in the consolation heat, while Vogel, Franklin and Doman all earned bonus final slots.

Doman, Vogel and Franklin took second, third and fourth in the bonus final before Liang was third in the consolation race with a 21.17 as NU's lone entrant. Nilsson (20.55) and Kerr (20.87) then ended up third and fourth in the super final.

In diving action on the 1-meter springboard, senior Alex Kiaie exploded for 328.80 points to win by 29.32 points.

Michigan State won the 400 medley relay by more than 2.5 seconds over Northwestern, but the Wildcats' squad of Beckman, Franklin, Mathews and Nilsson captured second with a 2:19.05 to carry a slim four-point lead into day two.

For the women, No. 21 Northwestern leads both Michigan State and Division III powerhouse Kenyon College. The Wildcats posted multiple season-best efforts in a strong day of swimming at the Norris Aquatics Center.

The Wildcats have 501.5 points, 87 better than the Spartans (414.5) and 309.5 in front of the Ladies (192). Teams are scoring points via three finals races: an eight-person bonus, an eight-person consolation and a four-person super final for the event championship.

In Friday's first finals action, Michigan State won the 200 free relay by .07 of a second over Northwestern's `A' team, getting a 1:33.69 to top NU's 1:33.76. The Wildcats' relay featured Teisha Lightbourne, Emily Wong, Stacy Congdon and Kassia Shishkoff, with MSU's Stephanie Fisher swimming a strong 22.92 anchor leg to overcome Shishkoff's 23.20.

Freshman Jenny Wilson qualified for the super final with a 29.56, .01 of a second away from the top time of the morning. The remaining five Wildcats in the event all earned second swims in the consolation final.

Wilson dropped her time to 29.42 in the super final, which again was good for a second place finish for the Wildcats. Kathleen Patterson led a 1-2 sweep of the top spots in the consolation final with a 30.13, besting teammate Hayley Fry's (Marion, Iowa/Linn-Mar) second-place time of 30.36.

Northwestern posted the eight fastest times in the 500 free during the prelims, sending Ellen Grigg (4:58.39), Jenn Kocsis (4:58.54), Shishkoff (4:58.86) and Beth Loe (Upper Arlington, Ohio/Upper Arlington) (5:03.24) through to the super final with just .47 of a second separating NU's top three swimmers.

Kate Stephensen, Sheila O'Neill, Genny Szymanski and Meghan Cavanaugh comprised the top four entries in the consolation final, while Alex Kraus earned the eighth and final spot in the evening consolation heat. The final seven entrants (three from NU) earned second swims in the bonus final.

The Wildcats did not let up during the evening session. First, Caitlin Masney won the bonus final with a 5:04.43 before Szymanski captured the consolation final with a 4:59.87. Shishkoff won the super final with a 4:51.47. All told, the Wildcats turned in the top seven times in the finals and nine of the top-10.

Hannah Points and Shishkoff each qualified for the super final of the 200 IM for NU, with Points swimming a 2:05.19 to take second in the prelims and Shishkoff posting a 2:05.89 to earn third. Patterson was fifth overall in the morning with a 2:06.74 to earn the top spot in the consolation final, where she was joined by Jacquie Godbe, Lightbourne, Katie Eschenburg and Wilson.

Several Wildcats scratched from the 200 IM finals to focus their energy on other events Friday night. Godbe ended up third in the consolation final and seventh overall with a 2:06.45, while Wilson was sixth in the heat and 10th overall with a 2:09.60. The pair were NU's only entrants out of the five that qualified for the heat.

In the super final, Shishkoff finished second in 2:05.13, just ahead of Patterson's third-place effort of 2:05.56. Points ended up fourth by a razor-thin margin, coming in just .02 of a second behind Patterson.

In the 50 free, Lightbourne took third with a 23.88 and Wong was fourth with a 23.90 to both earn spots in the super final. Congdon qualified sixth overall with a 24.01 to lead a trio of Wildcats into the consolation final. Shelby Johnson was seventh with a 24.02 and Liza Engstrom grabbed the final spot in the consolation heat with a 24.24

Erin Reilly, Kraus, Masney and Stephensen all earned second swims in the 50 free bonus final.

Reilly won the bonus final with a 24.10 before Johnson and Congdon swept the top two positions in the consolation heat with times of 23.68 and 23.69, respectively. The lowest possible margin, .03 of a second, separated first, second and third in the race.

Wong nearly broke the pool record in the 50 free in winning the super final, coming .01 of a second shy with a 22.94. While the time was .01 short of a pool record, it beat the All-American's previous career best of 22.95 by the same margin. Lightbourne ended up third with a 23.48.

In diving action on the 1-meter springboard, Carlin Dacey took second with a season-best score of 282.83 to lead NU.

Northwestern concluded the first day of the TYR Invitational with a win in the 400 medley relay, getting a 3:43.85 from the team of Eschenburg, Wilson, Congdon and Wong.

Special thanks to Northwestern for contributing this report.

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