MADISON, Wisconsin, January 29. THE records board inside the UW Natatorium is due for an update after the 17th-ranked Wisconsin women's swimming and diving team made a good portion of the information it displays obsolete Friday.
The Badgers toppled four pool records as part of a strong opening act, finishing the first day of the Big Ten Quad Duals staked to leads over conference rivals Illinois, Minnesota and Purdue.
Wisconsin leads Illinois by a score of 118-56, has the edge over No. 10 Minnesota at 94-80 and is on top of No. 22 Purdue by a margin of 95-69.
The Badgers asserted themselves from the start by cruising to a win in the 200-yard freestyle relay in a pool-record time. They put an exclamation point on their opening statement by shattering the facility record in the 400-yard medley relay.
In between, the Badgers saw pool records fall in both the 100- and 200-yard backstroke. The common thread to all four record-setting performances? Junior Maggie Meyer.
"At a meet like this with so many people – and the Nat is not a very large facility – there is so much energy and it's loud and you really get taken into the moment of it," Meyer said. "It's so much easier to swim fast when you have that.
"The people in the crowd cheering, your teammates all on the deck, it's crazy how much that support can motivate a person and inspire them to swim fast."
Meyer combined with lead leg Beckie Thompson, Rosie Morahan and anchor Laura Miller to bring the Badgers' 200 free relay entry home in 1:31.44, a full three seconds ahead of runner-up Purdue and more than 2 1/2 seconds below the previous pool mark set in 2004.
The way in which the Badgers rolled back the record in the 400 medley relay was even more impressive, as the team of Meyer, sophomore Ashley Wanland, junior Karlyn Hougan and sophomore Beckie Thompson clocked a 3:40.95 to take the win and slash nearly five seconds off the previous standard.
"Before the 400 medley, all four of us got together and looked at that board and said, ‘We can take that,'" Meyer said of the pool record that previously stood at 3:45.71. "We thought about the times we would all have to split to get the record, and we broke it by five seconds with all of us going times that were good, but that we can definitely split faster than."
Meyer's own facility record in the 200 back didn't stand much of a chance, either, as she rolled to a time of 1:56.99 to score the win ahead of teammate Candice Peak's runner-up time of 1:59.71.
She also slid in under her own pool record in the 100 back by splitting a time of 54.16 as the lead leg on the Badgers' 400 medley relay effort. Meyer, who entered the weekend as the national leader in the 100 back, will get a crack at lowering that pool mark yet again when she swims the open event on Saturday.
"All around we had a great night," Meyer said. "More than anything, all the dual meets we swim are tune-ups for the championship meets.
"We've trained hard all season, we haven't really rested, and this is our last tune-up before Big Tens and NCAAs to work on the details."
The fact that there is still room for improvement makes the Badgers' performance Friday all the more impressive, as it wasn't just Meyer that laid down fast times.
Wanland posted an NCAA championships consideration time of 1:01.76 in the 100-yard breaststroke, a race in which she settled for a runner-up finish after being nipped by Minnesota's Jillian Tyler for the win.
The same went for Thompson in the 100 freestyle, as she was edged out for the victory by Purdue's Ariel Martin in 50.62. Thompson clocked in at 50.64.
Sophomore Danielle Beckwith also clocked an NCAA consideration time of 4:52.39 in her fifth-place finish in the 500-yard freestyle.
"Maggie had a great night, but she's been training that way so it wasn't a big surprise," said head coach Eric Hansen. "I really thought the whole team stepped up and contributed, though.
"I really like where we're at, and I thought we had a great night."
The same went for Hansen's men's squad, which trails Minnesota, 103-71, and Purdue, 107-67, after the first day of competition.
"Everybody took a big step on the men's side," Hansen said. "The freshman really took big steps and, I know I can count on our upperclassmen, but I was happy to see our younger guys really step up their game tonight."
Freshman Marcus Guttman had the Badgers' lone win, grabbing an impressive victory in the 200-yard butterfly in 1:48.71 by just edging out Minnesota's Kevin Baseheart (1:48.74). Guttman, who also was third in the 500 freestyle, was just off the NCAA "B" standard of 1:48.09.
The Badgers also scored a runner-up finish by senior Derrick O'Donnell in the 200-yard individual medley and third-place finishes from freshman Sam Rowan in the 200 backstroke (1:52.42) and sophomore Wes Lagerhausen in the 100 freestyle (45.85).
With a strong start behind them, the Badgers resume competition at noon Saturday inside the Natatorium, with eight events to be contested each on the men's and women's sides.
"I'm anxious to see what tomorrow brings, because I think we have another great day in us," Hansen said.
The above article is a press release submitted to Swimming World Magazine. It has been posted in its entirety without editing. Swimming World offers all outlets the chance to reach our audience by contacting us at Newsmaster@swimmingworldmagazine.com. However, Swimming World reserves the right to choose what material is posted.
Results: Big Ten Duals
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