Northwestern Women, Michigan State Men Maintain Leads at TYR Invitational

The University of Michigan women's swimming and diving team compete on the first day of competition at the 2014 Women's Big Ten Championships. Minneapolis, MN at the University of Minnesota Aquatics Center. February 21, 2014

EVANSTON – The Northwestern University women and Michigan State University men held onto their leads in the team standings on day two of the TYR Invitational at Northwestern’s Norris Aquatics Center, as a number of NCAA B cuts were posted during the evening.

Northwestern Women’s Press Release

Northwestern racked up four NCAA `B’ provisional qualifying times in three different events Saturday during the second day of action at the Wildcats’ home TYR Invitational at the Norris Aquatics Center, helping to extend their lead over the seven-team field.

NU leads the meet with 775.5 points while Michigan State is second with 601, Air Force is third with 388.5, UIC is fourth with 249, Saint Louis is fifth with 193.5, Truman State is sixth with 174.5 and Northern Iowa — competing with just divers — is seventh with 71 points.

Sophomore Ellen Stello (Shorewood, Wis./Shorewood) and freshman Sydney Modeas (East Amherst, N.Y./Clarence) in the 400 IM, Julianne Kurke (Atlanta, Ga./Parkview) in the 100 breast and Lacey Locke (Carmel, Ind./Carmel) in the 100 back notched the `B’ cuts for NU on Saturday.

The third and final day of the 2014 TYR Invitational begins with a 9 a.m. preliminary session tomorrow, Sunday, Nov. 23, with finals moved up two hours to 3 p.m. CT.

Saturday’s Preliminary Session

Stello got Northwestern off to a great start Saturday morning by winning the 400 IM preliminary heats with a collegiate-best and NCAA `B’ provisional qualifying time — the very first of her career — of 4:18.20. She lead a cadre of ‘Cats into the championship final with her; Lauren Abruzzo (Denver, Colo./Kent Denver) qualified third, Modeas fifth and Emily Launer (DeKalb, Ill./Rosary) eighth.

Two more Wildcats earned the right to score with 400 IM `B’ final berths. Melissa Postoll (Acworth, Ga./Kennesaw Mountain) swam an 11th-place 4:29.70 in the morning while Georgie Pettibone (Santa Rosa, Calif./Analy) put up a 15th-place 4:34.05.

In the 100 fly, freshman Aja Malone (Acworth, Ga./Allatoona) and Stello qualified for the championship final. Malone swam a season-best 55.33 while Stello followed her 400 IM `B’ cut with another solid swim, this time a season-best 55.52.

Three more Wildcats made the `B’ scoring final led by freshman Maddy Sims (Downers Grove, Ill./Downers Grove) in a 10th-place time of 56.33. Locke and Valerie Nubbe (Huntsville, Ala./Huntsville) followed directly behind in 11th and 12th overall. Julia Pratt (Vincennes, Ind./Vincennes Rivet) and Chelsea Soderholm (Madison, Wis./Madison East) earned second swims in the `C’ final with 19th- and 23rd-place qualifying times, respectively.

Fully six #B1GCats made the championship final in the 200 free led by a career-best 1:48.65 from Annika Winsnes (Singapore/United World College) that put her first overall after qualification. Launer followed in third with a 1:50.72, Abruzzo finished fifth, Ellen Anderson (Montgomery Village, Md./Gaithersburg) sixth, Lacey Smith (Boulder, Colo./Fairview) seventh and Megan Purdy (Boulder City, Nev./Boulder City) eighth.

Modeas (10th) and Anna Keane (Edmonds, Wash./Meadowdale) (13th) made the scoring `B’ final for NU while Katherine Senseman (Terre Haute, Ind./Terre Haute South Vigo) picked up a `C’ final second swim with an 18th-place qualification.

In the 100 breast, Kurke and Katie Branch (Phoenix, Ariz./Horizon Honors) qualified second and third overall for NU. Kurke swam a season-best 1:02.89 to finish just behind an MSU NCAA `B’ cut effort while Branch had a time of 1:03.88 to touch behind her teammate.

Über-sprinter Mary Warren (Hartland, Wis./Arrowhead) almost made the championship final in the 100 breast as well but ended up as the top seed in the consolation heat with a ninth-place 1:05.28. Pettibone joined her after a 15th-place 1:06.23.

Four Wildcats forced their way into the championship final of the 100 back. Locke qualified second overall and first among Wildcats with a season-best and NCAA `B’ cut of 55.02 that was just one tenth of a second behind the Michigan State swimmer who qualified first. Jackie Doyle (Danville, Calif./San Ramon Valley) qualified third overall in 56.74 with a tremendous drop in time from her earlier season efforts, then Keane followed in fifth and Postoll in sixth.

Three more Wildcats made the 100 back consolation final led by top seed in that heat Senseman’s ninth-place 58.10 in the morning. Karen Turner (Lake Oswego, Ore./Lakeridge) qualified 11th overall and Erika Elliott (Barrington, Ill./Barrington) was 12th.

Soderholm won her second second-swim opportunity of the day with a 22nd place time of 58.91 in the 100 back prelims.

In the morning diving event, both Mashal Hashem (Potomac, Md./Winston Churchill) and Monique Demaisip (Norwalk, Calif./Gahr) qualified through to Saturday night’s championship final in the 1-meter springboard event, just as they did one day ago in the 3-meter. Hashem took fifth in the morning with a 217.40 while Demaisip was sixth via a 216.20.

Saturday’s Finals Session

Northwestern began the evening finals with a second-place finish in the 200 medley relay despite the best efforts of Warren in the anchor leg. With MSU leading the team of Locke, Kurke, Malone and Warren by .85 of a second entering the final 50 freestyle, Warren swam a 22.48 split and brought the Wildcats all the way back within a final margin of three tenths of a second with a season-best time for NU of 1:42.01.

The championship final of the 400 IM lit up the pool. Air Force’s Kim Davis held a full second and a half lead over Stello entering the freestyle leg, but Stello came all the way back to catch her coming off the wall and heading home for the final 25 yards. Then, with the pool screaming its lungs out, Stello’s surge faded and Davis got her at the wall by five one-hundredths of a second. Though Stello finished second, she did so in a career-best NCAA `B’ cut time of 4:16.25 that lowered her collegiate-best in the event another 1.95 seconds from Saturday morning.

Not to be overlooked, the freshman Modeas also touched in a `B’ time of her own to take third, coming home in 4:17.61 to shave nearly 6.5 seconds from her preliminary time in the event. Abruzzo ended up fifth in the `A’ final.

In the 400 IM `B’ heat, Postoll cut 3.85 seconds from her preliminary time to finish 10th in 4:25.85 and Pettibone earned three points for 14th place. Launer scratched from the championship heat of the event to focus on the 200 free.

In the 100 fly, Malone finished third for NU in 55.15 while Stello valiantly came back from her race just one event earlier to finish fifth with a 55.76. The consolation final saw Sims 10th overall in 55.47, Locke 11th in 56.48 and Nubbe in 13th with a 57.08.

Pratt won the bonus final to take 17th overall with a 57.33 for the Wildcats while Soderholm came in 23rd overall with a 58.66.

Winsnes won the 200 free with a 1:48.36 for the Wildcats, holding off a late challenge from an Air Force competitor. Launer capitalized on the extra rest from her 400 IM scratch with a third-place finish, Anderson took fourth, Abruzzo was fifth and Smith seventh for Northwestern in the championship heat.

Keane swam a very impressive race in the consolation final, cutting 2.95 seconds from her seed to touch in 1:51.04 and win the heat by over a second. Modeas, who earlier had that `B’ cut in the 400 IM, came back to drop nearly a second from her 200 free prelim time and finish 12th overall in 1:52.33. Both Purdy (8th) and Senseman (18th) scratched the finals of this event after their prelim qualifications.

Kurke nearly pulled off an incredible comeback to lead Northwestern in the 100 breast championship final. Down 1.1 seconds at the 50-yard mark, Kurke came all the way back to touch just .12 of a second behind the winner from Michigan State. Still, Kurke’s season-best time of 1:02.40 was an NCAA `B’ cut for the junior captain. Branch’s championship final ended in a solid fourth-place time of 1:03.96.

Warren maintained her top seed in the 100 breast consolation final with a 1:04.08 that was 1.2 seconds faster than her morning swim. Pettibone ended in a dead head for 15th place with a 1:06.12.

Locke enjoyed a dominant 100 back championship final, going out slightly slower than her closest competition in the first 50 yards before exploding for a nearly one full second win in a season-best NCAA `B’ provisional qualifying time of 54.67 that lightly flirted with her career-best in the event. Doyle (fourth), Keane (fifth) and Postoll (sixth) rounded out NU’s `A’ final competitors.

Senseman took 11th overall and Elliott 14th following the 100 back consolation final while Soderholm moved from 22nd overall after the prelims to 19th with a 58.37 in the 100 back bonus final.

Hashem and Demaisip maintained their positions from morning to evening in the 1-meter springboard diving event, though both significantly improved their scores. Hashem upped hers to 239.05 to take fifth while Demaisip improved to 228.45 for sixth-place points.

In the final 800 free relay that concluded Saturday’s action, the Northwestern team of Launer, Anderson, Abruzzo and Winsnes swam a 7:20.55, holding and maintaining a slight lead over Air Force nearly the entire way to capture the win.

Northwestern Men’s Press Release

Northwestern remains in second place Saturday following the second day of action at its home three-day TYR Invitational at the Norris Aquatics Center.

Michigan State is in the lead in its fall-season-ending event while Northwestern is in second place after more solid showings heading into its 11-swimmer trip to the U.S. Nationals in two weeks. Saint Louis is in third overall, UIC in fourth and Truman State is fifth.

The third and final day of the 2014 TYR Invitational begins with a 9 a.m. preliminary session tomorrow, Sunday, Nov. 23, with finals moved up two hours to 3 p.m. CT.

Saturday’s Preliminary Session

Northwestern only entered two swimmers into the first event on Saturday’s program, the 400 IM, and both made scoring finals. Junior Jordan Wilimovsky (Malibu, Calif./Malibu) led the way for the Wildcats with a first-place overall 3:57.90 and will be the top seed in the championship final Saturday night. Senior Andrew Seitz (Pleasanton, Calif./Amador Valley) qualified 13th overall and will swim in the consolation heat following a morning 4:09.52.

Northwestern made up for its lack of swimmers in the 400 IM by sending eight swimmers through to the scoring finals in the 100 fly. Andy Jovanovic (Chicago, Ill./Loyola Academy) qualified second overall with a season-best 48.61 followed by Almog Olshtein (Haifa, Israel/Haifa) in fourth, Alex Snarski (Libertyville, Ill./Libertyville) in fifth and Mark Ferguson (Perth, Australia/John XXIII) in sixth.

Three Wildcats claimed the top three spots in the 100 fly `B’ final. Grant Halsall (Laxey, Isle of Man, GBR) paced that group with a ninth-place overall time of 50.14. Nick Petersen (Thiensville, Wis./Homestead) was 10th in 50.45 and Uula Auren (Helsinki, Finland/Mäkelänrinteen Lukio) was 11th in 50.46. Jack Morris (Lansdale, Pa./North Penn) also grabbed the last scoring lane available with the 16th overall time of 51.02.

Joao Steiner (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil/The Bolles School) will swim in the `C’ final of the 100 fly after a 20th-place morning qualification while William Rosler (Bexley, Ohio/Columbus Academy) and Gage Kohner (Boca Raton, Fla./Boca Raton Community) both finished the morning as 100 fly alternates.

Charlie Cole (Bernardsville, N.J./Bernardsville), Jonathan Lieberman (Eden Prairie, Minn./Minnehaha Academy) and Wilimovsky advanced through to the 200 freestyle championship final with Cole coming on strong for a second-place 1:40.45 in his signature event. Lieberman took fifth and Wilimovsky snuck into the title tilt by one-hundredth of a second to place eighth.

Morris also took a scoring lane for the Wildcats with a 13th-place 1:42.53 to make the consolation final while Kohner finished 23rd for a bonus final spot.

In the 100 breast, Auren grabbed a season-best time of 56.58 to finish just behind a Michigan State `B’ cut by .32 of a second, setting the stage for a nice battle Saturday night in the championship final. He is the lone NU entry to make that heat while three Wildcats will swim in the consolation final: Olshtein (12th), Van Donkersgoed (Eden Prairie, Minn./Minnehaha Academy) (13th) and Aaron Sears (Neenah, Minn./Neenah) (15th). Rosler also earned a 100 breast second swim with a 21st place qualification to make the bonus final.

Four Wildcats made the 100 back championship final and they did it in style with three Wildcats sweeping the top spots in qualification as the lone swimmers to break 50.00. Jovanovic qualified first overall in 49.02 followed by Snarski in second with a 49.68 and Ferguson in third in 49.79. Halsall also made it through to the `A’ heat with a seventh-place 50.77.

Petersen was close to almost making it himself, but settled for the top seed in the consolation final after a morning 51.21. Lierberman joined him in the 100 back `B’ heat with a 14th-place 52.01. Seitz and Jonathan Blansfield (Westport, Conn./Staples) made the bonus final of the event.

One day after winning the 1-meter springboard, Andrew Cramer (Indianapolis, Ind./Cathedral) qualified first overall for the 3-meter championship round with a whopping 44.60-point margin over second place. His score of 340.90 was just 6.10 points off his season-best.

Reed Dillon (Indianapolis, Ind./Lawrence Central) came through to the evening final in third place with a 289.85 while reigning Big Ten Diver of the Week John Andrade (Avon, Conn./Notre Dame) was fourth in 286.55.

Saturday’s Finals Session

Northwestern’s 200 medley relay won the opening event of the finals session in a thrashing display of speed. Ferguson gave NU a three-tenths of a second lead in the opening leg before Auren maintained it. Michigan State was able to pull within five one-hundredths of a second against Jovanovic in the butterfly, but Olshtein went a 19.56 anchor split to pull away and touch in 1:28.69 for the NU win.

Northwestern’s two entries into the 400 IM did well for the Wildcats Saturday night. Wilimovsky won the championship final by a comfortable margin in 3:53.82 while Seitz moved from 13th after the prelims up to 11th in the finals with a 4:06.81, dropping more than two seconds in time.

Jovanovic finished second overall in the 100 fly to lead NU with a 48.52 while Olshtein took fourth overall, Snarski sixth and Ferguson seventh. In the consolation final, Halsall out-touched teammate Petersen at the wall by .17 of a second to win in 49.64 against Petersen’s 49.81. Morris dropped nice time for a 50.33 12th-place swim while Auren was 16th overall for one NU point.

In the 100 fly bonus final, Steiner cut six tenths of a second from his preliminary swim to end up in an 18th-place dead heat in 51.28. Rosler was 21st overall in 51.80.

Cole nearly notched an NCAA `B’ time in the 200 free finals, placing second overall in 1:38.01, a time that was just two one-hundredths of a second shy of the mark. Wilimovsky swam a nice race out of lane 8, ending up fourth place overall with a time of 1:41.54. Lieberman grabbed seventh-place points for the Wildcats.

One event after a super swim in the 100 fly, Morris faded a bit in the consolation final of the 200 free, touching in a 16th-place time of 1:44.94. In the bonus final, Kohner cut nearly two full seconds from his prelim time to finish second in the heat and 18th overall in 1:42.98.

Auren took third as the lone NU swimmer in the 100 breast `A’ final, then Olshtein won his consolation final in the event with a 56.79 that was 1.08 faster than his morning swim. Donkersgoed dead-heated for 11th in the event with a 57.61 and Sears grabbed a pair of points in 15th position. In the bonus final, Rosler also had a dead heat with a 59.35.

Jovanovic qualified first overall for the 100 back and he stood in the same spot after the finals, swimming a 49.06 to win by seven tenths of a second. Ferguson swam a 49.84 for third, Snarski turned in a 49.99 for fourth, Halsall touched in 50.39 for fifth and Petersen had a 51.20 for seventh.

In the consolation final, Lieberman picked up a trio of points with a 14th place finish after Seitz (19th) and Blansfield (21st) completed the bonus final.

In the 3-meter diving final, Cramer bested his previous season-best in the event with a 348.60 to win by an incredible 48.8-point margin over his teammate Andrade, who moved up from fourth to place second with a 299.80. Dillon ended up fifth overall with a score of 266.55.

In the final 800 free relay, NU’s team of Jovanovic, Cole, Lieberman and Wilimovsky closed out a victory in 6:38.51, taking the lead early and maintaining it throughout.

Results: TYR Invitational, Day Two (Women)

Results: TYR Invitational, Day Two (Men)

 

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