Lady Wolverines Top, 162-132, Wildcats in Big Ten Dual

EVANSTON, Illinois, January 20. ALTHOUGH Junior Andrea Hupman (Lawrenceville, Ga./Brookwood) swam a pair of NCAA 'B' cuts and Northwestern picked up its second relay NCAA standard of the year in a 162-132 loss to No. 10 Michigan Saturday afternoon at the Norris Aquatics Center.

The Wolverines represented NU's sixth opponent ranked in the College Swimming Coaches Association of America (CSCAA) poll at some point during the year. The meet also marked the final home event of the season for the Wildcats (3-6), who will return to action Feb. 8-10 at the Big Ten Championships in Minneapolis, Minn.

Michigan won the 200 medley relay to open the meet, swimming a 1:43.23 to top Northwestern's quartet of Genny Szymanski (Haines, Alaska/Haines), Jessie Bailis (Omaha, Neb./Millard North), Katie Braun (Edina, Minn./Edina) and Emily Wong (Nepean, Ontario/St. Joseph's), which swam a 1:44.48.

After the Wolverines swept the top three positions in the 1000 free, Hupman earned the first of her two 'B' cuts with a season-best 1:48.06 to win the 200 free. Freshman Jenn Kocsis (Omaha, Neb./Marian) took third in the event with a 1:51.76.

Michigan took the top two positions in the 100 back before Bailis blazed to a 1:03.90 to win the 100 breast for the 'Cats. Sophomore Hayley Fry (Marion, Iowa/Linn-Mar) was third for NU with a 1:05.11.

Braun made it two event wins in a row for Northwestern with a 2:03.26 to win the 200 fly by .60 seconds, while teammate Rachel Rys (Goleta, Calif./Dos Pueblos) was third with a 2:05.04.

Michigan's Kaitlyn Brady won the 50 free with an NCAA 'B' time of 23.37, besting Hupman and Wong, who finished second and third for NU.

During the diving breaks, Michigan won the top three spots on the 1-meter board, while junior Beth Campbell (Burr Ridge, Ill./Fenwick) scored a season-high 273.68 to take second on the 3-meter board.

Hupman notched her second NCAA 'B' time with a 50.13 to win the 100 free, with Wong taking third in 51.82.

The best race of the meet came next in the 200 back, with UM's Hannah Smith racing Szymanksi wire-to-wire. Szymanski held slight leads after the first, second and third 50-yard splits, but Smith barely caught her at the end to out-touch the Wildcat by .09 seconds with a 2:01.57. Sara White-Delehoy (Kent, Wash./Kentlake) was fourth in the race for NU.

In the 200 breast, Fry took second for the 'Cats while Bailis finished third. Kocsis then took second as the top finisher for Northwestern in the 500 free.

Brady and Braun fought to the wire in the 100 fly, with Brady winning the race by .31 seconds over Braun's 55.94. In the 200 IM, Kassia Shishkoff (Raleigh, N.C./St. David's School) had the Wildcats' top time with a 2:09.79.

In the final event of the meet, Northwestern's quartet of Wong, Hupman, Braun and Kocsis held a lead through three legs of the 400 free relay before Michigan caught the 'Cats to earn the fastest time. Still, NU's time of 3:24.62 gave the Wildcats their second NCAA 'B' cut in a relay this season.

Subscribe
Notify of
guest

Welcome to our community. We invite you to join our discussion. Our community guidelines are simple: be respectful and constructive, keep on topic, and support your fellow commenters. Commenting signifies that you agree to our Terms of Use

0 Comments
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
0
Would love your thoughts, please comment.x
()
x