Notre Dame, Michigan vs. Northwestern

EVANSTON, Illinois, January 15. IN a Senior Day double-dual meet Saturday afternoon at the Norris Aquatics Center, Northwestern earned a resounding victory over Notre Dame, 189.5-110.5 and fell by a narrow 155-145 margin to No. 15 Michigan.

In a double dual, points are scored against each opponent and not versus the field as a whole (invitational scoring). So for example, if Notre Dame finished second and Michigan third in an event behind a Northwestern swimmer, NU would score 1-2 wins over both foes while the Irish would score a 1-2 result in the race over the Wolverines.

The near capacity crowd at the Norris Aquatics Center was rowdy early during an exciting opening 400 medley relay. Northwestern trailed both Notre Dame and Michigan heavily following the backstroke leg, but Jenny Wilson's (Bethesda, Md./Sidwell Friends School) 1:02.47 100 breast split brought the Wildcats nearly all of the way back. From there it was a dead-heat to the finish where Michigan's 3:44.97 out-touched Northwestern's season-best 3:45.34 for the win with Notre Dame in third overall. Lisa Engstrom (Reno, Nev./Robert McQueen), Wilson, Meghan Cavanaugh (Anchorage, Alaska/East Anchorage) and Taylor Reynolds (St. Louis, Mo./Webster Groves) comprised the complete NU relay.

Northwestern took three of the top-five spots in the 1,000 freestyle, with freshman Megan Goss (Brentwood, Tenn./Ravenwood) placing second overall in 10:11.74. Classmate Erin Sosdian (The Woodlands, Texas/Woodlands College Park) was fourth in a season-best 10:18.04 while Beth Loe's (Upper Arlington, Ohio/Upper Arlington) 10:27.85 beat Notre Dame's second swimmer to the wall by .43 of a second to give the Wildcats a 1-3-4 finish in the event against the Irish. NU went 2-3-4 versus the Wolverines in the race.

Freshman Jackie Powell (Madison, Wis./James Madison Memorial) took first place overall in the 200 free, racing to a 1.12 second victory with a time of 1:50.50. Meredith King (Louisville, Ky./duPont Manual) was third overall in 1:51.99 and Jacquie Godbe (Rapid City, S.D./Stevens) came in fifth with a 1:52.41 to help the Wildcats pull within one point of Michigan, 28-27, after the race.
Both opponents gained points on the `Cats in the 100 back when Engstrom (57.28) and Eschenburg (season-best 57.70) placed fourth and fifth overall as NU's top swimmers.

Wilson and Notre Dame's Samantha Maxwell staged a great race in the 100 breast, with Wilson's hard-charging second half of the race falling just short of catching Maxwell for the win, 1:03.38 to Wilson's season-best 1:03.45. Two Michigan swimmers followed the top two, then NU's Kathleen Patterson (Naperville, Ill./Neuqua Valley) came in fifth with a season-best 1:04.63.

Northwestern took fourth, fifth and sixth overall in the 200 fly behind a pair of Michigan swimmers and one Notre Dame competitor. King led the `Cats with a 2:04.18. In the 50 free, Reynolds came in second with a 23.43, placing .07 of a second behind Michigan's winner. Powell placed fifth overall with a 23.92.

During the first break, Northwestern got big points from its diving Lenz sisters with a 1-3 finish on the 3-meter springboard. Sophomore Felicitas Lenz (Altadena, Calif./Polytechnic School) won with a 314.75 while freshman Cosima Lenz (Altadena, Calif./Polytechnic School) came in third with a 305.15.

Leading Notre Dame but trailing Michigan by 16 points following the first diving break, Northwestern had a huge result in the 100 free with a 1-2-3 finish. In an incredibly tight second heat of the event, Powell touched the wall first in 51.56, followed by a dead-heat between Reynolds and Notre Dame's Amy Prestinario in 51.67. Northwestern got the top-three sweep, however, because Marybeth Hall's (Brighton, Mich./Brighton) season-best and heat-winning time of 51.62 in the first heat placed her second overall in the event. Instantly, NU pulled to within three points, 86-83, of Michigan and extended its cushion over Notre Dame to 108.5-60.5.

Michigan struck right back in the 200 back with a 2-3 overall finish behind a Notre Dame winner. Engstrom was NU's top swimmer with a fourth-place 2:03.21.

In the 200 breast, Notre Dame finished first and Michigan second followed by a trio of Northwestern swimmers to limit the Wildcats' point loss in the event to one against each opponent. Wilson came in third overall, just .10 of a second behind the Wolverines' Angie Chokran, who chased Wilson down at the wall. Hannah Points (Tualatin, Ore./Tualatin) placed fourth overall in 2:19.82 and Patterson was fifth overall in 2:21.19.

Michigan again earned a first-place result in the 500 free, with Northwestern's Grigg taking second overall in 4:58.99. Sosdian's 5:01.38 was good for fourth overall while Goss' 5:01.74 took fifth overall. While the Wolverines earned a 1-3 finish in the event against the Wildcats, NU recorded a 1-2-3 sweep of Notre Dame.

In the 100 fly, Cavanaugh took fourth place as NU's top swimmer with a 56.48.

Northwestern again scored big points in the diving well during the 1-meter springboard, getting a 1-3 finish from Felicitas (season-best 292.50) and Cosima (279.95) Lenz. Combined with Mary Kate Campbell's (Burr Ridge, Ill./Fenwick) career-best 257.50, which was good for sixth overall, NU scored a 1-2-4 finish against the Wolverines.

Michigan put the meet away, however, with a victory in the 400 IM. Mattie Kukors took home top points for the Wolverines, though Wildcats grabbed the next four positions. Points (4:23.54) was second, Godbe (4:25.50) was third, Patterson (4:26.78) took fourth and King (4:29.09) placed fifth for NU.

In the final 400 free relay, Northwestern took home one final victory with a 3:25.03 from the team of Powell, Hall, Engstrom and Reynolds.

Prior to the meet, Northwestern honored its eight-member senior class: Kiersten Cooley (Hershey, Pa./Hershey), Engstrom, Katie Eschenburg (Hartland, Wis./Arrowhead), Grigg, Alex Kraus (Birmingham, Ala./Vestavia Hills), Erin Reilly (Frankfort, Ill./Lincoln-Way East), Kate Stephensen (Davis, Calif./Davis Senior High) and Caroline Walls (Tucson, Ariz./Sabino). In the other dual of the day, Michigan defeated Notre Dame, 182-117.

Northwestern returns to action at 11 a.m. CT Saturday, Jan. 22 at Iowa in a combined dual meet with the Wildcats' men team.

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.

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