Fast Times Across The Board at Big 10 November Quad Meet

WEST LAFAYETTE, Indiana, November 8. PURDUE hosted Ohio State, Northwestern and the Iowa men’s team Friday night in the November Quad meet Friday night, which saw quick times across the board against four Big 10 teams.

Purdue Press Release

Carly Mercer, Guillermo Blanco, Francesca Marr and Casey Matthews each posted multiple individual victories and the divers swept the springboard events, leading the Purdue swimming and diving teams to a pair of wins each at the November Quad meet Friday evening at the Boilermaker Aquatic Center.

Purdue hosted co-ed teams from Northwestern and Ohio State as well as the Iowa men for the four-university, seven-team meet featuring all Big Ten squads. The Purdue women defeated No. 19 OSU, 157-143, in what was the closest head-to-head scoring dual of the night. The No. 22 Purdue men also had a quality team win against No. 21 Iowa, 173-127. The Boilermakers registered a pair of victories vs. Northwestern.

Carly Mercer swept the freestyle sprints, winning the 50, 100 and 200 Friday to remain unbeaten in individual events this season. She also opened the 400 free relay with a team-best split of 50.07. The free relay win clinched the team victory for the Purdue women win for the second Friday in a row. The Boilermakers improved to 4-0 in dual meet action this season.

Purdue got big points from its divers Friday. Matthews swept the women’s springboard events. Nate Cox (1-meter) and Jamie Bissett (3-meter) teamed up for a Boiler sweep on the men’s side.

The Purdue women won 10 of the six events, including both relays. Led by Blanco’s victories in the 200 butterfly and 200 IM, the Purdue men won six of the 16 events.

Meagan Lim, Rhiannon Sheets and Marr enjoyed big nights for the women. Marr swept the breaststroke events, took second in the 400 IM and swam the breaststroke leg on the victorious 200 medley relay. Lim won the 100 fly, finished second to Sheets in the 200 fly and handled butterfly duties to help the 200 medley relay team win. Sheets won her heat of the 200 free and anchored the 400 free relay to victory to go along with her victory in the 200 fly.

Filip Bujoczek and Danny Tucker were among the top performers for the men, each posting an individual win and a second-place finish. Bujoczek won the 200 free, took second in the 500 free and swam on the 400 free relay team that finished as the runner-up. Tucker was victorious in the 50 free, runner-up in the 100 free and the anchor on both top-finishing relays.

Matt Friede won his heat of the 50 free and also had a top four finish in the 100 free. Danny Conway (500 free) and Josh Brooks (200 fly) were also heat winners for the men.

New Purdue season-best times/scores for the women were posted by Allie Davis (500 free), Nika Karlina Petric (1000 free), Lim (100 fly), Marr (400 IM), Matthews (1-meter diving), Mercer (100 and 200 free), Sheets (200 fly) and the 400 free relay team.

The Purdue men received new season-best showings among the team from Stephen Seliskar (100 back), Blanco (200 back, 200 fly and 200 IM), Bujoczek (200 free), Conway (1000 free), Tucker (100 free) and the 400 free relay.

The men’s swimmers are back in action next week at the three-day Minnesota Grand Prix in the Twin Cities. The women’s team and the men’s divers are scheduled to compete again at the Ohio State Invitational, set for Nov. 21-23 in Columbus.

Ohio State Men’s Press Release

The Ohio State men’s swimming and diving team opened up Big Ten competition on Friday night by defeating No. 22 Purdue, No. 21 Iowa and Northwestern at the Boilermaker Aquatic Center. With the wins, the Buckeyes move to 8-0 on the season.

Ohio State was led by Alex Miller, Josh Fleagle and Matt McHugh, who all won multiple events. Fleagle was a part of two relay teams that took first place while also finishing first in the 100 freestyle and second in the 50 freesyle. Miller was first in the 1000 freestyle and 500 freestyle while McHugh swam on two winning relay teams and also took first place honors in the 100 butterfly.

Ohio State started out the night with a victory in the 200 yard medley relay as Garrett Trebilcock, Keanu Stevenson, McHugh and Fleagle touched the wall in 1:28.61.

Taking that momentum into the next race, Miller was victorious in the 1000 freestyle with a time of 9:09.37. Teammate Joey Long, a freshman, was fourth in 9:23.73.

In the 200 free, Ohio State had the second, third and fourth place finishers. Steffen Hillmer was second (!:38.88), Vladislav Komarov was third (1:39.80) and Michael DiSalle was fourth (1:40.50).

Steven Zimmerman earned a second-place showing in the 100 backstroke (48.92) while teammates McHugh (49.44) and McDonald were not far behind in third and fourth place, respectively.

Tamas Gercsak had a second-place showing in the 200 butterfly, setting up the next event in which Fleagle finished second to Purdue’s Danny Tucker in the 50 freestyle. In the 100 freestyle, however, Fleagle beat out Tucker for first place, marking the first time this season that Tucker did not win an individual event.

Ohio State gained even more strength when McDonald and Zimmerman went one-two in the 200 backstroke with times of 1:47.05 and 1:47.16, respectively.

Miller claimed victory in the 500 freestyle (4:26.49) which lead to another first-place showing from McHugh in the 100 butterfly (48.30). In that event, Ohio State had the top four finishers, which included Ryan Bubb (second, 49.56), Mark Belanger (third, 49.65) and Trebilcock (fourth, 49.95).

The Buckeyes closed out the night with a win in the 400 free relay from the team of Komarov, DiSalle, Hillmer and Fleagle (2:58.58).

In diving events, Stephen Ettienne was second in the 1-meter dive (332.10) and Christian Holstein was fourth in the 3-meter dive (357.45).

Ohio State has a quick turnaround before its next meet as it will be in action tomorrow at 11 a.m. in Oxford, Ohio to take on in-state foe Miami University.

Ohio State Women’s Press Release

The No. 19 Ohio State women’s swimming and diving team split its Big Ten opener on Friday evening, defeating Northwestern, 211-89, but falling to host Purdue, 157-143.

The Buckeyes (6-1) continue to get strong efforts from all four classes and were led by Kelly Ann Baird, Lindsey Clary and Alex Norris, who each had first-place performances. In addition, Michelle Williams finished second in three events. The 400 yard individual medley relay team of Williams, Annie Jongekrijg, Katy Luchansky and Alex Norris also registered a first-place finish and Ohio State swept the 100 and 200 backstroke against the Boilermakers.

“I could not be prouder of our ladies efforts,” said head coach Bill Dorenkott. “It was a tough and gutty performance. There is no doubt our team is making positive steps forward in the area of grit.”

Ohio State started out the night when the 200 yard medley relay team of Reanna Dona, Rachael Dzierzak, Ashley Vance and Jongekrijg had a second-place showing (1:44.22). In the next event, however, Baird edged out Lauren Abruzzo of Northwestern to take first-place honors in the 1000 yard freestyle. The time is the fastest in her Ohio State career with an even split 9:53 effort.

Continuing the momentum, Norris registered a second-place finish in the 200 yard freestyle (1:48.60), which is an in-season best for her. Erin Dunseith followed by placing second in the 100 yard backstroke and Kristyn Fulcher was second in the 200 backstroke (2:02.21). Taylor Vargo continued the trend with a second-place showing in the 100 yard breaststroke.

Norris kept up with her strong performance by registering another in-season best of 4:49 in the 500 freestyle.

In the 50 yard freestyle, Williams turned out a second-place showing (23.26), followed by another second-place finish in the 100 yard freestyle (50.28).

The Buckeyes dominated the 500 yard freestyle as Norris and Baird finished one-two in 4:49.22 and 4:51.28, respectively. Next up, Williams had another second-place finish, this time in the 100 yard butterfly (55.08). Clary closed out the night with a first-place showing in the 400 yard individual medley and the 400 free relay team of Williams, Jongekrjig, Luchansky and Norris finished in second place.

After getting outscored in diving 29-9 by Purdue, the Buckeyes were able to rally and take the meet to the last relay where they needed a 1-2 to win or a 1-3 to tie the meet. The staff chose to split the relays and go for the win.

Next on the Buckeye agenda, the squad will return to McCorkle Aquatic Pavilion to face in-state foe Ohio tomorrow at 1 p.m.

Northwestern Men’s Press Release

Northwestern traveled to West Lafayette Friday for the November Quad at No. 22 Purdue, but could not return home with a win.

In the Quad Meet against both the Boilermakers and Ohio State Buckeyes, NU lost by the same score to both schools, 231-69.

No. 22 Purdue also defeated the No. 21 Iowa men’s swimming and diving team 173-127. OSU defeated both Purdue and Iowa individually on the day.

Ohio State began the meet winning the 200 yard medley relay with a time of 1:28.61. Sophomore Jordan Wilimovsky cut more than a second from his best time this year in the 1,000 yard freestyle, finishing in second place with a time of 9:11.14.

In the 500 yard freestyle, Wilmovsky posted his best time this season swimming in 4:30.88 to finish third. Charlie Cole also had a season best in the event (4:32.89).

In the 50 yard freestyle, Chase Stephens swam a 20.58 to take third place. Purdue’s Danny Tucker won the event (20.22).

In between events, freshman Andrew Cramer finished in third place in the 3-meter dive. He registered his highest score of the season (368.00). Cramer also scored a season best 318.35 in the 1-meter dive.

NU returns to the pool traveling to the west side of Chicago to face UIC and Wyoming on Saturday, Nov. 9 at 1:00 p.m.

Northwestern Women’s Press Release

Northwestern freshman Lacey Locke won a pair of individual events for the Wildcats — the 100 and 200 yard backstoke — but it was not enough to earn NU wins at the November Quad Friday afternoon in West Lafayette.

Host Purdue defeated NU 202-97 and Ohio State also topped the ‘Cats 211-89. Overall, the Boilermakers also defeated OSU 157-143.

Freshman Lacey Locke earned the ‘Cats first individual victory, swimming a 55.18 in the 100 yard backstroke, NU’s fastest time in the event this season.

Locke started the race fast, staying in first place after 50 yards and not giving up the lead. Her time was just 0.09 short of a “B” cut qualifying time (55.09).

The freshman from Carmel, Ind. continued swimming strong in the backstroke, also winning the 200 yard backstroke.

Locke led the 200 yard backstroke wire-to-wire. Her 2:00.02 time was a season high, finishing ahead of Purdue’s Kristy Fulcher by more than two seconds.

Purdue began the event winning the 200 yard medley relay, with a time of 1:43.91.

In the 1,000 yard freestyle, freshman Lauren Abruzzo bested her previous time, finishing second in the event swimming a 9:55.49. Abruzzo also posted a career best time of 4:55.52 in the 500 yard freestyle.

Purdue’s Rhiannon Sheets won the 200 yard butterfly, but both Ellen Stello (2:03.15) and Becca Soderholm (2:04.81) recorded their best times in the event this year.

NU competed in the 400 IM for the first time this season, with Becca Soderholm taking third place swimming 4:22.86.

In the 3-meter dive, Cosima Lenz registered a season best 259.35.

NU returns to the pool traveling to the west side of Chicago to face UIC and Wyoming on Saturday, Nov. 9 at 1:00 p.m.

Iowa Men’s Press Release

The No. 21 University of Iowa men’s swimming and diving team dropped a pair of conference dual meets Friday night at the Purdue Aquatics Center. The Hawkeyes won three events, but fell to No. 10 Ohio State, 195-105, and No. 22 Purdue, 173-127.

Senior Dustin Rhoads posted his second NCAA `B’ cut time of the season in the 100-back, winning the event in 48.36 seconds. This topped Rhoads’ previous `B’ cut time of 48.42, set against Minnesota on Nov. 1. Rhoads took third in the 200-back, finishing in 1:47.55, a season-best for the Ames, Iowa, native.

Sophomore Roman Trussov continued his strong season, posting a pair of victories. The reigning Big Ten Conference Swimmer of the Week swam to victories in the 100-breast (54.35) and 200-breast (1:59.82). Trussov’s 100-breast time, an NCAA `B’ cut time, is the third time Trussov has posted a `B’ cut in the event this season.

Freshman Nick Zito posted a pair of second-place finishes. Zito took second in the 200-breast (2:00.23) behind Trussov’s first place finish, while senior Andrew Marciniak took fourth (2:03.01). Zito touched out 1:51.51 in the 200-IM, a new season best, to take second, with fellow Hawkeye Kyle Noser taking third in 1:51.68.

Iowa scored a second and third place finish in the two relays. The team of junior Grant Betulius, Marciniak, Rhoads, and senior Gianni Sesto took second in the the 200-medley relay, the opening event of the dual, with a time of 1:29.87. In the 400-free relay, Zito, freshman Peter Grumhaus, freshman Kyle Gannon, and Betulius came in third, touching out in 3:04.80.

Iowa returns to action Dec. 6-8, hosting the Hawkeye Invitational at the Campus Recreation and Wellness Center Pool.

Men’s Team Scores: Ohio State 169, Purdue 131; Ohio State 195, Iowa 105; Ohio State 231, Northwestern 69; Purdue 173, Iowa 127; Purdue 231, Northwestern 69

Women’s Team Scores: Purdue 157, Ohio State 143; Purdue 202, Northwestern 97; Ohio State 211, Northwestern 89

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