Wildcat Women At Top of TYR Invite

EVANSTON, Ill., November 19. THE women of Northwestern won their own Invitational with a total of 1,203.5 points. Southern-Illinois was the second-place team with 886 points. Close behind was Michigan State with 844.5 points, while Kenyon College placed fourth with 631 points.

Northwestern won every event and another Norris Aquatics Center pool record fell Sunday at the TYR Invitational as the Wildcats pulled away from the four-team field to capture the championship.

Freshmen Kassia Shishkoff (Raleigh, N.C./St. David's School) and Mary Beth Francis (San Diego, Calif./Mission Viejo) began Sunday's finals with a 1-2 finish in the championship heat of the 1,650 free. Shishkoff missed the pool record by just four seconds, swimming an NCAA `B' standard of 16:37.87. Francis finished in 16:53.38.

Genny Szymanski (Haines, Alaska/Haines) kicked off the morning session with a 2:04.50 in the 200 back to qualify first for the super final. Francis was the top qualifier for the `B' final, while Sara White-Delehoy (Kent, Wash./Kentlake) also made the `B' heat.

Szymanski knocked 3.5 seconds off her prelim time to swim an NCAA `B' cut of 2:00.96 for the victory in the 200 back finals. Francis and White-Delehoy finished eighth and ninth overall, respectively.

In the 100 free, Andrea Hupman (Lawrenceville, Ga./Brookwood) qualified second with a 51.64 and Emily Wong (Neapean, Ontario/St. Joseph's) fourth with a 52.55 to put two Wildcats in the super final. Jenn Kocsis (Omaha, Neb./Marian) was sixth overall during the prelims, earning the second seed in the `B' final with a 53.63.

Hupman then blazed to a `B' cut of 49.85 to win the 100 free finals and break her own pool record of 49.99, which she established just one week ago against Wisconsin. Wong ended up third, but also swam a `B' standard time of 50.96.

Hupman was named Swimmer of the Meet for her efforts on the weekend.

Kocsis remained in sixth after the evening swim, recording a 53.46.

Northwestern again placed swimmers in second and fourth during the prelims in the 200 breast, with Hayley Fry (Marion, Iowa/Linn-Mar) swimming a 2:22.85 to take second and Jessie Bailis (Omaha, Neb./Millard North) turning in a 2:24.71 which was good for fourth. Sophomore Jill Forster (Centerville, Ohio/Centerville) was the top qualifier for the `B' final with a 2:26.44.

Fry lowered her prelim time by a full three seconds in the finals, winning the 200 breast with a 2:19.72. Her teammate Bailis dropped nearly four seconds off her prelim time to finish second with a 2:20.49, her best-career effort in a collegiate meet. Forster finished second in the `B' final and sixth overall with a 2:25.88.

Freshman Rachel Rys (Goleta, Calif./Dos Pueblos) and Shishkoff went 1-2 in the 200 fly prelims, with Rys swimming a 2:05.34 and Shishkoff a 2:06.09. Laura Gart (Wilmette, Ill./New Trier) advanced to the `B' final as the 11th overall seed.

Rys cranked out an impressive NCAA `B' swim of 2:00.70 in the finals of the 200 fly, winning the event and missing the pool record by just .3 seconds. Shishkoff took second place with a 2:05.51. Gart moved up three places to finish eighth with a 2:12.08.

Northwestern took first and third in the meet's final event, the 400 free relay. The squad of Wong, Shishkoff, Fry and Hupman placed first with a 3:25.23, while the team of Kocsis, Stacy Congdon (Windermere, Fla./Lake Highland Prep), Bailis and Gart took third with a 3:34.77

Northwestern as a team now is off until its winter break training trip to Hawaii.

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