February 26, 1999
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - The Purdue men's swimming and diving team is in sixth place with 184 points after the second day of the Big Ten Swimming and Diving Championships in Bloomington, Ind. Penn State leads the 89th annual Big Ten Championships with 404 points. Defending champion Minnesota is second, followed by Michigan, Wisconsin and Indiana.
"We really battled out there today," Purdue coach Dan Ross said. "I am proud at how we competed. After yesterday, they could have rolled over and played dead, but they came back and raced hard."
The Boilermaker 200 medley relay team of sophomore Juan Rodela, senior Vilmos Kovacs, freshmen Donovan Crowley and Jon Duncan picked up 30 points by placing third in a NCAA provisional qualifying and Purdue varsity-best time of 1:29.41.
Kovacs placed third in the 100 breaststroke IM with a NCAA provisional qualifying and season-best time of 55.13 gaining 16 points for Purdue. Freshman Javier Diaz was fifth in the 200 freestyle IM with a NCAA provisional qualifying and season-best time of 1.38.16.
Sophomore Matt Martin continued to swim impressively, as he placed seventh in the 400 IM with a NCAA provisional qualifying and season-best time of 3:55.85. Prior to the meet, Martin's best time was a 4:01.80. Yesterday, the Mission Viejo, Calif., native placed 10th in the 500 freestyle.
In the 100 butterfly, Crowley placed seventh in a Purdue varsity-best time of 49.04 to add 12 points to the Boilers' total.
In the final event on the second of competition, the 800 free relay, Purdue's quartet of Diaz, junior Kevin Cornehl, Kovacs and senior Kirk Larsen placed seventh with a NCAA provisional qualifying and season-best time of 6:39.66 to gain 24 points for the Old Gold and Black bringing their total to 184.
The final day of the Big Ten Swimming and Diving Championships will continue tomorrow with the preliminaries beginning at noon and the finals starting at 7 p.m.
Team Scores (After the Second Day)
Penn State 404.00Minnesota 397.00Michigan 390.50Wisconsin 275.00Indiana 244.00Purdue 184.00Ohio State 183.00Northwestern 180.50Iowa 160.00Michigan State 118.00