March 2, 2003
ANN ARBOR, Mich. - The 24th-ranked Purdue men's swimming and diving team finished seventh on Saturday at the 2003 Big Ten Men's Swimming and Diving Championships with a total of 289 points. The team improved one spot over its finish in both 2001 and 2002.
In the first event of the final night's competition, sophomore Rion Epping finished 14th with a time of 15:32.98, while freshman Mark Wolfred and sophomore Steuart Martens finished 29th and 30th.
Sophomore Louis Paul won his second Big Ten title of the weekend when he finished first in the 200 backstroke with a time of 1:44.56, good enough for an NCAA 'B'-cut mark.
In the 100 freestyle, seniors Will Seelbach and Jeremy Wright finished 12th and 13th with times of 45.34 and 45.39, respectively, while junior Tamas Bessenyei and freshman Giordan Pogioli finished fourth and fifth in the 200 breaststroke with NCAA 'B'-cut marks of 1:59.02 and 1:59.43
In the 200 butterfly, senior Tad Sayce finished 12th in 1:49.94, while no Boilermakers dove in the evening session of the platform event.
In the final event of the weekend, the Old Gold and Black finished sixth in the 400 freestyle relay with the team of Paul, Sayce, Wright and Seelbach. They finished with a time of 3:00.38.
The Old Gold and Black will return to the water when they travel to the 2003 Men's NCAA Championships at the University of Texas.
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