Oct. 24, 2003
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - The Purdue women's swimming and diving team took to the water at the Boilermaker Aquatic Center for its annual Black-Old Gold Intrasquad meet Friday night. However, it was the Black team which prevailed, edging the Old Gold squad, 110-105. Leading the Black team was sophomore Erica Chandler who scored victories in the 1,000 and 500-yard freestyle races.
Chandler's winning time of 10:16.45, was over 17 seconds faster than runner-up Yvonne Laaper's mark of 10:23.50. Later, in the 500 free, Chandler again outdistance Laaper and company, winning with a time of 5:02.61.
Keeping the Old Gold team in contention throughout the entire race was freshman Susan Hentschel. The Indianapolis native posted a pair of individual wins in the 200 and 100 free and anchored the 400 medley relay team to a victory in the lead-off race. In the 200, Hentschel's first-place time was clocked at 1:52.83; coming in behind her was junior Christine Leupold, also of the Gold team, who touched the wall at 1:56.83.
Hentschel copped her second individual victory of the night in the 100 free with a time of 51.56, just beating out fellow freshman Kimbre Vogel, who scored a time of 53.28.
Even though Hentschel dominated the mid-distance freestyle events, the Black team pulled off a sweep of the top-two spots in the 50 free, led by NCAA Qualifier Tracy Duchac and Vogel. Duchac won the race with a time of 23.79, while Vogel was close behind at 24.56. The Black team also took the top spots in the 200 fly, with Autumn Sample taking first (2:07.18) and Lydia DeNuccio earning the silver medal (2:12.58).
Following the Black team's sweep in the 200 fly, the Old Gold team picked up consecutive victories in the 100 free and 200 back, but members of the Black team were able to pick up second-place points in each of those events, and then managed to win the last three races to win the meet. Leading the Black team's comeback was Chandler's win in the 500, Lindsay Lange's triumph in the 200 breast (2:25.25) and the 400 free relay team's three-second win over the Old Gold troop. Merte, Sample, freshman Morgan Goldthwaite and Duchac clinched the win for Black with a time of 3:37.53. The Old Gold team's relay of Brandy Keever, Erin Gettings, Rachel Sitarz, and Lindsay Kirchoff clocked in at 3:40.34.
Gold's final win of the night was in the 200 back. Brandy Keever took first with a time of 2:08.35; finishing right behind her was the Black team's Katharine Telfer, who scored a time of 2:09.59. The 200 individual medley was also very close as the Old Gold's Jenni Bean edged out the Black team's Jennifer Merte with a time of 2:08.25. Merte was a hair behind at 2:08.26.
Old Gold was also victorious in the 1-meter diving competition, with sophomore NCAA Regional qualifier Carrie McCambridge taking first-place honors with a score of 285.00. Finishing second was the Black team's Amanda Miller, scoring a 264.98.
The Purdue swimming and diving teams officially kick off their 2003-04 campaign Saturday at noon with the Indiana Intercollegiates. The Boilermakers will be joined at the Boilermaker Aquatic Center by Ball State, Butler, Indianapolis, Indiana (women only), IUPUI and Valparaiso.