Jan. 6, 2004
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - Purdue's women's swimming and diving team overwhelmed the Arkansas Lady Razorbacks Tuesday at the Boilermaker Aquatic Center, with a convincing 206-88 triumph. The entire roster conributed to the win, as 20 Boilermakers scored at least one top-three showing. Erica Chandler and Christine Leupold led the team with three wins apiece, while freshmen Rory Belk and Katharine Telfer each secured two.
"I was really surprised that this meet wasn't a lot closer," said head coach Cathy Wright-Eger. "They (Arkansas) had several individuals competing here who have scored at NCAA's, but our whole team came out ready and focused on their racing. This team is showing signs of real talent, and right now we have a snowball effect going on, in which we keep getting better week after week."
Chandler and Leupold each picked up their first victory in the opening 200-yard medley relay, posting a winning time of 1:46.85. In addition to those eleven first-place points, the Boilemakers scooped up four second-place points, as the quartet of Brandy Keever, Belk, Carlene Takaki and Katie Seleskie cruised to the finish line in 1:48.20. The one-two sweep propelled Purdue to a 15-2 lead, a lead that would never get threatened.
After their opening victory, the Boilermakers went on to win 13 of the next 15 events. Incredibly, the only events Purdue lost were the ones in which they ran exhibition swimmers towards the end of the meet.
Chandler continued her winning streak into the 1,000 free, coming across the finish line in 10:08.70. Yvonne Laaper and Kristen Melville also contributed to the scoring run, earning the third and fourth spots. Chandler's final win of the afternoon came in the 500 free with a time of 5:00.68; Laaper also fared well in this event coming in third at 5:08.37.
Leupold's two individual wins came in the 200 free and the 100 fly, leading a three-way sweep in the 200 free and a four-way sweep in the 100 fly. Leupold's winning time of 1:53.14, just edged Susan Hentschel, who clocked a 1:53.18. Seleskie completed the sweep with her third-place time of 1:56.90. Even though Hentschel couldn't grab the 200 free title, she did rebound to capture the 100 free prize, coming in at 52.40. Her winning time beat out teammates Kimbre Vogel (52.79) and Tracy Duchac (53.30), who placed second and third, respectively.
Duchac did earn one victory on the day, winning the 50 free in 24.06. Seleskie came in right behind her at 24.23 to keep increasing Purdue's already tremendous lead.
In the 100 fly, Leupold (57.49) was followed by Takaki (57.87), Autumn Sample (59.44) and Jennifer Merte (59.96), making it Purdue's second four-way butterfly sweep. Earlier in the meet, Sample led a Boilermaker sweep in the 200 fly, coming across in 2:07.46. Takaki (2:07.76), Merte (2:09.50) and Sara Hayworth (2:10.93) rounded out the top four.
Newcomers Telfer and Belk were among the big surprises for Purdue, each coming away with a pair of victories. Telfer swept the backstroke competition, while Belk accomplished the same in the breaststroke. Telfer won the 100 back in 58.46, just beating out teammate Brandy Keever, who clocked a mark of 59.02. Telfer's winning time of 2:06.03 was nearly a second faster than runner-up Babsi Auer of Arkansas, who came across in 2:06.47. Lydia DeNuccio scored third-place points for Purdue in the 200 back with a time of 2:07.48.
Belk's pair of wins were among the more convincing of the afternoon. In the 100 breast Belk (1:05.88) finished nearly three seconds ahead of teammate Lindsay Kirchoff (1:08.10), and later in the 200 breast defeated Jenni Bean (2:27.77) by almost six seconds. Belk's winning time in the 200 breast of 2:21.83 was a lifetime best, as was her mark in the 100 breast.
"Today's meet was a nice springboard for us going into the Indiana meet, but it will be no comparison in competing against the defending Big 10 champions," said Wright-Eger. "I think our attitude now is better than it's ever been, and that will help us stay competitive."
Despite competing for three straight days at the Georgia Diving Invitational, the Purdue divers performed incredibly well. Carrie McCambridge, who has had a phenomenal season thus far, added another win to her resume, scoring a first-place mark of 302.77 off the 3-meter springboard. Bethany Jensen (294.52) and Amanda Miller (260.92) also scored, coming in third and fourth.
"My hat is off to our divers," said Wright-Eger. "For them to compete for three straight days in Georgia, and then come here and continue to dive well is just phenomenal."
McCambridge went on to double her win total, securing a victory in the 1-meter competition with a score of 286.50. Miller (239.10) and Jensen (228.44) again finished third and fourth in this discipline.
The divers compete again on Saturday, Jan. 10 at Indiana. The dual meet was originally slated for Friday, Jan. 16, but was split into two separate dates to allow the divers to compete at the World Cup Trials from Jan. 15 to 18. The swimming portion of the meet is still scheduled for the 16th. In Bloomington, the divers will be without the services of McCambridge, who will be attending a wedding, and diving coach Wenbo Chen, who will accompany the men's team to Arizona.
"Indiana has always had a great tradition of divers, so they will be tough to beat," said Chen. "Although we are very young, I expect that the team will keep their focus, band together and step up their performances."
Following the Indiana meet, the team returns to the Boilermaker Aquatic Center for a meet against Michigan State on Jan. 17. This meet will double as Senior Day, in which every senior from the men's and women's team will be recognized during the meet.