Feb. 19, 2004
MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. - Sophomore diver Carrie McCambridge won the 1-meter diving title Thursday night at the Big Ten Championships, becoming the first Purdue diver ever to win a conference title. McCambridge finished with a school and pool-record mark of 321.80 points.
Penn State's Lisa Silvestri finished runner-up to McCambridge, more than thirty points behind at 291.60. Silvestri led the field during prelims with a then Minnesota Aquatic Center-record score of 304.75.
McCambridge's score also shattered the previous varsity record of 308.45, which was registered by Kara-Hajek Gustafson in 2002.
The Boilermakers completed the championships' second day in fifth-place with 158 points. Ahead of Purdue are Michigan (213), Wisconsin (199), Indiana (187) and Penn State (186). Host Minnesota is in sixth, nine points behind the Boilermakers.
Purdue started its night with a fourth-place time of 1:31.89 in the 200-yard freestyle relay, missing the school record by .2 seconds. Tracy Duchac, Katie Seleskie, Kimbre Vogel and Susan Hentschel recorded individual splits of 23.27, 23.06, 22.96 and 22.60.
Duchac, Hentschel and Seleskie came back to compete in the finals of the 50 free. Hentschel, a freshman in her first individual event, placed fifth with a time of 23.26. Duchac followed in sixth at 23.28 and Seleskie scored a 13th-place time of 23.41.
Head coach Cathy Wright-Eger has been greatly impressed with Hentschel's performances over the last two days.
"She was on the 800 free relay that placed fourth, then she was on the 200 free relay that placed fourth, and in her first individual event, she places fifth," said Wright-Eger. "Susan is the real deal. The better the competition she faces, the better she swims."
Erica Chandler and Yvonne Laaper combined for 10 points in the 500 free. Chandler recorded her second lifetime best of the day, clocking a ninth-place time of 4:49.12. Her afternoon qualifying time was marked at 4:50.35. Yvonne Laaper placed 16th at 4:55.18.
Christine Leupold placed 10th in the 200 individual medley, but placed fourth on the team's all-time top performance list, with her mark of 2:03.85. Jenni Bean, who owns the 200 IM's varsity record of 2:01.46, placed 16th at 2:05.89.
Friday's third day of competition is comprised of the 400 medley relay, 100 butterfly, 200 freestyle, 100 breaststroke, 100 backstroke and 3-meter diving.
"Tomorrow is going to be a tough day," said Wright-Eger. "We are strong in the 200 freestyle and diving competition, but the 100-yard events are among our biggest challenges. We need to keep hanging tough and remain focused through every race."
Friday's preliminary sessions begin at 11 a.m. CST, live results can be accessed through www.bigten.org.