Oct. 29, 2004
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - There was good news and bad news for 25th-ranked Purdue Friday night in its season-opener at the Boilermaker Aquatic Center. The good news was a 169-130 win over 23rd-ranked and in-state rival Notre Dame, the bad news was a 166-133 loss to No. 21 Arizona State.
Purdue managed just four wins on the night, including two by NCAA qualifier Tracy Duchac. The senior from Wisconsin Rapids, Wis., won the 50 freestyle with an NCAA provisional cut of 23.41 seconds and swam the second leg of the winning 400 free relay team (51.13). She also placed third in the 100 at 51.89.
Duchac topped ASU's Florencia Szigeti in the 50 free by .11 seconds, preventing the Sun Devil from sweeping the sprint freestyle races. Szigeti, who is the reigning Pac-10 champion in the 200 free, won three races Friday: 100 free, 200 free and the 400 medley relay.
Purdue sophomore Susan Hentschel swam well in both the 100 (51.74) and 200 (1:50.20), but could not overtake the ASU All-American, who clocked winning times of 50.75 and 1:49.13. Hentschel's 200 time was an NCAA provisional mark.
Junior and three-time Big Ten diving champion Carrie McCambridge also had her hands full with All-American competition, but managed a win off the 1-meter (308.20) and a second-place showing off the 3-meter (295.40).
In what could be a partial repeat of this year's NCAA Championship, McCambridge held her own against 2004 All-Americans Meghan Perry-Eaton of Notre Dame and Arizona State's Trisha Tumlinson. McCambridge and Perry-Eaton exchanged wins off the springboards, while Tumlinson settled for the bronze medal in both disciplines.
Boilermaker sophomore Amanda Miller, also a 2004 NCAA competitor, placed fifth off each springboard, scoring marks of 244.90 (1-meter) and 260.00 (3-meter).
Purdue secured only a handful of top showings prior to winning the 400 free finale; Carlene Takaki won the 200 fly in 2:02.64, Erica Chandler was second in the 1,000 free at 10:10.83 and freshman Jennifer Lavers finished as the runner-up in the 100 breast at 1:04.74.
Featured on the victorious 400 free relay were team captain Christine Leupold, sophomore Kimbre Vogel and Duchac and Hentschel. Their winning time was clocked at 3:25.41, beating the ASU squad by nearly two seconds.
Purdue has little time to rest as the team returns to action Saturday at noon for the Indiana Intercollegiates. Attending this year's meet are men's and women's teams from Ball State, Butler, Indianapolis, IUPUI, Valparaiso and Vincennes. The Arizona State men also will compete in this annual event.