Suddenly Susan

Nov. 6, 2004

Complete Results

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind, - Sophomore Susan Hentschel emerged as one of Purdue's future stars, facing the nation's best Saturday at the Boilermaker Challenge. Through two sessions, Hentschel scored several top-four finishes, secured three NCAA provisional marks and broke the varsity record in the 100 freestyle.

Despite Hentschel's heroics, the Boilermakers did not possess enough depth in other events and finished seventh with 400 points. Florida won the team title with 748.5 points, and were followed by Texas A&M, Texas, UCLA, Michigan and Virginia. Tennessee finished last with 352.5 points.

Hentschel began her day placing third in the 200 free, finishing close behind NCAA Championship regulars, Maureen Farrell of Florida and Michigan's Susan Gilliam. Farrell won the title in 1:48.46, Gilliam was the runner-up at 1:48.61 and Hentschel touched at 1:48.83.

All three marks were below the NCAA provisional standard of 1:50.83.

While the third-place showing was solid, Hentschel's anchor leg run in the 800 free relay was simply astonishing, moving the team from seventh to fourth place. Hentschel's 200 free split was timed at 1:37.32, which was considerably faster than that of opposing anchors: Leah Retrum (Florida - 1:38.73), Jenni Stratton (Texas A&M - 1:39.27) and Shannon Hackett (UCLA - 1:40.05).

Hentschel's top accomplishment of the night session was setting a varsity record in the 100 free of 49.99. Her mark broke the previous standard of 50.15 set by Gyonguyver Lakos in 2001.

Hentschel and Texas A&M's Danielle Townsend swam neck and neck the entire race, but the Boilermaker outpaced the Aggie by a mere .34 seconds. This summer, Townsend was a gold medalist in the 200 IM at the 2004 Summer National Championships, and was Big 12 runner-up in the 100 free last spring.

An Indianapolis native, Hentschel closed the night anchoring the 400 free relay squad to a third-place and NCAA provisional mark of 3:24.68. Christine Leupold, Tracy Duchac and Kimbre Vogel teamed with Hentschel on the bronze-medal relay.

It was business as usual for the divers, as Amanda Miller won the platform title and Carrie McCambridge took runner-up honors off the 3-meter springboard. Miller's winning score was 381.25, a personal best for the sophomore from Centreville, Va.

McCambridge tallied 459.20 points off the springboard, losing out to U.S. Diving Senior National Team member Paige Thompson, who scored 487.00 points for her UCLA Bruins.

Top finishes were few and far between for the Old Gold and Black in the pool; however, freshman Jennifer Lavers hung tough in the 100 breaststroke to place eighth in 1:05.14, and sophomore Carlene Takaki finished in the same spot in the 200 butterfly at 2:04.47.

The swimmers and divers will not return to the Boilermaker Aquatic Center until Jan. 22, when they play host to the Indiana Hoosiers. To close this first full month of competition, the Boilermakers travel to Northwestern for a dual on Nov. 12 and then compete at the North Carolina Invitational from Nov. 18-20.