Nov. 12, 2004
EVANSTON, Ill. - Women's head coach Cathy Wright-Eger said her team's freestylers, divers and relays would all have to contribute, if they wanted to beat Northwestern. Not only did those groups contribute, they dominated, as the Boilermakers rolled over the Wildcats, 188-112.
Wright-Eger was expecting a closer meet from NU, which had just upset No. 21 Indiana the previous week; however, the veteran coach was still thankful for the convincing victory.
"Our goal was to go in and win big," said Wright-Eger. "I did not want this meet to come down to the final few events."
Purdue won all five freestyle races, both relays (200 medley and 400 free), as well as the 200 individual medley and 100 butterfly titles.
Erica Chandler took first in the 1,000 (10:11.83) and 500 (4:58.08) free. Susan Hentschel added to her win totals in the 100 (51.05) free and 200 (1:49.95) free, and Tracy Duchac captured the 50 free title (23.93).
Duchac and Hentschel also were part of the winning 400 free relay, alongside Christine Leupold and Kimbre Vogel. Their winning time was clocked at 3:26.99.
Additionally, Hentschel scored runner-up points in the 50 free, while Duchac placed third in the 100 free. Yvonne Laaper scored big points with a second-place showing in the 1,000 behind Chandler, and a third-place finish in the 500.
NU rookie Andrea Hupman, who Wright-Eger believed would challenge Hentschel, finished as the runner-up to the Boilermaker sophomore in the 100 and 200 free. Their 100 free showdown was extremely tight, with Hentschel winning by .09 seconds; however, Hupman could not keep pace in the 200, losing by nearly two seconds.
Wright-Eger was impressed with a number of her swimmers, in particular freshman Jenae Gill and sophomore Carlene Takaki.
Gill dominated the 100 back with a winning time of 57.23, and led Purdue's 200 `B' medley relay to a season-best time of 1:45.78. Not only did Gill's relay beat the Boilermaker `A' squad, but it also topped the Wildcat quartet of Hupman, Jessie Bailis, Christy Olin and Marijiana Surkovic by almost a second.
Takaki had a rough start, placing third in the 200 butterfly, but responded with a victory in the 100 at 56.67.
"Now that Carlene is one of our top swimmers, I think she sometimes feels the pressure to win," said Wright-Eger. "She came out nervous in the 200 fly, so we had to calm her down. But, she showed what a great competitor she is by coming back to win the 100. Against the opponents we'll face down the road, she can't afford to back down."
Jen Merte also won for the Boilermakers, beating NU's Brielle Bovee in the 200 individual medley, 2:07.16 to 2:08.59.
Divers Carrie McCambridge and Amanda Miller had an easy afternoon, as last season's NCAA qualifiers finished first and second off both springboards. McCambridge won the 1-meter title with 288.45 points, and set a pool record off the 3-meter with 305.25 points.
The previous NU pool record was held by former Boilermaker Kara Hajek-Gustafson.
Miller's runner-up scores were 266.93 off the 1-meter and 271.28 off the 3-meter.
Purdue's next competition is at the North Carolina Invitational; a three-day meet, which will feature a number of high-ranked SEC and ACC teams.