Feb. 18, 2005
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - At the season's start, head coach Cathy Wright-Eger said she wasn't going to depend on this year's freshman class as much as previous ones. However, that hasn't stopped them from wanting to make an impact at the Big Ten Championships.
"The freshmen are leading the way for us," said Wright-Eger. "None of them are getting nervous, and they're doing everything we ask of them. Incredibly, they've made an impact on team where there was already strong upperclassmen talent."
Rookies Jenae Gill and Jennifer Lavers both scored twice Friday night, as individuals and with the 400 medley relay team. The Boilermaker relay opened the session with a third-place and season-best time of 3:43.73. Gill led off with a personal best 100-yard backstroke split of 56.21 seconds, then Lavers followed with a 1:02.87 in the breaststroke. The two freshmen were followed by sophomores Carlene Takaki and Susan Hentschel.
"I am so thrilled about our 400 medley relay's performance," said Wright-Eger. "Seeing two freshmen and two sophomores swim that well was a great way to start the night. Susan's split in the 100 free (49.24) was simply fantastic."
Gill's individual points were scored in the 100 back, where she placed sixth with a time of 56.50, and Lavers placed fifth in the 100 breast with a mark of 1:03.18. Also scoring in this event were senior Tracy Duchac and freshman Shannon Grace. Duchac won the consolation final with a personal record and NCAA provisional time of 1:03.54; Grace placed two spots behind her in 1:03.92.
"The 100 breast was our best event of the night," said Wright-Eger. "Jen stood tall against some real tough competition, and Tracy had the comeback performance of the day. She was absolutely crushed yesterday after the 50 free, but proved herself to be a tough competitor again tonight."
In the 400 individual medley, sophomore Jennifer Merte scored sixth-place points with her mark of 4:19.84 and Yvonne Laaper placed 16th in 4:29.95.
"I'm so proud of Jen's performances at this meet, she scoring us a lot of points," said Wright-Eger. "Twice today she's bested her previous lifetime best (4:25.56) by over six seconds. She's a rock for this team, a real steady competitor."
Purdue was expected to have some degree of success in the 200 freestyle, but came away with only four points. Sophomore Katharine Telfer was 14th with a season best of 1:50.59 and Hentschel was 16th at 1:51.54.
Off the 3-meter springboard, junior Carrie McCambridge finished seventh with 516.45 points. The Indiana diving stable again had four athletes score in the top eight, with Christina Loukas, Cassandra Cardinell, Lisa Silvestri claiming the No. 2 through 4 spots. Ohio State's Julie Broms won the 3-meter title with 583.45 points.
The Penn State Nittany Lions continued to pad their point total for a second straight day, and lead second-place Wisconsin by 146 points, 485 to 339. The Lions won the 400 medley relay, scored five individuals in the 400 IM, four in the 100 back and two in the 200 free. Happy Valley also celebrated the first and second-place finishes of Kristin Woodring and Courtney Stanchock in the 100 breaststroke.
Michigan also claimed two victors, with Justine Mueller winning the 400 IM and Lindsay Smith taking home the 200 free crown with a Big Ten record time of 1:45.26.
The Wolverines are currently in fourth place with 308 points, and trail the host Hoosiers by 32 points for third place. Purdue remains in fifth place for a second-consecutive night with 255 points. Minnesota (211), Northwestern (191), Iowa (174), Ohio State (141), Illinois (137) and Michigan State (62) round out the 11-team field.
"We're feeling good heading into tomorrow; we have a lot of good races still left," said Wright-Eger. "The young ones on our team are extremely feisty, so I want them to stay aggressive and go after every point."
Prelims begin Saturday at 11 a.m. with the 200 backstroke. Live results of the Big Ten Championships can be accessed here.