Feb. 19, 2005
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - Christine Leupold's reign as the varsity record holder in the 100 free was a short-lived one.
The senior team captain broke Susan Hentschel's mark of 49.99 in Saturday prelims with a 49.86, only to see Hentschel return the favor during finals.
Hentschel's fourth-place effort of 49.68 in the 100 free, earned her a fourth varsity record and second NCAA automatic qualifying time for this week. Leupold placed sixth, finishing the course in 50.06. In the 100 free consolation finals, Tracy Duchac was second with a personal record of 50.40 and Katie Seleskie was fourth in 50.65.
These same four Boilermakers later combined to break the varsity record in the 400 free relay. Leupold, Seleskie, Duchac and Hentschel placed third in 3:20.55, beating the 1-year-old record by only .28 seconds.
"It's a huge relief knowing that I've made it to NCAA's," said Hentschel. "Getting `A' cuts was one of my goals, because I didn't want to have to wait to see if I had made it. I had some good races and some bad, but the good definitely outweighed the bad."
Also this weekend, Hentschel set a new varsity record in the 50 free (22.86) and with the 200 (1:31.09) and 800 freestyle relay (7:17.99) teams.
All of Purdue's varsity and personal records and NCAA `A' and `B' cuts added up to a fifth-place finish. The Boilermakers' final tally was 399 points, a 62 point improvement from last season.
The Penn State Nittany Lions left Bloomington with the team trophy, scoring 693 points. The Blue and White dominated the meet over the last three days and beat runner-up Indiana by almost 200 points. In a battle for third place, Wisconsin edged Michigan, 479-474.
"This meet was a roller coaster ride for us, but I'm pleased with how we finished," said head coach Cathy Wright-Eger. "The women fought in every session for every point, and if they ever had a bad race, they would always rebound. I'm proud of my group, they showed a lot of class and competitive fire."
The Lions showcased their depth from start to finish Saturday, scoring seven individuals in the mile, three in the 200 butterfly, and two each in the 200 breaststroke, backstroke and 100 freestyle.
Whereas PSU built its lead with massive depth, over 40-percent of the Hoosier's points came from their divers, who scored 205 of the team's 497 points. Off the platform tower Saturday, the Hoosiers claimed six of the top nine places, including Cassandra Cardinell's first-place score of 539.15. During prelims, Cardinell shattered the Big Ten platform record with 588.65 points.
Last year's Big Ten Diver of the Championships, junior Carrie McCambridge, earned a fifth-place and varsity record score of 459.05 points. In the prelim round, McCambridge placed eighth with 378.35 points.
McCambridge's old platform record of 413.50 was registered at last season's conference championship meet.
Purdue also had productive scoring runs in the 200 breast and 200 fly. Freshman Jennifer Lavers was again the Boilermakers' top finisher in the breast, coming in fifth at 2:17.33. Sophomore Rory Belk won the `B' finals in 2:17.16 and rookie Shannon Grace was third with a 2:17.85. Both Belk's and Grace's times were lifetime bests and NCAA provisional cuts.
Sophomore Carlene Takaki shaved over a second off her prelim time to move up four places and finish fourth in the 200 fly at 2:01.17. In prelims, Takaki was eighth after posting a 2:02.64. Sophomore Jennifer Merte added another point to her week's total with a 16th-place time of 2:05.81.
Purdue also claimed a 16th-place point from Katharine Telfer in the 200 backstroke (2:03.79), while Yvonne Laaper just missed scoring with her 17th-place time of 17:10.20 in the 1,650-freestyle.
The Boilermakers continue to prepare for the NCAA's next weekend with their last-chance meet, known as the Boiler-Make-It Invitational. The meet takes place Feb. 26 and 27.