Nov. 18, 2005
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - Purdue's 21st-ranked swimming and diving team finds itself atop the standings following the first day of competition at the Purdue Invitational with 232 points. The Boilermakers were led by senior co-captains Erica Chandler and Carrie McCambridge, both of whom won their respective events.
Chandler broke the varsity record in the 500 freestyle twice Friday. During prelims, Chandler recorded a time of 4:48.01, breaking the previous standard of 4:48.11, originally set by Susan Wolfle in 1991. Chandler proceeded to improve on that mark in finals with a time of 4:47.09, which is currently the second fastest in the nation.
Chandler's time beat runner-up Kim Larson (4:52.53) of Florida by over five seconds, as well as Gator All-American Caroline Burckle (4:52.82), who placed third.
Chandler scored in three events Friday night. She first swam on the fifth-place 200 freestyle relay (1:33.92) and later anchored the 400 medley relay to a third-place showing (3:46.03).
McCambridge's win came off the 1-meter springboard, scoring 313.95 points. Teammate junior Amanda Miller also boosted the Boilermaker's lead with a third-place total of 269.40.
The 36 diving points helped Purdue overtake the fourth-ranked Gators (200 points) for first place. Tennessee is third with 182 points and is followed by Northwestern (144.5), Missouri (143.5), Missouri State (58) and Southern Illinois (51).
In addition to Chandler, 12 other Boilermakers qualified for night swims. Jennifer Merte was Purdue's top finisher in the 200 IM, placing fourth with an NCAA provisional cut of 2:03.95. Also scoring in this race were Shannon Grace, Stacie Lesneski and Rory Belk.
Six Boilermakers, led by sophomore Lauren Willis scored in the 50 freestyle. Willis placed fifth in 23.68 and was followed by Susan Hentschel, Kimbre Vogel, Jenae Gill, Rachel Sitarz and Grace. The Boilermakers combined for 57 points in this race.
Purdue's men's team did not have as a successful day as the women, but still came through in the 200 IM and 3-meter diving.
Sophomore Romain Maire was nipped at the wall by Northwestern's Mike Alexandrov, 1:48.04 to 1:48.13, for first place. However, the Boilermakers still scored the most points in this race as Giordan Pogioli (5th; 1:49.94) and Jin-Soo (Kim (8th; 1:54.26) finishing among the top eight.
Steven LoBue won the 3-meter contest with 369.35 points, beating runner-up Jonathan Wilcox of Florida by 39 points. Josh Karshen (293.85), JR Hillis (293.45) and Zach Schultz finished fifth, sixth and eighth.
The Boilermakers finished the night strong with a third-place time of 3:20.16 in the 400 medley relay. The team was comprised of Maire, Pogioli, Jon Ranochak and Trey Smith.
The strong showing in diving placed the Boilermakers one point out of second, trailing Northwestern, 178 to 179, with two more days left to compete. No. 7 Florida leads all teams with 254 points.
Rounding out the six-team field are Southern Illinois (161.5), Missouri State (110) and Missouri (79.5).
Competition resumes Saturday morning at 10 a.m., with diving beginning at noon.