Jan. 28, 2006
MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. - The 14th-ranked Boilermakers won two of three duals Saturday at their regular season ending quadrangular at the University of Minnesota Aquatic Center.
Purdue beat Minnesota for the first time since 2002, 192-161, and toppled Illinois for a sixth-straight year, 255-98. However, the Boilermakers lost their lead to the ninth-ranked Wisconsin Badgers, 177-176.
Purdue led UW by 29 points after Friday night, but couldn't keep pace Saturday, winning just three of nine events. Women's head coach Cathy Wright-Eger acknowledges one more win would have made all the difference, but was proud of her team's effort regardless of the outcome.
"This was one of our best quad meets in years," said Wright-Eger. "We were competitive against everyone, although some of our kids weren't feeling well. But they didn't back down from the pain."
Saturday's victories were earned by Carlene Takaki in the 100 fly (55.45), Carrie McCambridge off the platform (282.80) and the 400 freestyle relay of Susan Hentschel, Kimbre Vogel, Lauren Willis and Erica Chandler, which posted a season best and NCAA provisional cut of 3:23.69.
Both Takaki and McCambridge led the Boilermakers this weekend with three wins each. Takaki won both butterfly races and with the 200 medley relay, while McCambridge won all three diving competitions.
McCambridge's score off the tower established a new varsity record, giving her all six Purdue records. The three-time All American owns the school's top marks in the 1-meter (6 and 11 dives), 3-meter (6 and 11 dives) and platform (6 and 9 dives).
McCambridge's teammates were just as phenomenal, collecting the second through fourth place points. Lauren Hallyburton was the runner-up with 262.65 points, Amanda Miller was third with 254.20 points and Amber Kerns was fourth with 248.00 points.
Wright-Eger also was satisfied with the performance from Rory Belk, who is a native of the Twin Cities.
"This was Rory's spotlight meet," said Wright-Eger. "She had friends, family and fans from all over the area here to cheer her on, and she didn't let them down. Her time in the 200 breast was one of her bests. She really stepped up despite the hoopla."
The spotlight will continue to shine on the Boilermakers through the next three weeks as they prepare for the Big Ten Championships, which take place at Ohio State, Feb. 15 to 18.
If Purdue hopes to move up to fourth place or higher, Wright-Eger knows they'll have to compete mistake-free.
"Some people are still making mistakes, so hopefully we saw the last of them this weekend," said Wright-Eger.