SEASON-OPENING WEEKEND INFORMATION
Purdue Men’s & Women’s Swimmers at Team Be Better Invitational
Friday, Sept. 26 at 3 p.m. ET
Canham Natatorium / Ann Arbor, Mich.
Meet Field: Purdue, Michigan, Calvin University, Hope College
Purdue Men’s Swimmers at Seminole Fall Classic
Day 1: Friday, Sept. 26 at 7 p.m. ET
Day 2: Saturday, Sept. 27 at 10 a.m. ET
Morcom Aquatics Center / Tallahassee, Florida
Men’s Meet Field: Purdue, Florida State, West Virginia, Tampa
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – The Purdue Swimmers open their seasons with September road trips for the first time as the men split their squad while joining the women in a return to the Team Be Better Invitational in the state of Michigan.
The Boilermakers sent 12 men to Tallahassee for the Seminole Fall Classic, which features 20 swimming events contested over two days (Friday at 7 p.m., Saturday at 10 a.m.). It will be contested outdoors at Florida State’s Marcom Aquatic Center. West Virginia and Tampa joined Purdue and FSU among the four-team field. All teams will enter two swimmers in the scoring heat of each event. Tampa was the 2024 NCAA Division II national champion and finished as the runner-up last season.
Women’s swimming is traveling its full roster to Ann Arbor for the Boilermakers’ second appearance at the Team Be Better Invitational, which is slated for Friday at 3 p.m. They’ll be joined by 15 swimmers from Purdue’s men’s roster. Michigan-based schools Calvin University and Hope College joined the University of Michigan as co-founders of the meet and are back in the mix this season.
The Purdue Divers opted to make their season debut at the Boilermakers’ home opener – the annual Dan Ross Indiana Intercollegiate on Saturday, Oct. 11.
The Team Be Better Invitational features 13 events and is contested as a non-scoring exhibition while featuring a pair of mixed-gender relays as well as other unique (and fun) events like a 7x25 mystery shootout and 50 freestyle underwater with fins.
Active Boilermakers Abby Marcukaitis (100 back), Caitlin Hurley (5x100 free), Pat Broderick (5x100 free) and Ana Rojas (50 free underwater with fins) all won events at the Team Be Better Invitational last year when it was hosted by the Michigan Lakeshore Aquatics club at the Holland Aquatic Center.
Holland is the hometown of the late Ian Miskelley, a former University of Michigan swimmer. The meet was founded in the fall of 2022 and contested in Grand Rapids (2022) and Ann Arbor (2023) the first two years. It is held as a benefit meet supporting the Team Be Better Foundation, which was started by Miskelley’s parents after his death in the fall of 2020. The Team Be Better Foundation is an advocate of mental health awareness, providing family-centered mental health consultations and involve support, education and advocacy for adolescents and young adults.
Marcukaitis (Middleville) is among the Purdue women’s five Michigan natives returning to their home state Friday. Grace Ackerman (Grand Haven), Brooklyn Beauch (Byron Center), Ashley Lund (Rockford) and Kate Stanley (Bloomfield Hills) are also natives of the Great Lakes State. The Boilermakers return to Michigan for Halloween Weekend when they square off against Oakland and Cincinnati in a two-day triple dual at the Oakland University Aquatic Center in Rochester.
ORDER OF EVENTS AT TEAM BE BETTER INVITATIONAL
200 Medley Relay
100 Fly
100 Back
100 Breast
50 Free
500 Free (5 separate 100s last year)
100 IM
200 Mixed Medley Relay
200 Free
25 Mystery Shootouts (1 Heat)
200 Mixed Free Relay
50 Free Underwater with Fins
400 Free Relay
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ORDER OF EVENTS AT SEMIFINAL FALL CLASSIC |
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Friday |
Saturday |