TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Blake Rowe swept the 100 and 200 backstroke events as one of three Boilermakers to move up Purdue Men’s Swimming’s all-time leaderboards at the season-opening, two-day Seminole Fall Classic hosted by Florida State.
Men’s Team Scores
1.) Florida State 365
2.) Purdue 239
3.) West Virginia 186.5
4.) Tampa 167.5
The Boilermakers won four events on the weekend, headlined by 1-2 finishes in the 200 backstroke and 200 individual medley Saturday. Rowe was part of both tandems, going 1-2 with Dylan Burau in the 200 back and then finishing as the runner-up to classmate Evan Mackesy in the 200 IM.
Freshman Jonah Lee was Purdue’s top finisher in all three breaststroke events, headlined by his victory in the 100 breast Saturday. Lee moved into 12th place in program history with a time of 53.59.
Lativa native Jānis Dzirkalis impressed in his NCAA debut while racing in short course yardage events for the first time. Friday, Dzirkalis brought home Purdue’s 200 medley relay team with an electrical 50 free split of 18.70. He teamed up with Burau (22.30), Lee (24.02) and Alex Hotta (21.21) for a time of 1:26.23, good for eighth in program history.
Individually, Dzirkalis was the runner-up in the 50 and 100 free, finishing second to Florida State record holder and French national Michel Arkhangelesky in both events. Arkhangelesky out touched Dzirkalis by .02 hundredths in the 50 free. Dzirkalis’ time (19.56) was just .05 hundredths shy of Purdue’s freshman record (19.51) that has stood since 2019.
Moved Up Purdue’s All-Time Leaderboards
• Jānis Dzirkalis, 19.56 in 50 Free – 8th in Team History
• Jānis Dzirkalis, 43.29 in 100 Free – 7th in Team History
• Burau, J. Lee, Hotta, Dzirkalis, 1:26.23 in 200 Medley Relay – 8th in Team History
• Blake Rowe, 47.47 in 100 Back – 11th in Team History
• Jonah Lee, 53.59 in 100 Breast – 12th Team History
NCAA Provisional Qualifying Times (B Cuts)
• Jānis Dzirkalis – 50 Free (19.56) & 100 Free (43.29)
• Blake Rowe – 100 Back (47.47) & 200 Back (1:42.66)
• Jonah Lee – 100 Breast (53.59)
• Evan Mackesy – 400 IM (3:47.63)
The Boilermakers return to action Saturday, Oct. 11 for the home opener at the Morgan J. Burke Aquatic Center. Purdue will host teams from around the state for the annual Dan Ross Indiana Intercollegiate. Action begins at noon and admission for all home meets is free this season.
1-2 Finishes, Rowe's Backstroke Sweep Highlight FSU Trip
Blake Rowe was part of each of Purdue's 1-2 finishes as the Men placed 2nd at the Seminole Fall Classic.