TYR Invite (Northwestern) - Day Three

Northwestern Invitational
Team Standings
1. Northwestern,1,375
2. Iowa State, 755
3. Michigan State, 692
4. Cleveland State, 311
5. Kenyon, 309
6. Illinois-Chicago, 216


IOWA STATE

The Iowa State swim team didn’t want to leave the TYR Northwestern Invitational on a sour note. They didn’t. The Cyclones picked up two event wins on the day to lock up a second-place team finish with 755 points. Host Northwestern took the team title at 1, 375 points.

Nan Liu had another big day. Liu took the first qualifying spot in the 50 butterfly by almost a second over teammate Abby Glaser. In the finals, Liu and Glaser kept their one-two spots in tact with Liu winning in 24.57 and Glaser right behind in 25.00.

“Nan had another great day today,” Iowa State head coach Duane Sorenson said. “She had a tough double with the 50 fly and 200 back. Dani Harris really made her work for that 200 back title.”

Liu also put on a show in the 200 backstroke prelims, being the only swimmer under the two minute mark in the qualifying races with freshman Dani Harris right behind her in second. Jenny Vondenkamp was fifth in the prelims. In the finals, Liu once again went under the two minute mark, with an NCAA ‘B’ cut time of 1:58.94. Harris came in second at 2:00.56 and Vondenkamp seventh.

“All the backstrokers swam well,” Sorenson said. “Sarah Norris had a great day and Jenny Vondenkamp also swam well in the 200 back to get into the finals.”
Harris’ impact was also felt in the 200 breaststroke. The Clive, Iowa native put up the second-fastest qualifying time and was joined by Jeli Nixt and Marley Suckow in the finals. In the afternoon session, Harris registered a second-place finish with Suckow in sixth and Nixt in seventh.

Lindsey Behrens and Glaser were the Cyclone finalists in the 100 freestyle with Behrens posting the top qualifying spot in 51.46. For the finals, Behrens slipped to fifth in 51.61 and Glaser seventh in 51.81.

In the 50 backstroke, Thompson and Sarah Norris made the finals with Thompson in second and Norris only .03 seconds behind. Thompson would take third in 27.04 and Norris fourth in 27.14.

Thompson, Vondenkamp and Taylor Vieau all posted fast times in the 1,650 freestyle. Thompson led the way finishing sixth in 17:14.50. Vondenkamp was seventh in 17:19.04 and Vieau ninth in 17:37.94.

The Iowa State divers also finished up competition today in Lincoln, Neb. at the Nebraska Invitational. Tien Tran completed the weekend sweep, winning platform with a score of 220.95. Abby Christensen (199.15) and Sarah Nelson (193.90) also climbed into the top five with third and fourth place finishes respectively.

“I was happy with how they performed and competed.,” diving coach Jeff Warrick said. “We still have some work to do. We are looking forward to our other events with platform at Georgia and the Big 12 Championships.”

Iowa State has next weekend off before it hits the road on Dec. 5 for a double-dual meet with Northern Iowa and UW-Green Bay in Cedar Falls.

Individual Results (Iowa State point scorers listed)
50 butterfly
1. Liu, Iowa State,24.57
2. Glaser, 25.00
12. Behrens, 26.47
14. Wollin, 26.88
200 backstroke
1. Liu, Iowa State, 1:58.94 (NCAA ‘B’ cut)
2. Harris, 2:00.56
5. Vondenkamp, 2:05.82
12. Tomek, 2:06.97
14. Norris, 2:08.60
16. Bauer, 2:11.30
100 freestyle
1. Wong, Northwestern, 49.82
5. Behrens, 51.61
7. Glaser, 51.81
200 breaststroke
1. Wilson, Northwestern, 2:16.29
2. Harris, 2:17.25
6. Suckow, 2:21.94
7. Nixt, 2:22.50
14. Frodyma, 2:28.12
50 backstroke
1. Fisher, Michigan State, 26.79
3. Thompson, 27.04
4. Norris, 27.14
200 butterfly
1. Points, Northwestern, 2:02.73
9. McCulley, 2:07.51
15. Doran, 2:13.43
1650 freestyle
1. Grigg, Northwestern, 16:58.10
6. Thompson, 17:14.50
7. Vondenkamp, 17:19.04
9. Vieau, 17:37.94
400 free relay
1. Northwestern, 3:22.80
3. Iowa State (Liu, Behrens, Glaser, Tomek), 3:27.69

NORTHWESTERN WOMEN

Northwestern added three more NCAA `B' provisional qualifying times to its TYR
Invitational haul during Sunday's final day of action, easily swimming away with the championship
at the six-team meet.

NU finished with 1,375 points compared to Iowa State's second-place total of 755. Michigan State
came in third with 692 points, Cleveland State was fourth with 311, Kenyon placed fifth with 309
and Illinois-Chicago rounded out the field with 216 points.

Ellen Grigg (Charlotte, N.C./Charlotte Latin School) led off Sunday's afternoon finals session with
a win in the 1,650 free. The junior's time of 16:58.10 was the only one to break the 17:00.00 mark
in the meet. Grigg was followed by teammates Beth Loe (Upper Arlington, Ohio/Upper Arlington) in
third, Jenn Kocsis (Omaha, Neb./Marian) in fifth and Kate Stephensen (Davis, Calif./Davis Senior)
in eighth.

Alex Kraus (Birmingham, Ala./Vestavia Hills) and Meghan Cavanaugh (Anchorage, Alaska/East
Anchorage) went 3-4 in the 50 fly championship final to lead NU. They were following by a trio of
Wildcats comprised of Teisha Lightbourne (Nassau, Bahamas/Peddie School (N.J.)) in sixth, Katie
Eschenburg (Hartland, Wis./Arrowhead) in seventh and Marybeth Hall (Brighton, Mich./Brighton) in eighth.

The Wildcats' three entries in the championship final of the 200 back took third, fourth and fifth
places. Liza Engstrom (Reno, Nev./Robert McQueen) was the top 'Cat with a 2:02.70, followed by
Meaghan Fenn (New Rochelle, N.Y./The Ursuline School) in fourth and Genny Szymanski (Haines,
Alaska/Haines) in fifth. Jacquie Godbe (Rapid City, S.D./Stevens) won the consolation final with a
2:04.75 for NU.

Emily Wong (Nepean, Ontario/St. Joseph's) continued her strong TYR Invite with an NCAA `B'
provisional qualifying time of 49.82 to win the 100 freestyle by nearly a full body length. Fellow
Wildcats Kassia Shishkoff (Raleigh, N.C./St. David's School) (51.01) in second, Lightbourne (51.40)
in third and Caitlin Masney (Hong Kong, China/Chinese International School) in fourth (51.47)
completed a Northwestern sweep of the top four spots. Taylor Reynolds (St. Louis, Mo./Webster
Groves) also was in the championship final, placing sixth, while Sheila O'Neill (Dunwoody,
Ga./Marist School) won the consolation final and Hall captured the non-scoring bonus heat.

Jenny Wilson (Bethesda, Md./Sidwell Friends School) picked up an NCAA `B' cut in winning the 200
breast by .96 of a second, finishing with a time of 2:16.29. Kathleen Patterson (Naperville,
Ill./Neuqua Valley) placed third with a 2:19.54 and Hannah Points (Tualatin, Ore./Tualatin) was
fifth in 2:21.83. Fenn was the lone Wildcat in the consolation final, placing second in the heat
and 10th overall with a 2:22.42.

Engstrom's 27.03 in the 50 back gave her a second-place finish in the event, followed by fellow
Wildcat Eschenburg in fifth with a 27.36. Erin Reilly (Frankfort, Ill./Lincoln-Way East) was second
in the consolation final and 10th overall while Godbe was fourth in the consolation heat and 12th
overall. Reynolds (14th) and Katie McCullough (Grand Rapids, Mich./Forest Hills Central) (15th)
also scored points in the 50 back for NU.

Points and Shishkoff swept the top two spots in the 200 fly, with Points barely out-touching her
teammate 2:02.73 to 2:02.83. Cavanaugh (2:03.67) placed fourth, Meredith King (duPont Manual)
(2:03.84) fifth and Kraus (2:07.57) seventh for NU in the championship heat. O'Neill was 11th
overall after a third-place effort in the consolation final.

The Wildcat team of Masney, Wong, Lightbourne and Shishkoff blazed to a 3:22.80 winning time in the
400 free relay, easily defeating the nearest competition (the Wildcats' own `B' relay squad) with
Northwestern's third `B' cut of the day.

The Wildcats now are off until their holiday training trip to Boca Raton, Fla.

NORTHWESTERN MEN

Northwestern notched two more NCAA `B' provisional qualifying times Sunday during
the final sessions of the 2009 TYR Invitational, finishing the six-team meet in second place. Sean
Mathews (St. Louis, Mo./Lafayette) came out on top of the individual standings with 95 points on
the weekend while teammate Charlie Rimkus (Tustin, Calif./Beckman) was second with 90 total points.

Michigan State came out on top of the team standings with 970.5 points while NU totaled 806.5
during the three-day competition. Thirty time defending NCAA Division III champ Kenyon took third
in the Division I invitational with 505 points, Cleveland State was fourth with 489.5, a Michigan
split-squad came in fifth with 454.5 and Illinois-Chicago rounded out the field with 408 points.

Brian Kerr (East Grand Rapids, Mich./East Grand Rapids) and Mathews swept the top two spots in the
50 fly to kick off Sunday's finals action. Kerr was behind at the turn but blazed home to out-touch
Mathews, 22.28 to 22.30. Bryan Pinkston (Richmond, Va./St. Christopher's) took home sixth place
points in the championship final while Chris Doman (Pittsburgh, Pa./St. Charles Prep (Columbus,
Ohio)) was 10th overall after a second-place effort in the consolation final.

Varun Shivakumar (Hoffman Estates/Fremd) took third in the 200 back with a 1:50.34 to lead NU,
followed by Jan Hanulik (Cavisov, Czech Republic/Sportovni Gymnazium) and his 1:51.48 in fourth.

Kerr tied for fourth place with Kenyon's Zachary Turk with a 46.34 to lead Northwestern in the 100
free. Alex Tyler (Birmingham, Mich./Birmingham Groves) was right behind him in sixth with a 46.38.

Rimkus finished second in the 1,650 freestyle for Northwestern, but his time of 15:35.07 was good
enough for an NCAA `B" provisional qualifying time. Peter Park (Princeton, N.J./Peddie School)
followed in third place with a 15:54.20 while John Frutiger (Alma, Mich./Alma) came in sixth with a
16:07.34.

Tyler's 2:02.79 in the 200 breast was good for second place for Northwestern while Jay Calhoun
(Palos Verdes Peninsula, Calif./Palos Verdes Peninsula) placed fifth with a 2:08.97 and Nathan
Butler (Cincinnati, Ohio/Turpin) came in eighth in the championship heat. Freshman Cal Staben
(Lexington, Ky./Henry Clay) cut nearly two seconds off his prelim time to finish second in the
consolation final of the event, 10th overall.

Nick Johnson (Yardley, Pa./Pennsburg) was the lone Wildcat entry in either scoring final of the 50
back, placing second in the consolation heat and 10th overall with a 25.10.

Mathews obliterated the field in the 200 fly to win by almost four full seconds with a `B' time of
1:47.35. Rimkus was third in 1:51.31 and Park took eighth in the championship heat. In the
consolation final, Tony Mattar (Lake Orion, Mich./Lake Orion) swam a 1:53.83 to come in 11th
overall, followed by Pinkston in 13th and Doman in 16th.

In the 400 free relay, Mathews, Kerr, Alex Ratajczyk (Parlin, N.J./Sayreville War Memorial) and
Tyler placed second with a time of 3:02.19.

Northwestern now is off until its holiday training trip to the U.S. Olympic Training Center in
Colorado Springs, Colo.