The Indiana women’s swimming and diving team picked up one Big Ten title and finished second in another race to sit atop the leaderboard after day one of the Big Ten Women’s swimming and Diving Championships in Minneapolis, Minn.
IU sits in first after two events with 74 points. The host Gophers are second (72), with Wisconsin (60), Ohio State (58) and Penn State (58) rounding out the top five.
Indiana came out of the gates swinging as Brooklynn Snodgrass, Bronwyn Pasloski, Gia Dalesandro and Kait Flederbach put up a school-record time of 1:36.69 to win the 200 medley relay. It is IU’s first 200 medley relay title since 2008, and its fifth overall. Michigan held a slim lead after the backstroke and breaststroke legs, but Dalesandro put up a 23.21 split on her 50 fly, with Flederbach bringing them home in 21.97.
Indiana came up just short in defense of its 800 freestyle relay title, taking second in 7:03.08. That is the fifth-fastest time in school history. Haley Lips and Cynthia Pammett swam the first two legs, and it was Vrooman going 1:45.01 and Snodgrass 1:45.60 moving the Hoosiers up into the second spot.
The Hoosiers went into the relays with Vrooman, Pasloski and Snodgrass unshaved and unrested.
A full day of action gets underway at 12 p.m. ET tomorrow with prelims in the 500 freestyle, 200 individual medley, 50 freestyle and 1-meter diving. Vrooman is the defending Big Ten Champion in the 500 free.
Illinois
The Fighting Illini swimming and diving team finished the first night of action at the Big Ten Championships tied with Michigan State for 11th place (24 points) Wednesday night. The Orange and Blue set three school records in addition to posting season-best times in both relay events.
"To get three school records in the first session is a good start to the meet," head coach Sue Novitsky said. "The girls looked strong and are ready to race. We need to stay calm and let the swims happen."
Indiana sits in first place after day one with 74 points, followed by Minnesota (72), Wisconsin (60), Ohio State (58), Penn State (58), Michigan (54), Iowa (44), Nebraska (42), Northwestern (32), Purdue (28), Illinois (24) and Michigan State (24).
The first Illini to compete in the pool, Alison Meng, started the championships off strong breaking the school record in the 50 back (25.02) with her lead off split in the 200 medley relay. Meng previously held the school record (25.57), which she set at the Big Ten Champions last season.
The 200 medley relay team of Meng, Isabella Schamber, Lori Lynn and Megan Marchuk clocked a season-best time of 1:41.90 breaking the school record. Meng also swam a leg in the previous school record (1:41.94), which she set in 2012 with Mckee, McGowan and senior Courtney Pope.
In the 800 Freestyle Relay, Pope, Gabbie Stecker, Mary Beth Howard and Marchuk swam an all-time best time of 7:18.82. The school record swim was over two seconds faster than previous record (7:20.87) set last year by Marchuk, Lamb, Howard and Pope.
The Orange and Blue will return to action tomorrow at 11 a.m. CT.
Iowa
The University of Iowa women’s swimming and diving team swam to two school records during the first day of the 2014 Big Ten Championships, hosted by the University of Minnesota. Iowa currently sits in seventh place with 44 points, while Indiana (74), and Minnesota (72), hold the top two spots.
The first day of competition only saw two races take place, the 200-medley relay and the 800-freestyle relay. Iowa opened with its first of two school records behind the quartet of senior Lindsay Seemann, freshman Emma Sougstad, and seniors Abbey Tuchscherer and Elise Borja. The foursome touched out in 1:40.12 to place eighth and secure a new school record. The previous program-best of 1:40.97 was set last year by former Hawkeye Heather Arseth, along with Karolina Wartalowicz, Tuchscherer and Olivia Kabacinski.
The Hawkeyes swam to their second school record in the 800-freestyle relay behind the team of Kabacinski, junior Becky Stoughton, and seniors Emily Hovren and Seemann. The quartet, who finished eighth, touched out in 7:12.49 to break the quartet’s previous program-best time of 7:14.99, set last year.
Nebraska
The Husker 200-yard medley relay team raced to the second-fastest time in school history, Payton Michaud and Anna Filipcic teamed up for a second-place finish in the three-meter synchronized dive exhibition, and the Nebraska swimming and diving team began competition at the 2014 Big Ten Swimming and Diving Championships on Wednesday at the University of Minnesota Aquatic Center.
Nebraska's 200 medley relay team of Jacqueline Juffer, Bria Deveaux, Shannon Guy and Taryn Collura finished the meet's opening event in seventh with a time of 1:40.07, missing the school-record mark by less than a second. Head Coach Pablo Morales was elated with the way his squad followed last season's school record.
"Last year's opening event was amazing," Morales said. "This year's relay team had two newcomers, but they were still able to come within a second of the record. Jacqueline Juffer was especially impressive, coming in with no experience at the Big Ten Championships and giving us a solid opening."
In the second event, the three-meter synchronized dive exhibition, Payton Michaud and Anna Filipcic took second place. According to Morales, the senior/freshman combination gained a great deal of confidence and added to the excitement of the entire team with their performance.
In the session's final event, the Huskers took ninth in the 800-yard freestyle relay. The team of Morgan Flannigan, Bailey Pons, Kelly Dunn, and Natalie Morris finished in 7:17.04, earning the fifth-fastest time in Husker history.
Overall, Coach Morales was pleased with the way his team performed in the meet's opening session, claiming sole possession of eighth place through two events. He hopes they can keep their edge for the next three days and continue to put their season training on display.
"I thought it was a very positive first session," Morales said. "The 800 free relay girls got the most out of their talents, including a lifetime best from Morgan Flannigan to lead off the event. Overall, I thought today went really, really well, and our girls are excited to continue competition tomorrow."
Penn State
Three program records and two NCAA “A” automatic qualifying marks highlighted the opening day of the Big Ten Championships for the Penn State women’s swimming team on Wednesday evening at the University of Minnesota Aquatic Center. The Nittany Lions set program-bests in each of the relay events while also securing spots in the upcoming NCAA Championships.
Sophomore Alyson Ackman (Montreal, Quebec) also recorded an individual record for the Nittany Lions, posting a school record time in the 200 free as the lead-off swimmer for the 800 free relay team. Ackman registered a lead-off split of 1:44.04 to best her own record of 1:44.83 by nearly a second.
“I think there was a lot of excitement going into the evening,” said Penn State head swimming and diving head coach Tim Murphy. “Both relays set team records, which is a nice step forward, and Alyson Ackman set a team record in the 200 free leading off the 800 free relay. Of course making ‘A’ cuts is a great achievement as well, so a lot of positive things happened tonight and we are very excited.”
The 200 medley relay squad of Mackenzie Powers (Sycamore, Ill.), Haley Sinatro (West Hartford, Conn.), Carolyn Fittin (Sea Girt, N.J.) and Katelyn Miller (Hershey, Pa.) kicked off the 2014 Big Ten Championships by turning in a record time of 1:37.61 for a fifth place finish. The quartet’s mark edges the previous top time of 1:37.97 set last season by Powers, Merritt Krawczyk, Fittin and Paige Whitmire.
The 800 free relay team of Ackman, Kaitlin Jones (Midlothian, Va.), Caitlyn Karr (Reading, Pa.) and Gabi Shishkoff (Franklin, Mass.) followed suit, clocking in at a program-record 7:05.44 and placing fourth in the event. The squad clipped nearly three seconds off of the previous record mark of 7:08.26, which was set a season ago by the same team.
