Indiana
Indiana University senior Lindsay Vrooman successfully defended her title in the 500 freestyle and the 200 free relay set a new school record to highlight day two of the Big Ten Women’s Swimming and Diving Championships in Minneapolis, Minn.
The Hoosiers currently sit in second place with 211 points. The host Gophers lead at 258, with Penn State (157), Ohio State (151) and Wisconsin (144) making up the top five.
In a repeat of night one, the Hoosiers opened with a new school record as Kait Flederbach, Stephanie Armstrong, Brooklynn Snodgrass and Cynthia Pammett put up a time of 1:29.49 in the 200 freestyle relay, good for third place. That tops the old mark of 1:30.14 set in 2011. Flederbach’s lead-off 50 of 22.40 is the second-fastest time in school history.
Vrooman successfully defended her title in the 500 freestyle, clocking a 4:36.91 and a nearly two-second victory. That is an NCAA A standard for the senior and the fourth-fastest time in IU history, with Vrooman owning four of the five top times. Stephanie Marchuk started her Big Ten Championship career with a seventh-place finish, going 4:45.52, while Haley Lips was eighth (4:48.67). Marchuk went a career best of 4:45.00 in prelims, while Lips earned her championship spot with a time of 4:44.31.
In the bonus final, Madelon Webb topped her personal best set in the morning swim with a 4:49.54 to finish fourth in the heat and 20th overall. She went 4:49.74 in her morning swim. Brenna MacLean earned a spot in the bonus final with her prelim career best of 4:48.13 but elected not to swim.
Dorina Szekeres matched her 2013 finish in the 200 individual medley, taking fifth in 1:58.07. That is nearly a second faster than her time last season but just off her personal best of 1:57.87 set in the morning session. Bronwyn Pasloski took eighth with a time of 2:00.27. Her prelim time of 1:58.75 in prelims is a career best.
Gia Dalesandro took the consolation final to finish ninth overall with a career-best time of 1:58.61. Bailey Pressey was 16th overall with a time of 2:01.96 in the consolation final. She swam a personal best 2:00.59 in prelims.
Olivia Barker won heat three with a career best of 2:02.70, taking nearly six seconds off her previous time and placing 28th overall. Rachel Thompson clocked a 2:10.43, putting her 70th.
Flederbach matched her prelim time exactly in the 50 freestyle final, going 22.50 for a fifth-place finish. Armstrong took fourth in the bonus final and 20th overall with a time of 23.10. In prelims she set a new personal best with a time of 23.01. Claudia Di Capua finished 64th with a PR of 23.85, while Audrey Scott was 84th with her career time of 24.37.
In the nightcap, Kate Hillman tallied a career-best score of 321.60 on the 1-meter to celebrate her birthday with a sixth-place finish. Hillman advanced to the championship final after posting a score of 293.05 in prelims.
Sophomore Olivia Kabacinski swam to a school record in the 50 freestyle to pace the University of Iowa women's swimming and diving team on day two of the 2014 Big Ten Championships. The Hawkeyes currently are tied for eighth, along with Nebraska, with 81 points, while Minnesota (258) and Indiana (211) lead the way.
Kabacinski’s school record came during the morning’s preliminary round of the 50-free. The sophomore touched out in 22.70 to set a new school record, and qualify for the ‘B’ final of the event. Kabacinski bested her previous school record time of 22.88, set in 2012. Senior Elise Borja, also swimming in the event, set the second-fastest time in program history during the prelims when she finished in 22.96. The duo of Hawkeyes would go on to place 14th and 21st, respectively, in the finals.
Iowa opened the finals swimming the 200-freestyle relay. The quartet of Kabacinski, Borja, freshman Emma Sougstad, and sophomore Allie Orvis touched out in 1:31.93 to record the third fastest time in program history, while finishing ninth in the event.
Junior Becky Stoughton paced the Hawkeyes in the 500 freestyle when she finished 13th in the finals, touching out in 4:46.05. During prelims earlier in the day, Stoughton recorded a season-best in the event, finishing in 4:45.23, an NCAA ‘B’ cut time.
The Hawkeyes went about rewriting the record book during prelims of the 200 IM, behind the quartet of Sougstad, Orvis , sophomore Colleen Champa, and senior Karolina Wartalowicz. Sougstad (2:01.41) swam the third-best time, besting her previous fifth best time in program history. Orvis would record the fourth-fastest time, touching out in 2:01.76, while Champa (2:02.97) and Wartalowicz (2:03.19) posted the sixth and eighth best times in program history, respectively. Sougstad would finish 20th, with Hovren (22nd) and Orvis (23rd) also placing in the finals of the event.
In the diving well, Joelle Christy recorded a season-best in the one-meter springboard when she finished seventh with a score of 319.45. The mark puts her fifth all-time, improving upon her previous career best of 313.35.
Iowa returns for day three of the Big Ten Championships tomorrow morning, with preliminaries taking place at 11 a.m. (CT). Finals are set to once again being at 6:30 p.m.
Northwestern
Northwestern freshmen Lauren Abruzzo and Lacey Locke each swam NCAA “B” Cut times during Thursday’s final evening portion of the Big Ten Championships.
At the University of Minneasota, Abruzzo swam a 4:46.37 to score points for NU in the 500 yard freestyle, finishing No. 14.
“I was very excited going into the meet and that definitely carried through in the races. It made me have so much energy seeing my teammates cheering for me during the 500, especially at night,” Abruzzo said. “I tried to use that atmosphere to push me even more. I just really like to have fun, relax and try to enjoy this time with my team because everyone’s been working so hard and its great to spend time with them and see everyone’s work pay off. “
Locke posted a 2:01.89 in the 200 yard IM, an NCAA “B” Cut time. After finishing No. 22 in the prelims, Locke moved up to No. 18 in the finals.
“We have to keep our confidence. If you’re hurting in a race, that pain goes away very quickly,” Northwestern head coach Jimmy Tierney said. “To push through toward something special, that kind of stuff lasts a long, long time. There’s a heck of a trade off. We just have to get ourselves in that position, mentally hang tough and fight through it.”
Northwestern began the finals portion with a season best time in the 200 yard freestyle relay. The Wildcats team of Valerie Nubbe, Julia Pratt, Jackie Powell and Annika Winsnes swam a 1:32.77, besting NU’s previous top time of 1:33.92 set in Evanston in November during the TYR Invite.
Nubbe began the race swimming a season-best time of 23.46 in the first leg of the relay. It bested her previous 50 yard free season low time of 23.99 on Jan. 11.
Also in the bonus final of the 500 yard free, Erin Sosdian recorded a 4:49.88. Sophomore Emily Launer also swam in the bonus final, swimming a time of 4:56.40.
After Thursday’s session, Northwestern has scored 45 points and stands at No. 11.
On the diving boards, Cosima Lenz led the Wildcats at No. 25 with 242.50 points on the 1-meter board. Mary Kate Campbell scored 235.85 points for NU and Caroline Grant tallied a 230.25.
The Big Ten Championships continue at the University of Minnesota Friday with the prelims beginning at 11:00 a.m. CT and the finals at 6:30 p.m. Live results are available here.
Friday’s session includes the 400 IM, 100 fly, 200 free, 100 breast, 100 back and 3-meter diving.
Illinois
The Fighting Illini swimming and diving team fell to 12th place (36 points) Thursday at the Big Ten Championships, trailing 11th-place Northwestern by nine points. After day two a total of 14 Illini swimmers have posted career-best times.
Freshman Gabbie Stecker was the highlight for the Illini on day two as she swam a personal best and the second fastest time (4:58.53) in school history in the 500 free prelims, becoming the first Illini to qualify for a final event in the 2014 Big Ten Championship. Her swim also placed her second on the all-time fastest individuals list.
Stecker, who placed 18th in the prelims, was less then one second behind 16th place, which would’ve earned her a spot in the consolation finals and points for the Illini. The Betterndorf, Iowa native would go on to finish in 20th place after swimming a time of 4:49.82, good for the fourth fastest time in Illini history, in her second swim.
“We came back and had a much better day,” head coach Sue Novitsky said. “The team was more relaxed and raced tough. Gabbie Stecker earned her first second swim at the championships and she handled it very well. I am very proud of her aggressiveness and willingness to take out her races strong and fight to the finish.”
After seven events, Minnesota leads the standings with 258 points followed by Indiana (211), Penn State (157), Ohio State (151), Wisconsin (144), Purdue (138), Michigan (131), Nebraska (81), Iowa (81), Michigan State (47), Northwestern (45) and Illinois (36).
The 200 free relay group of Courtney Pope, Alison Meng, Jessica Holz and Megan Marchuk earned 12 points for the Illini with their 11th place finish. Their time of 1:32.66 was good for a season best time and the eighth fastest time in school history.
In the 500 free prelims, freshman Amelia Schilling became the fifth fastest individual all-time for the Illini and also swam the eighth fastest 500 free in school history with a time of 4:52.11.
In the 200 IM prelims, sophomore Lori Lynn also swam a season best time of 2:04.2, improving her seventh place standing on the all-time fastest individuals list.
Pope also swam a season best time (23.46) in the 50 free prelims.
On the boards, sophomore Jessica Clifford led the Illini with her one-meter dive score of 233.25.
Stecker was the only Illini to qualify for an event final on Thursday.
“We have a very strong day tomorrow with a lot of opportunities in a lot of events,” Novitsky said. “The team is doing a great job of staying behind each other and we have really good energy and excitement.”
The Orange and Blue will return to action tomorrow morning at 11 a.m. CT.
Nebraska
Senior Bailey Pons finished her 500-yard freestyle career with a career-best time, three Husker divers placed in the top 16, and the Nebraska swimming and diving team finished the first full day of competition at the Big Ten Championships tied with Iowa for eighth place. The Huskers had five individual swimmers, three divers and the 200-yard freestyle relay team competing in final rounds on Thursday evening at the University of Minnesota Aquatic Center.
The 200-yard freestyle relay team of Rebekah Land, Taryn Collura, Shannon Guy and Alexandra Bilunas got the Huskers off to a good start, swimming the third-fastest time in school history. Their time of 1:31.48 earned Nebraska eighth place in the event.
In the evening's first individual event, Bailey Pons swam a career-best 4:47.34 to finish her 500-yard freestyle career. The senior earned 19th place in the event and an NCAA B cut for her effort.
Samantha Hardewig and Julia Roller took their turn in the C final of the 200-yard IM, placing 17th and 21st, respectively. Hardewig's time of 2:01.39 beat the career-best 2:01.47 she swam in Thursday's preliminary round.
Taryn Collura and Alexandra Bilunas, the other two Husker swimmers who qualified for Thursday evening's finals, finished 12th and 18th, respectively, in the 50-yard freestyle. Both sprinters swam season bests and earned NCAA B cuts in the prelims.
The evening's final event saw Anna Filipcic, Nicole Schwery and Payton Michaud finish 10th, 13th and 16th in the finals of the one-meter dive. Filipcic's score of 307.65 was a career best for the freshman.
Penn State
The No. 23 Penn State women’s swimming and diving team moved up in the team standings after a strong showing in the second day of the Big Ten Championships on Thursday. The Nittany Lions registered seven top 10 performances, which were highlighted by a fourth place finish in the 200 free relay.
“From a team standpoint we had a lot more energy tonight,” said Penn State swimming and diving head coach Tim Murphy. “Getting another “A” cut in the 200 free relay was a great way to start off and it was good to see some of the younger athletes step up for us. Now we are focused on tomorrow morning and getting more swimmers in the finals.”
PSU surpassed No.15 Ohio State (151 points) and No. 19 Wisconsin (144 points) to take over the No. 3 spot in the team standings. The Lions trail No. 12 Minnesota (258 points) and No. 13 Indiana (211) heading into the third day of competition.
The Blue and White picked up where they left off last night with a phenomenal performance in the 200 free relay. The quartet of Alyson Ackman (Montreal, Quebec), Carolyn Fittin (Sea Girt, N.J.), Katelyn Miller (Hershey, Pa.) and Katie Saloky (Bloomsburg, Pa.) clocked in at a season-best and NCAA “A” qualifying time of 1:29.51 to finish fourth overall and secure a spot in next month’s NCAA Championships.
Ackman also performed well individually, earning fifth place in the 500 free in a season-best 4:42.53 while teammate Katelyn Sowinski (Severna Park, Md.) followed in sixth place with a time of 4:45.14 and Megan Siverling (Chester Springs, Pa.) placed 10th in a season-best 4:45.21. Sowinski, a freshman for the Nittany Lions, notched a season-best mark earlier in the day in the prelims, touching the wall in 4:42.87. Each of the swimmers’ marks hit the NCAA provisional standard for the event.
Two more top 10 performances came in the next event of the evening as Shishkoff and Haley Sinatro (West Hartford, Conn.) placed seventh and 10th, respectively, in the 200 IM while also meeting the NCAA “B” standard. Shishkoff posted a time of 1:58.74 for seventh place and Sinatro followed closely at 1:58.99 for 10th place.
Fittin registered the final top 10 performance of the day, turning in a season-best and NCAA “B” standard mark of 22.55 for a sixth place finish in the 50 free. The junior was just .03 second short of surpassing her career-best mark in the event.
The Blue and White return to the University of Minnesota Aquatic Center on Friday for the third day of action. Competition is set to begin at 11 a.m. with the 400 IM prelims. Events finals are slated for a 6:30 p.m. start.
