Sophomore Brooklynn Sndograss successfully defended her 100 backstroke title, and school records were set in the 400 medley relay and 100 butterfly on day three of the Big Ten Women’s Swimming and Diving Championships in Minneapolis, Minn.
Host Minnesota leads the standings with 526 points. The Hoosiers are second with 397, followed by Penn State (314), Michigan (272) and Ohio State (261) in the top five.
Snodgrass, Bronwyn Pasloski, Gia Dalesandro and Kait Flederbach combined to smash the old school and Big Ten record in the 400 medley relay with a time of 3:30.30. Kate Fesenko, Sarah Stockwell, Donna Smailis and Margaux Farrell set the old mark of 3:31.26 in 2009.
Snodgrass led off the group with a 51.66 in the 100 backstroke, just off her personal best of 51.52. Pasloski and Dalesandro maintained a two-second lead through the breaststroke (59.18) and butterfly (51.43), with Flederbach bringing the title home in 48.03.
Indiana has set new school records in three of four relays swum so far this meet (200 medley relay, 200 freestyle relay).
Dorina Szekeres came up just short in defense of her 400 individual medley title, placing third in 4:08.68. She was the top seed heading into the final after posting a 4:09.81 in prelims.
Dalesandro can lay claim to the two fastest times in IU history in the 100 butterfly, going a school-record 51.75 in the championship final to finish second. That was 1/100th of a second faster than her prelim time of 51.76 which earned her the top seed in the final. Both times are NCAA A cuts. That makes her the first Hoosier ever under 52 seconds.
Olivia Barker won the C final and finished 17th overall with a career-best 54.16, while Bailey Pressey was eighth in the C final and 24th overall in 55.53. Justine Ress won heat one with a time of 54.42 but elected not to swim the C final, instead focusing on the 100 backstroke race. Brenna MacLean finished fourth in her heat at 55.02, good for 29th overall. Stephanie Armstrong won heat three with a personal best of 55.09, topping her old mark of 55.65, and placing 30th overall.
Lindsay Vrooman matched her 2013 finish in the 200 freestyle by taking third tonight in 1:45.29. Haley Lips came back to win the consolation final and place ninth overall with a time of 1:46.61. Pammett was fourth in the race and 12th overall at 1:47.94, while Flederbach took 15th in 1:48.79.
Stephanie Marchuk finished 28th in a career best 1:49.33, while Madelon Webb was 41st with her career time of 1:50.65. Audrey Scott went a career time of 1:56.44, good for 75th.
Pasloski took second in the 100 breaststroke, missing the top spot by 1/10th of a second with a time of 59.90. She was the only swimmer to go under a minute in the prelims with a career-best 59.53. That is the third-fastest time in IU history. Claudia Di Capua’s career-best time of 1:03.86 was good for 27th. Rachel Thompson clocked in at 1:05.51, placing her 38th.
Snodgrass successfully defended her title in the 100 backstroke, winning in a season-best 51.65. That topped her prelim swim of 51.95, both of which are under the NCAA A standard. Ress took fifth with her season best of 53.33, with Allie Day right behind in 53.91. Pammett took eighth with a time of 54.31.
Grace Padget took third in the B final and 11th overall with her career best of 54.44, topping her time of 54.47 in prelims. Shelby Carroll was third in the bonus final at 55.37, putting up a career best 55.21 in prelims.
One dive made the difference for Kate Hillman in the women’s 3-meter prelims. On her fourth dive, a slip off the springboard led to an unsuccessful dive and zero points for the round. She finished in 30th with a score of 241.20.
Iowa
Another day of swimming is in the books, and more records fall for the University of Iowa women’s swimming and diving team.
Day three of competition at the 2014 Big Ten Championships saw three school records fall for the Hawkeyes. Heading into the final day of competition Iowa sits in eighth place with 142 points, while Minnesota (526) and Indiana (397) lead the field.
“Three more school records to add to our total,” said UI head coach Marc Long. “I am very proud of how the women are racing. We have another exciting day tomorrow.”
The first event of Friday’s finals saw one of the three records go down, as the Hawkeyes took down the top time in the 400-medley relay. The foursome of senior Lindsay Seemann, freshman Emma Sougstad, senior Haley Gordon, and sophomore Olivia Kabacinski swam to a seventh place finish of 3:39.54. The time marks a new program record, besting the previous time of 3:40.33, previously set by Daniela Cubelic, Karolina Wartalowicz, Abbey Tuchscherer, and Danielle Carty in 2012.
The Hawkeyes’ two other school records were posted during the preliminary round of day three. Gordon, swimming the 100 butterfly, set a school record with a time of 54.58. She bested her previous career best of 55.00, which had been the third-best time in program history. Tuchscherer finished in 54.86 in the ‘C’ final to clock the fourth-fastest time in the record books.
Sougstad recorded the third school record in the prelims of the 100 breaststroke. Sougstad touched the wall in 1:00.90 to secure the top time and qualify for the ‘A’ final of the event. In the finals, Sougstad finished fifth when she touched out in 1:01.05. Kabacinski improved on her second-fastest time in program history when she finished in 1:01.36 during the prelims. She went on to place 10th in the ‘B’ finals.
Senior Emily Hovren swam to the third-fastest time in program history during the prelims of the 200 freestyle when she touched out in 1:48.93, while Seemann recorded the second-fastest time in the record books in the 100-backstroke, finishing in 54.05 during prelims. The time bests Seemann’s previous career best, which stood as the fifth-fastest time.
Prior to the finals, Seemann was recognized as Iowa’s recipient of the Big Ten Sportsmanship Award.
Nebraska
Five Husker swimmers set career-best times and Anna Filipcic earned the third-best three-meter dive score of the championships, as the Nebraska swimming and diving team completed its second full day of competition at the 2014 Big Ten Championships. The Huskers had eight individual swimmers, one diver and the 400-yard medley relay team competing in final rounds on Friday evening at the University of Minnesota Aquatic Center.
The Huskers began the evening with the third-fastest 400-yard medley relay in school history. The team of Rebekah Land, Taryn Collura, Shannon Guy and Katie Ditter finished in a time of 3:41.93, earning ninth place.
Nebraska's first individual competitor, Julia Roller, won the C Final of the 400-yard IM, taking 17th with a career-best time of 4:19.47. Roller had set a then-personal-best of 4:22.50 in the prelims, but her finals time earned her a place in NU's all-time top five in the event.
In the B final of the 100-yard butterfly, Taryn Collura took 15th with a time of 54.30. Bria Deveaux, Shannon Guy and Natalie Morris finished 19th, 20th and 22nd in the event, competing in Friday evening's C final. Morris' time of 54.88 was a career best for the junior.
Samantha Hardewig, Shannon Guy and Katie Ditter placed 18th, 19th and 20th in the 100-yard breaststroke. Hardewig and Guy swam respective career-best times of 1:02.88 and 1:02.95 for the Huskers.
The final swimming event of the day saw Rebekah Land beat the career-best time she set in the prelims, winning the C final of the 100-yard backstroke in 54.94. Land's time earned her an NCAA B cut in the event.
In the diving well, Anna Filipcic exploded for a career-best 348.50 in the consolation final of the three-meter dive, earning ninth place overall. The freshman's finals score was the third best by any diver in the championships.
Commenting on Filipcic's performance, Head Coach Pablo Morales said, "Anna basically didn't miss anything in her finals round, beating everyone by about 30 points. Her score would've held up for the second best overall, but Purdue's Casey Matthews killed her last dive. Anna has the ability and probably has a good shot at making the NCAA Championships in a few weeks."
Northwestern
After swimming a new career best in the 400 yard IM Friday morning during the prelims of the Big Ten Championships, senior Becca Soderholm shattered her time again in the consolation finals in the evening session.
Soderholm finished the race with a new career-best time of 4:15.37, an NCAA “B” Cut time, lowering her previous career best by exactly 0.30.
After finishing No. 11 in the prelims, she moved up to No. 10 in the scoring consolation final to earn seven points for the ‘Cats.
“It felt really good. It went as I hoped and as I expected,” Soderholm said. “I couldn’t have asked for a better finish in the 400 IM for my career.”
Soderholm was one of three Wildcats to score points Friday night. She was joined by sophomore Julianne Kurke and freshman Lacey Locke.
“Overall tonight I felt the attitude was good. I felt the mindset was good,” head coach Jimmy Tierney said. “It’s a great experience we have to go through and get comfortable and ready to respond.”
In the 100 yard breaststroke, Kurke finished No. 14 for Northwestern with an NCAA “B” Cut time of 1:02.18 to earn three points for the ‘Cats.
Kurke swam into No. 9 in the morning to reach the evening finals and is looking forward to adding even more points in the 200 breast Saturday.
“I felt really good this morning [during the prelims]. Everything about it just felt perfect. It was a phenomenal race, basically the race of my life,” Kurke said. “Tomorrow’s my best event, so I’m really looking forward to that to see what I can do.”
Freshman Lackey Locke ended the swimming portion of Friday’s finals with a No. 16 finish in the scoring consolation final in the 100 back. Locke posted a time of 55.41 to earn a point for the ‘Cats."
Northwestern began the finals portion swimming a season best in the 400 yard medley relay. NU’s young relay team all underclassmen Lacey Locke, Julianne Kurke, Ellen Stello and Lacey Smith swam a 3:43.96, crushing their season best by more than three seconds. Locke began the race swimming a solid 54.83 in the first 50 yards.
Freshman Lauren Abruzzo and Ellen Stello both swam in the bonus final of the 400 yard IM, and the pair of newcomers each recorded career-best times. Abruzzo finished No. 19 with a time of 4:19.85, lowering her time by nearly three full seconds. Stello trimmed her time by more than two full seconds, going 4:25.36.
In the 200 yard free, seniors Jackie Powell (1:49.72) and Erin Sosdian (1:49.94) took part in the bonus final for the ‘Cats.
In the 3-meter diving prelims, Cosmia Lenz led the ‘Cats with a 262.70 score and Mary Kate Campbell posted a score of 255.30. Caroline Grant took a score of 223.75 in the 3-meter as well.
Through Friday’s portion, Northwestern registered 68 points and are at No. 11.
Sportsmanship Award: Before Friday’s championship finals, senior Jackie Powell was honored as Northwestern’s winner of the B1G Sportsmanship Award.
Penn State
It was a banner day for the No. 23 Penn State women’s swimming and diving team as the Nittany Lions posted two gold medal performances and four school records in the third day of competition at the Big Ten Championships on Friday. Senior Mackenzie Powers (Sycamore, Ill.) and sophomore Alyson Ackman (Montreal, Quebec) claimed individual Big Ten titles in the 100 fly and 200 free, respectively, and set program records in the process.
Powers plowed past the competition in the 100 fly, turning in a school-record and NCAA automatic qualifying time of 51.56 to outswim the second place swimmer by nearly .2 second. Already the school record holder in the event, Powers’ new mark crushed her previous top mark of 52.06 from earlier this season. The senior also earned a spot on the podium in the 100 back, placing second and notching yet another school record with a time of 52.19.
Ackman repeated as the Big Ten Champion in the 200 free and bested her winning performance from a season ago, replacing her own school record time of 1:44.83 with an impressive mark of 1:44.11.
Ackman and Powers teamed up with Melissa Rodriguez (Chihuahua, Mexico) and Carolyn Fittin (Sea Girt, N.J.) to earn the runner-up spot and register the fourth program-best time of the evening in the 400 medley relay. The quartet finished almost a full second ahead of the third place team, clocking in at 3:33.27, and earned an automatic bid to the NCAA Championships next month. The new mark edged the previous school record of 3:33.50 set by Paige Whitmire, Merritt Krawczyk, Powers and Sam Palser in 2012.
Rodriguez followed up with a career-best effort in the 100 breaststroke. The sophomore touched the wall in a personal-best 1:00.25, meeting the NCAA provisional standard and placing fourth.
Gabi Shishkoff (Franklin, Mass.) also notched a top-five finish for the Nittany Lions. The senior’s time of 4:09.52 was good for fourth place and met the NCAA “B” standard as well.
Katie Rowe (Glenville, N.Y.), Casey Fazio (Washington Township, N.J.) and Caitlyn Karr (Reading, Pa.) each posted top-10 marks for PSU. Rowe swam to a sixth place finish in the 100 fly, turning in a career-best time of 53.09, while Fazio placed ninth in the 100 back in a personal-best 54.06 and Karr placed 10th in the 200 free in a career-best 1:47.39. All three swimmers hit the NCAA “B” mark in their respective events.
The Nittany Lions remain in third place in the team standings with 314 points. They trail No. 12 Minnesota (526 points) and No. 13 Indiana (397 points) heading in to the last day of the Championships.
Penn State returns to the University of Minnesota Aquatic Center for the fourth and final day of competition on Saturday. Prelims are set for an 11 a.m. start with the 200 backstroke and finals are scheduled to begin at 6:30 p.m.
Illinois
The Fighting Illini swimming and diving team remained in 12th place (57 points) at the Big Ten Championships after Friday's action. The Illini set two school records and swam 12 lifetime bests on day three of the four-day competition.
"It was great to see two school records fall tonight,” head coach Sue Novitsky said. “Alison Meng had a really tough day with four races and she stepped up and swam very strong for the team. It was great to see her breakout and score in her first individual event of her career at Big Tens.”
After 14 events, Minnesota leads the standings with 526 points, followed by Indiana (397), Penn State (314), Michigan (272), Ohio State (261), Purdue (253), Wisconsin (230), Iowa (142), Nebraska (110), Michigan State (70), Northwestern (68), and Illinois (57).
Junior Alison Meng became the first Illini to earn points in an individual event of the 2014 Big Ten Championships with her 10th place finish in the 100 back (53.94). It was the first points Meng has earned individually at the Big Ten Championships in her collegiate career. The Lodi, Wis., native’s performance in the 100 back broke the school record and was a NCAA B qualifying time.
Meng also a part of the 400 medley relay group, along with Erica Lynn, Lori Lynn and Courtney Pope that swam a school record-breaking time of 3:42.21.
Senior Erica Lynn earned a second swim opportunity in the 100 breaststroke after a swim off performance placed her in the finals. Lynn swam the third (1:02.71) and fifth (1:03.95) fastest performances in Illini history.
In the 200 free, freshmen Gabbie Stecker and Amelia Schilling both earned second swims. Schilling qualified for her first finals event in the Big Ten Championships, while Stecker earned a second swim opportunity for the second straight day. Schilling swam the sixth fastest time (1:49.18) in Illini history and Stecker swam the eighth fastest time (1:49.27) in school history.
In the 100 butterfly prelims, Meng swam the third fastest time (54.69) in Illini history, also placing herself second on the all-time fastest individuals list.
Other additions to the all-time fastest individuals list included Hollie Smith, who moved to sixth all-time (1:03.97) in the 100 breast, and Cara Chuang who moved to fourth all-time (55.99) in the 100 back.
“We started a little slow this morning, but continued to gain momentum through out the prelim session,” Novitsky said. “We have one more day, so we need to continue to get ourselves ready to go and lay it on the line in the morning.”
Four Illini qualified for finals events on Friday. The Orange and Blue will return to action at 11 a.m. CT Saturday morning for the final day of the Big Ten Championships.
