Purdue Press Release
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - The Purdue swimming & diving teams won all but one of the 32 events contested Friday, cruising to a dual meet sweep of Michigan State in the first home meet at the Boilermaker Aquatic Center since October.
The Purdue women had at least the top three finishers in five events, improving to 6-1 in duals this season with a 203-92 victory. The Purdue men won all 16 events and moved to 3-2 in duals this season with a 179-111 win. The women’s 50 freestyle was the only event the Boilermakers did not win Friday.
Marat Amaltdinov (breaststroke sweep), Steele Johnson (diving sweep) and Erik Juliusson (100 IM, 200 free) and Nick McDowell (distance free sweep) all won a pair of events for the Purdue men. Cady Farlow (breaststroke sweep) and Kaersten Meitz (200 and 500 free) led the way with a pair of victories for the Purdue women.
Johnson posted his fifth springboard sweep in six traditional meets this year, pushing his team-leading total of individual victories to 11. Meitz leads the women with 10 victories after posting two more wins Friday. McDowell also reached the double-figure mark for event victories with 10.
The first dual meet of the spring semester traditionally does not feature many notable times after the long hours and heavy yardage put in by the student-athletes during winter training over the semester break. But Meitz posted a pair of NCAA provisional-qualifying times in her freestyle wins. Amaltdinov and Farlow also had B cuts in the 100 breast. Yet perhaps more impressive were the personal season-best times recorded by James Boone (100 free, 45.61), Filip Bujoczek (100 fly, 49.73), Emily Meckstroth (1000 free, 10:00.89) and Juliusson (200 free, 50.92) while winning events. Boone posted his first collegiate victory.
Eddy Zawatski won the 50 free with a time just shy of his Purdue season best and also contributed to both of the team’s relay winners. Austin Flager also swam on both relay winners. Kiki Komlenic (100 back), Amaltdinov and Bujoczek each won at least one individual event and contributed to a victorious relay team.
Grace Hernandez (100 free), Meagan Lim (100 fly), Jackie Smailis (100 back), Farlow and Meitz all won an individual event and contributed to a relay winner for the Purdue women. Meanwhile, Alex Clarke (100 IM), Taite Kitchel (200 fly), Morgan Meixner (3-meter diving), Hernandez, Lim, Meckstroth and Smailis all won an event and finished as the runner-up in another. The Boilermakers dominated the 200 free, 100 breast, 100 fly, 200 fly and 100 IM with at least the top three finishers in all five events.
Joe Young (200 back) accomplished a similar 1-2 feat in individual events for the Purdue men. Grant Lewis was victorious in the 200 fly. Joe Cifelli and Josh Ehrman both finished as the runner-up in a pair of events, helping the Boilermakers account for the top-two finishers in nine of the 16 events.
Purdue continues its home heavy month of January next weekend with its annual rivalry dual vs. Indiana. The co-ed meet begins Saturday at 11 a.m. at the Boilermaker Aquatic Center. Olympic gold medalist David Boudia will be signing autographs on the mezzanine level from 10:30 to 11 a.m.
