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Purdue Women’s Swimming: Twelve qualified for finals at Big Ten Championships

Carolyn Shelby — Sun, 21 Feb 2010 03:23:16 +0000

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. -– The 22nd-ranked Purdue women’s swimming and diving team added another broken record and qualified 12 for finals Saturday during the early session of day four of the Big Ten Championships inside the Boilermaker Aquatic Center in West Lafayette, Indiana.

Casey Matthews earned the highest qualifying mark in the platform while posting a season-best score during Saturday's first session at the Big Ten Championships. (PurdueSports.com)

Junior Allie Smith took down a program record for the fifth time during these championships when she completed the 200-yard backstroke in 1 minute, 55.72 seconds. The Green Bay, Wis., native bettered her previous record of 1:57.03 set at last year’s Big Ten Championships and qualified for Saturday night’s final with the fifth-fastest time.

Purdue is guaranteed big points in the platform diving competition after placing three athletes in the top eight during the qualifying session. Sophomore Casey Matthews led the way with a season-best score of 339.40 that moved her to second on Purdue’s all-time performance list in the event and was the highest of all 20 competitors. Junior Kara Cook earned the third-highest score after posting a season-best tally of 304.50, while classmate Erin Mertz qualified sixth with her score of 255.20.

Three Boilermakers are set to appear in the 100 freestyle Saturday evening. Junior Ariel Martin recorded a season-best time of 49.90 that improves her standing on the list of NCAA provisional qualifiers and in third on Purdue’s all-time performance list in the event to nab the 11th qualifying spot. Senior Leah Henninger swam a season-best and NCAA provisional-qualifying time of 50.03 that improves her standing in fourth on Purdue’s all-time performance list in the event and qualified 12th. Junior Lisa Butler touched the wall in a season-best time of 50.35 to qualify 17th.

Sophomore Lauren Roth swam the eighth-fastest time in the 200 butterfly and moved to fourth on Purdue’s all-time performance list in the event with her NCAA provisional-qualifying time of 1:59.64. Senior Christine Inman also advanced to Saturday evening’s session while improving her stance in fifth on Purdue’s all-time performance list with an NCAA provisional-qualifying time of 2:00.58 that ranked 14th.

Sophomore Kristen Gilson missed a scoring spot by less than two-hundredths of a second in the 200 backstroke. The Plano, Texas, native, who finished 14th in the 100 backstroke Friday night, swam a season-best time of 1:58.30 to earn the 17th-fastest time during the morning session.

Freshmen Ellesse Lunde and Seraphina Van earned spots in the ‘C’ final of the 200 breaststroke. Lunde garnered the 18th-fastest qualifying time with her season-best clocking of 2:17.54, while Van qualified 21st with her time of 2:17.72.

Senior Elizabeth Holmes lowered her season-best time in the 200 backstroke by more than five seconds when she touched the wall in 2:07.31. Sophomore Sara Bogert dropped more than one second off her season-best time in just four laps of the pool as she finished the 100 freestyle in 51.84. Freshmen Lauren Nichols and Lauren Gustafson added season-best times in the event by touching the wall in 51.01 and 51.15, respectively.

Classmate Megan Roach lowered her season-best time in the 200 breaststroke by almost exactly four seconds when she touched the wall in 2:19.73. Sophomore Christina Jacobs dropped more than two seconds off her season-best time in the event by finishing in 2:20.68. Classmate Sarah Dunleavy, swimming the event for just the second time this season, recorded a time of 2:21.41, and junior Jessica Davis completed her first 200 breaststroke of the season in 2:22.72. Fellow junior Mary-Margaret Lopez finished the 200 butterfly in 2:11.18.

Purdue has broken 14 program records and three freshman records during the first five sessions of the Big Ten Championships. The team also has recorded 86 season-best marks during the conference championship meet.

Saturday’s evening session, which is the final session of the championships, features finals in all of the preliminary events plus the 400 medley relay. The session is set to begin at 6:30 p.m. ET, but timed finals of the 1,650 freestyle are slated to begin at 4:15 p.m. Live results and live video can be found at purduesports.com.

Purdue Women’s Swimming: Records continue to fall at Big Ten Championships

Carolyn Shelby — Sat, 20 Feb 2010 03:42:34 +0000

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. -– The 22nd-ranked Purdue women’s swimming and diving team broke two records while recording 12 scoring places Friday evening to round out day three of the Big Ten Championships inside the Boilermaker Aquatic Center in West Lafayette, Indiana.

Seraphina Van broke Purdue's freshman record in the 100 butterfly Friday evening at the Big Ten Championships.

“This was a good day,” head coach John Klinge said. “This day is a pivotal day in the meet where teams start separating from the pack. The key is to stay in the hunt and get people back to swim finals. I think we’ve been really fortunate to have so many people move up in finals and swim better times. We just have to look for a really big day tomorrow morning.”

Junior Ariel Martin earned her third runner-up finish and broke her seventh record of the championships when she finished the 200-yard freestyle in 1 minute, 45.55 seconds. The Jeffersonville, Ind., native lowered her previous program record of 1:46.15 she set while leading off the second-place 800 freestyle relay Wednesday night. Martin also finished second in the 50 freestyle Thursday evening with a new program record of 22.50.

“It’s really cool to break the record again,” Martin said. “Wednesday, my goal was to go 1:46.1. I went what I wanted to go, and then I looked at another chance to break the record two days later and changed my target time. I came in and did better than the time I wanted. Second place is awesome. I’ll take it. It’s really exciting.”

Seraphina Van took down the oldest freshman record on Purdue’s books when she won the 100 butterfly ‘C’ final in 55.05. The time betters Erika Whyte’s record of 55.86 that had stood since 1996 and moves Van to third on Purdue’s all-time performance list in the event. Van now holds two freshman records after earning the 200 breaststroke mark at the Purdue Invitational on Nov. 22.

“Breaking the record was another surprise for me,” Van said. “The 100 fly isn’t exactly one of my best events, but now that I’ve broken the freshman record it’s definitely something I can look forward to in the future.”
Junior Allie Smith finished fourth in the 100 backstroke with her time of 53.66. The Green Bay, Wis., native finished the race just four-hundredths of a second away from the school record of 53.62 she set during Friday’s preliminary session. Classmate Katie Beck improved her NCAA provisional-qualifying time in the event and finished 14th by touching the wall in 55.30.

Sophomore Lauren Roth improved her standing in second on Purdue’s all-time performance list and moved up the list of NCAA provisional qualifiers in the 200 freestyle. Roth, who briefly held Purdue’s 500 freestyle record during Thursday’s preliminary session and sits second on that event’s all-time performance list, finished fifth in the 200 freestyle with her time of 1:46.88.

Fellow sophomore Jessica Davis added fourth-place points to the team total and improved her standing in second on Purdue’s all-time performance list in the 100 breaststroke. The Tempe, Ariz., native moved up on the list of NCAA provisional qualifiers with a season-best time of 1:00.91.

Junior Lisa Butler improved her standing in fourth on Purdue’s all-time performance list in the 200 freestyle while winning the ‘B’ final. The Holland, Mich., native outraced the field to the wall in 1:47.65 to improve her standing on the NCAA provisional qualifiers list and better her preliminary time of 1:47.85.

The Boilermakers grabbed three scoring positions in the 3-meter diving competition. Junior Erin Mertz led the group by finishing fifth with her season-best score of 349.70 that improves her standing in sixth on the program’s all-time performance list in the event. Sophomore Casey Matthews took seventh after scoring 317.20 in the final, and junior Kara Cook scored in 14th with 280.15.

Purdue’s 400 medley relay began the session by finishing fifth and just missing a school record. Smith, Davis, Beck and Leah Henninger combined to complete the race in 3:40.51, bettering the NCAA provisional-qualifying standard and missing the school record by 22-hundredths of a second.

Sophomore Kristen Gilson scored in 14th place in the 400 IM with her season-best time of 4:20.17. Freshman Emily McIlrath also earned a 14th-place finish as she completed the 100 breaststroke in 1:02.94 after posting a new Purdue freshman-record time of 1:02.62 in Friday’s preliminary session. Sophomore Christina Jacobs finished 20th in the event with her time of 1:03.47.

Senior Christine Inman, who before the session was recognized as Purdue’s sportsmanship honoree, earned a 20th-place finish in the 100 butterfly when she touched the wall in a season-best time of 55.59. Junior Mary-Margaret Lopez finished 24th in the event with her 57.70 clocking. Henninger touched the wall in 1:50.29 to finish 24th in the 200 freestyle.

Purdue has broken 13 program records and three freshman records during the first four sessions of the Big Ten Championships. The team also has recorded 69 season-best marks during the conference championship meet.

With seven events remaining on the final day, Purdue is in third place with 318 points. Defending champion Indiana leads the team race with 451, and Minnesota sits second with 418.5. Behind the Boilermakers, Michigan’s 314.5 points and Ohio State’s 283.5 total round out the top five.

Action concludes Saturday with a preliminary session set for 11 a.m. ET to be followed by finals at 6:30 p.m. A complete schedule of events, as well as live results and live video from the championships, can be found at purduesports.com.

Purdue Women’s Swimming: 2 more records, 11 advance to finals at Big Ten Championships

Carolyn Shelby — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 21:56:05 +0000

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. -– The 22nd-ranked Purdue women’s swimming and diving team broke two records while advancing 11 athletes into scoring positions during Friday’s early session of the Big Ten Championships inside the Boilermaker Aquatic Center in West Lafayette, Indiana.

Emily McIlrath broke Purdue's freshman record in the 100 breaststroke during Friday's first session.

Junior Allie Smith broke a school record for the fourth time this meet by finishing the 100-yard backstroke in 53.62 seconds. The Green Bay, Wis., native, who twice took down the program mark in the 200 IM Thursday and swam on the school-record 200 medley relay Wednesday, bettered the previous record of 53.84 she set at last year’s Big Ten Championships. Her time betters her NCAA provisional-qualifying mark this season and puts her in the fifth seed for Friday night’s final.

Emily McIlrath took down Purdue’s freshman record in the 100 breaststroke when she touched the wall in 1:02.62. Her time erases the program’s second-oldest freshman record by taking down Lindsay Lange’s time of 1:02.69 set in 2000. McIlrath, who bettered the NCAA provisional-qualifying standard, moves to third on Purdue’s all-time performance list in the event and qualified 12th for Friday night’s final. She also posted a season-best time of 56.02 in the 100 butterfly.

Sophomore Jessica Davis moved to second on Purdue’s all-time performance list and earned an NCAA provisional-qualifying time while placing fifth in the 100 breaststroke preliminary swim. The Tempe, Ariz., native touched the wall in 1:01.26 to lower her season-best time by more than two seconds. Senior Christina Jacobs also qualified to swim the event in Friday’s final with her season-best time of 1:03.38.

The Boilermakers advanced four to the 200-yard freestyle final, led by school-record holder Ariel Martin. Martin, who broke the record with her 1:46.15 leadoff leg during the 800 freestyle relay Wednesday night, qualified with the fifth-fastest time as she touched the wall in 1:46.63. Sophomore Lauren Roth was next to finish with her season-best and NCAA provisional-qualifying time of 1:47.44 that places her second on Purdue’s all-time performance list in the event.

Junior Lisa Butler earned the 10th-fastest time in the preliminary swim as she finished in 1:47.85. Her time, which is a season-best and NCAA provisional-qualifying mark, moves her to fourth on Purdue’s all-time performance list in the event. Senior Leah Henninger also nabbed a spot in Friday evening’s swim when she finished the race in a season-best time of 1:49.37 to qualify 23rd.

For the second straight day, the Boilermakers advanced multiple divers to the final as Purdue took three of the top 16 places from the 3-meter preliminary round. Sophomore Casey Matthews posted a score of 355.10 to record the second-highest score of the session. Junior Erin Mertz qualified in the fifth position with her 311.30 score, and classmate Kara Cook posted a score of 289.70 to place 11th.

Junior Katie Beck qualified 16th in the 100 backstroke while lowering her season-best time and earning an NCAA provisional-qualifying mark when she touched the wall in 55.45. The Brecksville, Ohio, native also put up the 20th-fastest time, a season-best 55.68, in the 100 butterfly but will not swim that event in the evening session. Sophomore Kristen Gilson advanced to the 400 IM final with her season-best time of 4:21.02 that placed 16th.

Purdue is sending three athletes into competition in the 100 butterfly Friday evening. Freshman Seraphina Van qualified 22nd with her season-best time of 55.83 and was followed by junior Mary-Margaret Lopez in a season-best time of 55.86. Senior Christine Inman grabbed the final qualifying spot with her season-best, 55.87 clocking.

Freshman Courtney Tumbush lowered her season-best time by almost seven seconds in the 400 IM when she touched the wall in 4:25.73. Sophomore Sarah Dunleavy dropped nine seconds off of her previous season-best clocking in the event with her time of 4:27.57. Senior Elizabeth Holmes recorded a season-best time by more than three seconds when she finished the 100 backstroke in 58.69. Sophomore Sara Bogert also earned a season-best time in that race as she finished in 1:00.28.

Freshman Caitlin Hamilton swam to a season-best time of 1:49.74 in the 200 freestyle one day after breaking the program record in the 500 freestyle twice. Sophomore Amy Gutwein lowered her season-best time in the event when she touched the wall in 1:51.29, as did junior Jessica Skiba with her 1:51.65 time. Freshman Lauren Gustafson knocked two seconds off of her previous season-best time in the event when she finished in 1:52.11.

Freshman Ellesse Lunde just missed advancing in the 100 breaststroke. The Scituate, Mass., native touched the wall in a season-best time of 1:04.06 and was one finishing position away from swimming in the evening session. Classmate Megan Roach lowered her season-best time in the event with a 1:05.40 swim. Fellow freshman Lauren Nichols, swimming the 100 butterfly for just the third time this season, touched the wall in 59.40.

Purdue has broken 12 program records and two freshman records during the first four sessions of the Big Ten Championships. The team also has recorded 59 season-best marks during the conference championship meet.

Friday’s evening session, which features finals in all of the preliminary events plus the 400 medley relay, begins at 6:30 p.m. ET. Live results and live video can be found at purduesports.com.

Women’s Swimming: Purdue breaks 4 records, advances 8 to finals at Big Ten Championships

Carolyn Shelby — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 07:00:18 +0000

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – The 22nd-ranked Purdue women’s swimming and diving team broke four school records and advanced eight to the finals Thursday during session two of the Big Ten Championships inside the Boilermaker Aquatic Center in West Lafayette, Indiana.

Kristen Gilson lowered her season-best time by more than 16 seconds in the 500 freestyle during Thursday's first session.

Purdue’s 500-yard freestyle record fell twice in a 10-minute span during the first race of the morning. Sophomore Lauren Roth, swimming in heat seven, touched the wall in 4 minutes, 46.73 seconds to break Erica Chandler’s record of 4:47.09 set in 2005 and qualify ninth. Freshman Caitlin Hamilton then took the pool in the next heat and swam 4:44.27 to best Roth’s record and record the fourth-fastest qualifying time. Both swimmers bettered their standing on the list of NCAA provisional qualifiers in the event.

Junior Allie Smith continued Purdue’s penchant for making records fall as the meet moved to the 200 IM. The Green Bay, Wis., native, who swam on Wednesday night’s school-record 200 medley relay, swam a school-record time of 1:59.25 and advanced to Thursday night’s final with the fourth-fastest qualifying time. The swim broke her record of 1:59.94 set at last year’s Big Ten Championships.

Fellow junior Ariel Martin put her name on a school record for the fourth time this meet when she touched the wall in 22.57 and earned the third-fastest qualifying time in the 50 freestyle. The Jeffersonville, Ind., native, who swam on the record-breaking 200 medley and 800 freestyle relays and broke the program’s 200 freestyle record Wednesday night, bettered her previous record of 22.72 set at last year’s Big Ten Championships.

Classmate Lisa Butler also qualified for Thursday night’s 50 freestyle action. The Holland, Mich., native moved to fifth on Purdue’s all-time performance list in the event while earning the 12th-fastest time of the morning session by finishing in 23.01.

Sophomore Amy Gutwein logged an NCAA provisional-qualifying time and nabbed the final qualifying spot in the 500 freestyle as she lowered her season-best time by almost 10 seconds with her 4:52.11 clocking. Freshman Seraphina Van also advanced to Thursday’s evening session in her first conference championships competition. The Cypress, Texas, native grabbed the final qualifying spot in the 200 IM with her season-best time of 2:04.26.

Purdue also advanced two to the 1-meter springboard final. Junior Erin Mertz moved to fifth on Purdue’s all-time performance list in the event while posting the third-highest score when she put 309.90 points on the board. Sophomore Casey Matthews advanced when she placed fourth in the preliminary competition with her season-best score of 302.90.

Sophomore Kristen Gilson dropped a huge season-best time as the first Boilermaker in the pool. The Plano, Texas, native won her heat of the 500 freestyle in 4:52.90 seconds to finish 28th among all competitors. In her only other 500 freestyle this season, Gilson touched the wall in 5:09.69. Junior Jessica Skiba and freshman Courtney Tumbush also logged season-best times in the 500 freestyle. Skiba touched the wall in 4:55.58 to drop her season-best time by more than five seconds, while Tumbush logged a 4:55.98 time to better her previous season best by almost nine seconds.

The Boilermakers recorded six more season-best times in the 200 IM. Sophomore Sarah Dunleavy lowered her previous season-best clocking by more than five seconds when she touched the wall in 2:04.45 with the 28th-fastest time. Senior Christine Inman clocked 2:04.91, while sophomore Christina Jacobs bettered her previous season best by more than six seconds with her 2:06.85 time.

Freshman Ellesse Lunde finished in 2:08.86 to record an improvement of more than five seconds. She was followed by classmate Megan Roach, who showed a better than five second improvement in 2:09.42, and junior Mary-Margaret Lopez, who finished in 2:09.49.

Junior Katie Beck logged another season-best time in the 50 freestyle when she finished in 23.49, and freshman Lauren Gustafson tied her season-best clocking of 23.50. Sophomore Sara Bogert eclipsed the 24-second barrier for the first time this season when she touched the wall in 23.55 and was followed by freshman Lauren Nichols in 23.58.

Senior Leah Henninger, the anchor on Purdue’s 800 freestyle relay Wednesday night, earned a season-best time of 23.65 in the quickest race on the schedule. Jessica Davis, a junior who swam the second leg on Purdue’s 200 medley relay Wednesday night, clocked a season-best time of 23.95. Freshman Emily McIlrath clocked a season-best time of 24.01 in the event and was followed by senior Elizabeth Holmes in her season-best time of 24.45.

Senior Ashley Karnes finished 19th in the 1-meter by scoring 243.45 points. Junior Kara Cook logged a 29th-place finish with her score of 222.05.

After the first two sessions, Purdue has broken seven records in six different events. The Boilermakers have recorded 28 season-best marks after just four preliminary events and two finals.

Thursday’s evening session, which features finals in all of the preliminary events plus the 200 freestyle relay, begins at 6:30 p.m. ET. Live results and live video can be found at purduesports.com.

Women’s Swimming, Diving: #22 Purdue to host Big Ten Championships

Carolyn Shelby — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 05:38:15 +0000

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — The 22nd-ranked Purdue women’s swimming and diving team hosts the Big Ten Championships starting Wednesday inside the Boilermaker Aquatic Center.

“We are very excited for this upcoming week,” head coach John Klinge said. “The team has made a lot of progress this season, and we are looking forward to seeing all of their hard work pay off with some great performances at the Big Ten Championships.”

The Boilermakers, who have been ranked all season, finished their campaign with a 6-3 mark in dual meets. The win total was the team’s highest since 2005-06, and the Boilermakers’ five-meet winning streak to start the season was the longest since the 2005-06 squad won six in a row.

Senior Ashley Karnes is set to defend her conference championship off the 1-meter in her home pool. The Bloomington, Ind., native won the lowest springboard and captured co-Diver of the Championships honors, an award she shared with 2008 Olympian Christian Loukas, at last year’s championship meet. Karnes also finished second off the 3-meter to record her highest career finish at the conference championships on both boards.

Sophomore Casey Matthews enters the weekend trying to hold on to the Doris Z. Holloway Pool record in the 3-meter. The Getzville, N.Y., native currently holds the record after scoring 380.10 points Jan. 9 against Michigan State to better the previous record of 370.20 held by Karnes. The two athletes have tugged the record back and forth this season. Karnes held the record at 363.50 entering the season, and Matthews scored 365.40 against Northwestern on Nov. 7 to hold it until Karnes posted her score Nov. 20 during the Purdue Invitational.

Juniors Kara Cook and Erin Mertz round out the Boilermakers’ diving contingent. Cook won the conference crown off the platform as a freshman, a season in which she also earned All-America acclaim by finishing third at the NCAA Championships. Mertz enters her first Big Ten Championships after transferring from Kansas before the season started. The Omaha, Neb., native became the first Jayhawk All-American diver since 1996 when she placed seventh in the 1-meter last season. She also scored from all three boards at last year’s Big 12 Championships.

Purdue enters this year’s championships with eight times recorded by four swimmers ranked in the top 10 in the conference. Junior Ariel Martin leads the way as she ranks second in the 200-yard freestyle, third in the 50 freestyle and fourth in the 100 freestyle. Martin is provisionally qualified for the NCAA Championships in all three events and has led off Purdue’s 200, 400 and 800 freestyle relays that also have eclipsed the provisional standard.

Freshman Caitlin Hamilton, who holds Purdue’s program record in the 1,000 freestyle and freshman records in the 500 and 1,650 freestyle events, ranks fifth in the 1,650 freestyle and eighth in the 500 freestyle. The Normal, Ill., native is provisionally qualified at the 500 and 1,650 distances, while the 1,000 is not contested at the championship meets.

Junior Allie Smith enters the championships ranked sixth in the conference in the 100 backstroke with her NCAA `B’ cut time of 55.11 seconds. The Green Bay, Wis., native, who holds program records in the 100 and 200 backstroke events as well as the 200 IM, also ranks seventh in the 200 backstroke. Seraphina Van is seventh in the 200 breaststroke with her time of 2:16.16. The Cypress, Texas, native broke Purdue’s freshman record and moved to third on the program’s all-time performance list in the event with her time, which also betters the NCAA provisional standard.

The Boilermakers placed sixth with 290 points at last year’s Big Ten Championships. During the four days of competition, Purdue broke 12 school records and three freshman records while recording 50 season-best marks. The team’s highest finish is fourth, which was recorded in 1991 and 1992. The 1991 squad scored 431.5 points, which is the most points totaled at a single championships in program history.

The Big Ten Championships begin Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. ET with a session featuring the 200 medley relay and 800 freestyle relay. Thursday, Friday and Saturday each feature morning and evening sessions, with preliminary swims beginning at 11 a.m. and finals starting at 6:30 p.m. A complete schedule of events, ticket information, live video and live results can be found at purduesports.com.

Boilermaker Fan HQ to set up in downtown Indy during Big Ten Tournaments

Carolyn Shelby — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 21:52:25 +0000

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — The Purdue Alumni Association, in partnership with the John Purdue Club, will host the Boilermaker Fan Headquarters at Scotty’s Brewhouse in downtown Indianapolis during the men’s and women’s Big Ten Tournaments.

Boilermaker men celebrate their first Big Ten Tournament Championship last year after beating the Ohio State Buckeyes 65-61.

The Big Ten Women’s Tournament will take place March 4-7, and the Big Ten Men’s Tournament will take place March 11-14, both at Conseco Fieldhouse.

Scotty’s Brewhouse is located at 1 Virginia Ave. in Indianapolis. On days when Purdue is playing, there will be a pep rally and party at Scotty’s. Purdue Alumni Association staff and Purdue VIPs will be stopping by. The first 300 people to arrive at the headquarters prior to the first Purdue game of the men’s and women’s tournaments will receive rally towels. There is no cost to attend.

Purdue alumni also will follow both teams during NCAA tournament play. The Purdue Alumni Association Web site, at http://www.purduealum.org/basketball, will have information on sites where the association will be hosting fans during the tournament. The site also will offer helpful tips regarding parking, hotels and where to get fan gear.

Fans who can’t be there in person can stay up-to-date with the teams by following their official Twitter feeds. Follow the men’s team at http://twitter.com/PurdueMensHoops and the women’s team at http://twitter.com/purduewhoops

Indiana Senate to honor Purdue Boilermakers as Big Ten Champions

Carolyn Shelby — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 19:33:19 +0000

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. -– State Sen. Ron Alting (R-Lafayette) will present the Purdue University men’s and women’s basketball teams today with Senate Concurrent Resolutions honoring their successful seasons.

The Boilermaker men made history with their first Big Ten Tournament Championship this year, beating Ohio State Buckeyes 65-61 after trailing by five at halftime. Purdue also defeated Penn State and Illinois on the way to the final game.

Boilermaker men made history with their first Big Ten Tournament Championship this year, beating Ohio State Buckeyes 65-61 after trailing by five at halftime.

“This is one of the most determined teams I’ve seen out of West Lafayette,” Alting said. “Injuries, illness and a couple of bad games couldn’t keep these players down, so they were very deserving of the big win.”

This year’s championship played a role in helping Purdue enter the NCAA tournament as the number five seed in the West Regional, according to Alting. For the first time since 2000, the Boilermakers advanced in the national tournament to the Sweet Sixteen.

Men’s head coach Matt Painter is in his fourth season at Purdue and was named 2008 Big Ten Coach of the Year. Painter and his team contributed to Purdue’s claim on the record for most wins in the Big Ten Tournament Championship and becoming the only Big Ten School with winning records against every basketball program in the conference.

“Both the men and women’s teams showed the entire state what can happen when team work is the focus,” Alting said.

Women’s head coach Sharon Versyp is in her third season in Lafayette and she led her team to a second place finish in the Big Ten Tournament. Purdue’s Women’s Basketball team was one of only three Big Ten teams to move on to this year’s national tournament. The Boilermaker women advanced to the Elite Eight.

“Indiana is a state known for its love for basketball,” Alting said. “Purdue Boilermakers are carrying on a Hoosier tradition with both teams giving impressive showings on the national level.”

Purdue wins two Big Ten titles first day of men’s swimming championships

Carolyn Shelby — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 05:01:02 +0000

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. -– The Purdue men’s swimming and diving team earned two conference crowns and broke nine records Thursday inside the Boilermaker Aquatic Center during the first day of the Big Ten Championships.

“We were really worried about today, because we knew today was our worst day of the meet,” head coach Dan Ross said. “On the first day, we didn’t have anybody swimming their best event if you say (Andrew) Langenfeld’s best event is the 100 fly. Everything just fell into place. The first leg of the 400 medley relay was unbelievable. Tim Watts had never been under 50.4, and he goes 47.6. We’re only 12 points out of second place. We wanted to be in that battle, and after the first day, which is not a very good day for us, we are.”

Andrew Langenfeld won the 50 freestyle while breaking facility, conference and school records.

The Boilermakers started Thursday night’s session with a fury as the 200-yard freestyle relay team broke Purdue’s longest-standing school record. Andrew Langenfeld, Ben Wachtel, John Schmitt and Daniel Jung finished second in a time of 1:17.91 that shatters the previous school record of 1:19.50 set in 1998.

Langenfeld continued his record-breaking ways in the 50 freestyle. The senior from Centralia, Ill., won the event in a Doris Z. Holloway Pool, Big Ten and school-record time of 19.34 that betters the NCAA ‘A’ standard. Langenfeld held the school record entering the day and took the pool record, which was 19.44 clocked by Matt Grevers of Northwestern in 2004, with his 19.38 time during the afternoon session.

“It was a great day,” Langenfeld said. “I was really excited. I was a little concerned initially when I got mono (in December), how that would affect my taper and everything, but I kept my eye on the prize, tried to stay as focused as possible and it worked out for the 50. I’m really happy about everything.”

Freshman David Boudia also left the Boilermaker Aquatic Center with a title and three records to his name. The Noblesville, Ind., native won the 1-meter competition with his score of 446.65 points, which shattered the previous Big Ten record of 388.55 set in 2008 by Indiana’s Landon Marzullo. Boudia’s score also broke the Doris Z. Holloway pool record of 402.45 and the Purdue record of 419.85, both already owned by the Purdue freshman.

“It definitely was exciting winning,” Boudia said. “I didn’t have a very good prelim this morning, and I really just wanted to come back and dive like I know how. It was good to have all the support from the rest of my team and the fans.”

In the final event of the day, Purdue broke another school record. Watts, Aaron Koger, Langenfeld and Schmitt finished fourth with a time of 3:11.04 that lowers the quartet’s school record of 3:12.61 set two weeks ago against Indiana.

In the afternoon session, Jung broke the Purdue freshman record in the 50 freestyle. His time of 20.22 eclipsed the previous mark of 20.43 set by David Weis in 2001. In the final, Jung finished 23rd after stopping the clock in 20.48.

Team captain Schmitt met the NCAA ‘B’ standard and improved his standing in second on Purdue’s all-time performance list while placing ninth in the 50 freestyle with his time of 19.82. The senior from Evansville, Ind., moved to second on the all-time list in the afternoon session after touching the wall in 19.96.

Sophomore David Colturi finished third in the 1-meter event with his personal-best score of 389.95 that moves him behind only Boudia on Purdue’s all-time performance list in the event. Juniors Kyle Mitrione and Danny Cox placed ninth and 10th, respectively, in the 1-meter competition. Junior Andre Koop finished 21st in the 200 IM with his time of 1:49.37. His time of 1:48.89 in the afternoon session moved him to fifth on Purdue’s all-time performance list in the event.

In addition to the swimmers that advanced to Thursday night’s finals, Purdue earned 11 season-best times during the afternoon session. The 50 freestyle saw six Boilermakers swim a season-best time as Ben Wachtel touched the wall in 20.59, Brendan Joyce finished in 20.68, Jimmy Brooks stopped the clock in 20.84, Gage Barry completed the race in 20.96, Kyle House swam 20.98 and Chris Pfaff finished in 21.09.

In the 500 freestyle, Matt Stewart improved his standing in third on Purdue’s all-time performance list in the event with his 4:26.01 time. Luke Zehrung touched the wall in 4:28.05, which improves his fifth-place standing on Purdue’s all-time performance list in the event. Andre Koop moved to fifth on Purdue’s all-time performance list in the 200 IM with his 1:48.89 time, while Albert Miller and Wyatt Hodges also swam season-best times of 1:51.06 and 1:55.19, respectively.

Michigan leads the Big Ten Championships after day one with 277.5 points. The Wolverines are followed by Minnesota and Indiana with 154 points each. Ohio State rounds out the top five with 136 points. Three Big Ten records and five pool records were broken in Thursday’s six finals.

The meet continues Friday at noon with preliminaries in the 400 IM, 100 butterfly, 200 freestyle, 100 breaststroke, 100 backstroke and 3-meter diving. The evening session, which features finals in each preliminary event and the 200 medley and 800 free relays, begins at 7 p.m.

Purdue to host Big Ten Men’s Swimming Championships

Carolyn Shelby — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 15:33:09 +0000

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. –- The 14th-ranked Purdue men’s swimming and diving team welcomes the rest of the conference this week as the Big Ten Championships begin Thursday inside the Boilermaker Aquatic Center.

“The Big Ten meet is always an exciting meet,” head coach Dan Ross said. “But, hosting for only the second time since 1963 is special. Purdue University is fortunate to have such a fine facility capable of hosting this great event. I invite all of Tippecanoe County to come out and support this event that will include US and International Olympians.”

David Colturi was Purdue's high scorer at last year's Big Ten Championships.

Last season, Purdue put together a school-record point total of 488.5 at the Big Ten Championships and finished fifth. David Colturi was the highest scorer for the Boilermakers after he finished second off the 3-meter springboard, third from the 1-meter and fifth off the 10-meter platform in his first conference championship meet.

In 2009, Purdue has another freshman poised to score from all three diving boards. David Boudia has broken the school record from all three boards and broke a conference record this season when he was named Big Ten Diver of the Week seven times, which bettered the previous record of five. Boudia, a Noblesville, Ind., native and 2008 Olympian, enters the conference championships with victories in his last 18 collegiate diving competitions. This summer, Boudia will represent the USA again after being selected to the World Championships team earlier this month.

The Boilermakers have plenty of weapons in the pool as well. Senior Andrew Langenfeld broke three school records in the season’s final dual meet against Indiana on Feb. 7. The Centralia, Ill., native began his record-setting day by swimming the third leg on Purdue’s 400-yard medley relay team that included Tim Watts, Aaron Koger and John Schmitt. The quartet lowered the previous record by almost one full second. Langenfeld continued by lowering the school record in the 50 freestyle, which he already held, before breaking the 100 butterfly school record.

Schmitt, who finished fifth in the 200 freestyle at the 2007 Big Ten Championships, and sophomore Matt Stewart moved to second on Purdue’s all-time performance lists in the 100 freestyle and 1,000 freestyle, respectively, against Indiana. Stewart also put himself in third place on Purdue’s all-time performance list in the 500 freestyle.

Sam Wilcher, Purdue’s 200 butterfly record holder, earned the team’s highest finish in the pool at last year’s Big Ten Championships as the junior from Arlington Heights, Ill., finished sixth in the event. Purdue’s relay teams all added points to last year’s total, with the 200 and 400 freestyle relay quartets leading the way with sixth-place finishes. The Boilermakers enter the championships with six marks that have met the NCAA ‘B’ standard and all five divers qualified for the NCAA Zone C Diving Championships.

Purdue has 25 individual conference titles. The Boilermakers have earned their highest conference finish, fourth, 11 times. Purdue has hosted five Big Ten Men’s Swimming and Diving Championships, with the most recent coming in 2004. Before that, the Big Ten champion was crowned in West Lafayette in 1939, 1949, 1956 and 1963.

The Big Ten has six ranked teams and five in the top 15, led by defending conference champion Michigan at No. 4. The Big Ten Championships begin Thursday and run through Saturday. Each day of competition features an afternoon session of preliminaries that begins at noon and an evening session of finals that begins at 7 p.m.

Complete championships information, including ticket purchasing options and a schedule of events, can be found at purduesports.com. Live results will be available at purduesports.com, and divemeets.com will provide live video of the diving events. The Big Ten Championships will be broadcast on tape delay by the Big Ten Network on March 7 at noon ET.

Lafayette Online » Big Ten Championships

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