Nov. 8, 2001
MADISON, Wis. - After cruising through its first two events of the season, Northwestern's men's swimming and diving team hit a bump in the road-No. 15 Wisconsin.
In the first Big Ten dual meet of the 2001-02 season, the Badgers defeated the Wildcats 187-101.
NU, currently enjoying its first-ever national ranking at No. 20, is now 1-1 on the season.
Northwestern took first in five of the 16 events. Senior Elliot Massuda (Valparaiso, Ind./Valparaiso) was responsible for two of the victories, as he soundly defeated his Wisconsin opponent in both the 1-meter and 3-meter diving events.
Other victories were junior Mike Shue (Ft. Myers, Fla./Ft. Myers) in the 1000 free with a time of 9:24.25, junior Kellan O'Connor (Phoenix, Ariz./Brophy Prep) in the 200 fly with a time of 1:48.74, and sophomore Tony Swanson (Coon Rapids, Minn./Coon Rapids) in the 200 IM, clocking in at 1:52.92.
Shue was eight-hundreths of a second shy of another victory in the 500 free. A close race in the 200 breast yielded sophomore Aaron McCracken (Naperville, Ill./Central) second place, finishing four-tenths of a second behind the winner.
The Wildcats return home to host Eastern Michigan Saturday at 2 p.m. as part of a co-ed dual at Norris Aquatic Center. The No. 21 Northwestern women's team will host No. 24 Minnesota.