Feb. 21, 2002
ANN ARBOR, Mich. - After eight events, the Northwestern swimming and diving team is tied for sixth place at the Big Ten Championships with Iowa. Both the Wildcats and Hawkeyes have 143 points. Penn State leads the field with 261 points. Competition will continue tomorrow and conclude Saturday.
In tonight's finals action, Erin Swenson (Florissant, Mo./Hazelwood Central) gave NU a huge boost with a sixth-place finish in the 200 IM. Her time of 2:02.64 was her best of the season and an NCAA B qualifying time. The Wildcats picked up 18 total points in the 200 IM with Rachel Johnson (Champaign, Ill./Centennial) 11th, Merritt Adams (Norcross, Ga./The Lovett School) was 13th, Katie Simmons (Carmel, Ind./Carmel) was 14th, and Paige Nath (Wichita, Kan./Trinity) was 11th in the consolation session.
The 200 free medley squad of Megan Keefe (Blowing Rock, N.C./Watauga), Lauren Moore (Wilton, Conn./Wilton), Adams and Carmen Cosgrove (Perth, Western Australia/Nebraska) touched in fourth to give the 'Cats 30 points. The time was the fastest for the 'Cats this season and an NCAA B time.
Two NU swimmers raced in the consolation final of the 500 free. Stephanie Cranston (St. Louis, Mo./Mary Institute CD) placed 13th with a season-best time of 4:53.55, while Vicky West (Redlands, Calif./Redlands) took 16th with a time of 4:55.72. Both times were NCAA B qualifying times.
In the final race of the night, NU finished a disappointing sixth in the 400 medley relay with a time of 3:43.86.
Following each race results can be found on www.mgoblue.com.