March 1, 2002
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - Northwestern Day Two Results
Sophomore All-American Tony Swanson (Coon Rapids, Minn./Coon Rapids) continues to break Northwestern men's swimming records as the men conclude Day Two of the Big Ten Conference Championships.
Swanson, who won the 200 IM in the Day One finals, took second in the 100 backstroke with a time of 47.63. His mark, and NCAA "A" standard, broke the previous record of 47.93 set by Brian Walters in 1999.
Sophomore Mark Hamming (Lake Forest, Ill./Lake Forest) picked up his first school record in the 100 butterfly, finishing ninth in the finals with a 48.25. His time was an NCAA "B" standard and broke the previous record of 48.51 set by Scott Smale in 1995.
Despite the strong individual performances, the Wildcats slipped from fourth place to seventh in the overall standings with a two-day point total of 227.
After placing no swimmers in the 200 freestyle finals and finishing 10th in the 200 medley relay, the 'Cats fell behind Ohio State and Indiana. Minnesota is still in the lead with 487 points.
Other Wildcats to make it to Friday's finals were Kellan O'Connor (Phoenix, Ariz./Brophy Prep) who finished sixth in the 400 IM with a time of 3:52.09, a career best by more than four seconds.
Two freshmen made their first appearance in a championship final as Louis Torres (Morton Grove, Ill./Niles West) took 11th in the 100 breaststroke with a team-best time of 55.91. Nick Eggen (Phoenix, Ariz./Arcadia) swam a career-best 50.03 to finish 12th in the 100 back.
The Big Ten Championships conclude tomorrow with preliminaries at noon and finals at 7 p.m.