EVANSTON, Ill. -- Fifteenth-ranked Northwestern fell to No. 9 Michigan 165-133 Saturday at the Norris Aquatics Center in what turned out to be the showdown many felt it would become. When the smoke cleared, nine pool records and two Northwestern school records had fallen.
Despite ending its dual meet win streak at four, the NU swam like a team ready to make waves at the Big Ten Championships.
From the very outset of the meet, it was clear that this one was going to be a classic. Two NU school records fell in the day's first event as the Wildcats broke a school record in the 400 medley relay with a time of 3:15.22. Matt Grevers broke a school record swimming the opening backstroke leg of the relay with a time of 47.13, good enough for an automatic qualifying time at the NCAA Championships.
Grevers' day was not even close to being finished. He won the 100 back with a time of 47.86 and the 200 back with a 1:44.30, setting another pool record. He also swam a blistering split of 42.89 in the 'Cats' record-breaking 400 freestyle relay.
Senior Tony Swanson broke a Northwestern pool record in the 100 freestyle with a time of 44.00. Swanson set the Wildcats' pool record in the 100 freestyle last week with a time of 47.67, only to see Grevers beat the mark early in the Michigan meet. Swanson also swam a personal-best 20.42 to win the 50 freestyle.
Freshman Kevin Donohue and junior Louis Torres gave the 'Cats a one-two finish in the 100 breaststroke finishing with times of 55.99 and 56.47, respectively. The duo flip-flopped in the 200 breast, with Torres finishing first and Donohue in second with times of 2:03.44 and 2:03.51, respectively.
Brian Davis had a second-place finish in the 1000 free with a personal-best time of 9:18.85 while senior Mark Hamming posted second-place finishes in both the 100 and 200 butterfly events.
Despite such strong performances from NU swimmers, the Wildcats were unable to overcome Michigan's depth. The Wolverines broke Northwestern pool records in four events en route to the victory.
Northwestern is back in action on Friday, Feb. 6 for a dual meet date with Iowa.