Feb. 26, 2004
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - Northwestern head coach Bob Groseth said going into this weekend that his team needed to "get in the team hunt" early in the Big Ten Championships rather than attempt a late charge. His team must have paid heed to its coach's advice as the Wildcats jumped into third place with 150 points after day one of competition. Minnesota leads in the team standings with 207.5 while Michigan is currently in the second spot with 187 points.
Freshman Matt Grevers wasted no time putting his stamp on the Big Ten Championships. In this morning's prelim session, he broke a Big Ten Championship record in the 50 freestyle with a time of 19.44. The "A" time qualifies Grevers for the NCAA Championships and set a new school record as well. He went on to claim the gold in the 50-free finals in the second session with a time of 19.58.
Grevers also played the lead role in Northwestern's record-breaking 400 medley relay performance. With Grevers' Big Ten record-breaking 46.74 split in the 100 backstroke leg, the Wildcats set a pool and NU school record, clocking in at 3:10.55. Mike Alexandrov, Mark Hamming and Tony Swanson completed the foursome, whose time was the second-fastest in Big Ten history.
Swanson and Alexandrov both qualified for the NCAA Championships individually as well, swimming an "A" standard times of 1:46.16 and 1:46.25 in the finals, respectively. Swanson's prelim time of 1:46.00 set a pool record. He finished third in the event followed by Alexandrov in fourth. Hamming finished in seventh place with a personal-best time of 1:47.29.
Northwestern's 200 freestyle relay team, consisting of Grevers, Swanson, Ben Dexter and Matt Wever, broke a school record with a time of 1:19.78, but finished fourth overall. Dexter finished 15th in the 50 free with a time of 20.66 as well.
Brian Davis set a school record and finished fourth in the 500 free with a time of 4:21.92, an NCAA "B" standard mark.
Diver Mike Oxman took 18th place in the one-meter diving event and did not qualify for the final round of competition.
Eight events are scheduled for tomorrow and Northwestern should expect a wealth of points in the backstroke and butterfly races. For the latest results, live scoring and other meet information, visit Big Ten Men's Swimming and Diving Championships or Purdue Men's Swimming and Diving.