March 24, 2005
MINNEAPOLIS, Minn.-- Led by sophomore Matt Grevers, No. 15 Northwestern earned four berths in the finals of the first day's events at the NCAA Swimming and Diving Championships in Minneapolis.
Grevers had already earned All-America honors by qualifying for the finals of the 50 freestyle, then he broke his own school record in the 100 back, propelling Northwestern to the finals of the 400 medley relay as the third seed.
Grevers' leadoff time in the relay for the 'Cats was 45.78, besting his own school record by .14 seconds.
In his first race of the day, Grevers qualified for the finals of the 50 free by tying for sixth with a time of 19.40. Swimming in the lane adjacent to Grevers, Auburn's Fred Bousquet crushed the NCAA record when he touched the line in 18.74, .21 seconds faster than the previous record of 19.05.
"When swimming in a meet like this, you either are swimming too slowly or someone is swimming out of their mind." Grevers said, "Thankfully it was him swimming out of his mind and not me swimming slowly."
Sophomore Mike Alexandrov also qualified for the finals in the 200 IM when he placed 16th in the prelims with a time of 1:46.64. Alexandrov's finish earns him honorable mention All-America honors.
After the performance they put on this morning, the 'Cats best chance for victory will come tonight in the 400 medley relay, where they placed third in the preliminaries with a time of 3:09.70. The Wildcats' pool record of 3:08.50 in the 400 medley relay set earlier this year in Minneapolis still stands after the preliminaries, giving the 'Cats a strong opportunity to seize victory tonight.
By qualifying for the finals of 400 medley relay, Grevers and Alexandrov earned their third All-America honors of the championships while freshman Kyle Bubolz earned his second and senior Matt Wever earned his first as members of the squad.
Northwestern's 200 free relay squad -- the third seed - finished ninth in the prelims. Grevers, Alexandrov, Bubolz and David Kormushoff earned All-American honorable mention honors as part of the relay.
Junior Brian Davis and Bubolz both swam other events this afternoon, but neither was able to qualify for the finals this evening. Davis finished 34th in the 500 free with a time of 4:24.48, and Bubolz barely missed qualifying for the 50 free finals when he touched the wall .05 seconds too late. His time of 19.76 earned him a 19th-place finish.
The finals for day one's events begin at 7 p.m., with the 200 freestyle relay first, Alexandrov in the 200 IM second, Grevers in the 50 free third, and the 'Cats third-seeded 400 medley relay team swimming in the last event of the evening.
For results and complete Championships coverage, visit the Golden Gophers Division I NCAA Championships Web site.