Nov. 9, 2006
EVANSTON, Ill. -- No. 7 Northwestern defeated a pair of ranked Big Ten foes in its first two dual meets of the season, and now turns its attention to Wisconsin in a combined meet with the women's squad scheduled to begin at 4 p.m. Friday, Nov. 10, at the Norris Aquatics Center.
The Wildcats are 2-0 after defeating conference powerhouses Purdue and Indiana in the same season for the first time in more than 10 years. In the process, NU has earned the last two Big Ten Swimmer of the Week honors. Senior Matt Grevers (Lake Forest, Ill./Lake Forest) won the award last week, while sophomore Eric Nilsson (Weston, Mass./Weston) took home the honor this week.
Grevers, Nilsson and senior Mike Alexandrov (Champaign, Ill./Centennial) have yet to lose an event through the first two meets of the season, and several Wildcats have stepped up to add depth to this year's squad. Junior Kyle Bubolz (Waukesha, Wis./Waukesha North) is undefeated in his bread-and-butter event, the 100 fly, while also earning top-3 finishes in the 100 free and 100 back.
Junior transfer Bruno Barbic (Zagreb, Croatia/V. Gimnazjia) has won a pair of sprint free events, while finishing in the top three in every one of his swims. Sophomore Adam Beckman (Kearney, Neb./Kearney) has earned points in both of his 200 back efforts on the year, while classmate John Franklin (Fort Lauderdale, Fla./North Broward Prep) has finished in the top-3 in all of his breaststroke events so far this season.
Sophomore Andy Long (Aurora, Ill./Waubonsie Valley) has two third-place finishes in the 200 fly to his name, junior Jimmy Sourbeer (Des Moines, Iowa/Dowling Catholic) has earned points in all four of his 100- or 200-free swims and freshman Jake Vogel (Canton, Ill./Canton) has done the same in his quartet of 100- and 200-back outings.
The meet marks the final home dual meet for the 'Cats this season. NU will host the TYR Invitational next weekend, Nov. 17-19, as its final home event of the year.