March 15, 2007
MINNEAPOLIS -- No. 5 Northwestern began the NCAA Championships on a solid note, qualifying for a final in every event during day one's preliminary heats at the University of Minnesota Aquatic Center.
Against the nation's best, the 'Cats knew they would have to deliver their best performances. They did not disappoint, breaking the school record in the 200 free relay, 500 free and 200 IM during the preliminaries.
The Wildcats' preliminary swims earned them 10 All-America honors and two honorable mention All-America honors. Matt Grevers (Lake Forest, Ill./Lake Forest) and Mike Alexandrov (Champaign, Ill./Champaign), already the two most decorated swimmers in Northwestern history, both added three more All-America honors to their résumés to lead the 'Cats.
Juniors Bruno Barbic (Zagreb, Croatia/V. Gymnazija) and Kyle Bubolz (Waukesha, Wis./Waukesha North) earned two All-America honors apiece from Wildcat relays, with Barbic also earning an honorable mention All-America honor as an individual. Sophomore Eric Nilsson (Weston, Mass./Weston) rounded out the honors for the 'Cats, earning an honorable mention All-America honor as an individual.
The afternoon's preliminary heats began with the 200 free relay where the 'Cats were seeded second. Although they could not keep up with Auburn, who set a new NCAA record (1:15.56), the Wildcat quartet of Grevers, Barbic, Alexandrov and Bubolz broke a record of their own, setting a new Northwestern record with a time of 1:16.98 to qualify fifth for tonight's championship final and earn All-America honors.
Nilsson, the only Northwestern swimmer at the Championships who did not participate in the 200 free relay, upped the school-records-broken tally to two as he qualified for tonight's consolation final in the 500 free. Seeded 12th heading into the event, Nilsson's school-record time of 4:18.86 allowed him to maintain that qualifying position for the finals and earn his first individual honorable mention All-America honor.
Grevers and Alexandrov will go head-to-head for the first time at the NCAA Championships tonight after they both qualified for the championship final in the 200 IM. Although they were in different heats, Alexandrov got the better of Grevers in the prelims, using the fastest breaststroke leg in the entire field to propel him to a new school-record time of 1:44.57 and qualify fourth for the finals.
Swimming two heats after Alexandrov, Grevers almost matched his fellow senior's time, swimming a 1:44.95 to qualify sixth for this evening's final.
In the next event, the 50 free, Barbic ensured that the Wildcats would have an entrant in the finals as he qualified for the consolation final with a 12th-place finish, touching the wall with a time of 19.53. The swim earned the junior the second honorable mention All-America honor of his career and first as a Wildcat.
Northwestern wrapped up the day's preliminaries by protecting their No. 1 seed in the 400 medley relay. The quartet of Grevers, Alexandrov, Bubolz and Barbic swam a time of 3:07.78 to claim a spot in the championship final as the 'Cats look to win Northwestern's first relay title since 1932.
The final heats for day one will begin tonight at 7 p.m. CT with the events being swam in the same order as the preliminaries.
Real-time results for tonight's finals can be found at NCAA Championships.