May 21, 2009
EVANSTON, Ill. -- Northwestern recorded its most successful dual-meet season in the 15 years head coach Jimmy Tierney has been at the helm while breaking five school records to showcase both the talent level and depth of the Wildcats' program in 2008-09.
Northwestern went 10-2 during the year, not losing a single meet over the final two months of the schedule. Never before in Tierney's time have the Wildcats reached double-digits in wins, improving by four victories over NU's 6-4 mark in 2007-08. The Wildcats spent the entire year ranked between No. 20 and No. 23 in the College Swimming Coaches Association of America (CSCAA) dual-meet poll.
Ironically, NU did not begin 2008-09 with a win, although it still swam well enough in a loss to No. 8 Indiana to earn conference recognition. Junior Kassia Shishkoff (Raleigh, N.C./St. David's School) recorded a pair of NCAA `B' provisional qualifying times in her first competition of the year to win Big Ten Swimmer of the Week accolades -- a rare feat for a student-athlete in a non-victorious effort.
One meet later, Northwestern trounced Purdue and earned its second conference Swimmer of the Week award in as many meets when junior Emily Wong (Nepean, Ontario/St. Joseph's) picked up the honor. Wong dominated the sprint free events, winning the 50, 100 and 200 distances while also swimming on the winning 200 free relay.
On Nov. 13, the Wildcats fell to the 17th-ranked Badgers in Madison, Wis., in what would prove to be their final loss of the entire year. From that point on, NU kicked off a string of eight-consecutive dual meet victories beginning with a double-dual sweep of Chicagoland rivals UIC and the University of Chicago and including wins over two ranked foes (No. 24 Notre Dame and No. 22 Michigan).
Before embarking on its tour of dual-meet domination, Northwestern pulled away from the field to win its own TYR Invitational. The Wildcats broke a pair of Norris Aquatics Center Pool records, most notably lowering the 800 free relay mark by more than three seconds with a 7:20.57 from the team of Jenn Kocsis (Omaha, Neb./Marian), Ellen Grigg (Charlotte, N.C./Charlotte Latin School), Wong and Shishkoff. Individually, Wong earned an NCAA `B' time in the 100 free and took four-year All-American Andrea Hupman's name off the board with a pool record of 49.74 in the event. Wong also was just .01 of a second shy of breaking Hupman's Norris Center 50 free standard.
Northwestern's next stop was the sunshine of Florida, where the Wildcats spent their holiday training trip. While in Boca Raton, NU swept a quad meet against Florida Atlantic, Old Dominion and Oregon State. Check out photos from the training trip here.
After blowing by recent competition, Northwestern showed it could race and win tight meets as well. Returning home to host No. 24 Notre Dame and Toledo in a double-dual, the Wildcats held off the Irish with a thrilling victory in the final event. Trailing by four points heading into the 400 free relay, Northwestern needed a victory in the event to win the meet against its ranked opponent. Wong got the Wildcats out to an immediate two-second cushion with a 50.61 leadoff leg. Shelby Johnson (Wayzata, Minn./Wayzata) largely maintained NU's advantage before Teisha Lightbourne (Nassau, Bahamas/Peddie School (N.J.)) swam a 52.04 third leg against Notre Dame's Amy Prestinario, whose 51.41 closed the gap.
Shishkoff swam the anchor for the Wildcats against Notre Dame's Amywren Miller, who came out fast with a 23.61 opening 50. With the swimmers coming off the final turn nearly even and the crowd in the Norris Aquatics Center at a deafening level, Shishkoff crept ahead to finish the relay in 3:24.40 to defeat Notre Dame's 3:24.77 and give NU a five-point win in the meet. Shishkoff was named Big Ten Swimmer of the Week for the second time on the year for her efforts, which also included three individual event victories.
The Wildcats then made it back-to-back wins over a ranked opponent when they thoroughly dominated the 22nd-ranked Wolverines on Senior Day, 173-122. NU won all but four swimming events and swept the top-three spots in three different races to aid in its commanding victory. Northwestern closed out the dual-meet schedule with a 192-99 victory at Iowa to give it the 10-win season.
Northwestern entered the Big Ten Championships meet primed to go low, and the Wildcats succeeded in recording 16 NCAA provisional qualifying times and two school records. Genny Szymanski (Haines, Alaska/Haines) broke her own NU mark with a 1:56.13 in the 200 back, while the team of Lightbourne, Wong, Liza Engstrom (Reno, Nev./Robert McQueen) and Johnson swam a 1:29.98 to establish a new Wildcats' 200 free relay standard. Check out images from the 2009 Big Ten Championships here and here.
All five of NU's relays qualified for provisional cut times in addition to the Wildcats' multiple individual times, but new suit technology combined with vastly lowered NCAA qualifying standards resulted in NU sending just Grigg to the NCAA Championships. The sophomore and two-time All-American from her freshman season represented Northwestern tremendously, breaking three school records and finishing in the top 20 in all three of her individual events.
Grigg began the meet by breaking her own school mark with a 4:41.10 in the 500 free to finish 17th. She then came in 19th in the 200 free with a career-best time before saving her best for last. On the final day of competition, Grigg shattered two school records in a single swim when was 19th in the 1,650 freestyle. Grigg's time of 16:10.92 broke an eight-year-old NU mark, while her 1,000 free split of 9:49.61 also broke a 12-year-old Wildcat standard at that distance.
While excelling in the pool, Northwestern also once again was stellar in the classroom. NU earned a 3.32 cumulative GPA to win a CSCAA Academic Team Award, and a staggering 18 different Wildcats out of 21 eligible to receive the honor were named Academic All-Big Ten.
Three seniors -- Jill Forster (Centerville, Ohio/Centerville), Hayley Fry (Marion, Iowa/Linn-Mar) and Sara White-Delehoy (Kent, Wash./Kentlake) leave the Wildcats following this season, while six new 'Cats will join NU for the 2009-2010 campaign. Northwestern showcased its depth during its dual-meet season this year and is well on its way toward translating that success into Big Ten and NCAA Championships results.