Jan. 28, 2011
SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- Following the first day of action at the five-team Shamrock Invitational, Northwestern is ahead of all four of its opponents with two Saturday sessions remaining in the meet. NU leads No. 18 Ohio State (56-51), host Notre Dame (72.5-37.5), Iowa (88-21) and Denver (92-18).
Instead of the invitational-style scoring which was used at NU's six-team TYR Invitational in November, this meet is being scored as individual dual meets between all teams, meaning the Wildcats will add four outcomes to their 6-4 (1-4 Big Ten) record after Saturday's final two sessions.
Northwestern opened the meet in emphatic fashion, coming from behind in the 200 free relay to take first overall against the field with a 1:34.26. The Wildcats' team of Jackie Powell (Madison, Wis./James Madison Memorial), Marybeth Hall (Brighton, Mich./Brighton), Liza Engstrom (Reno, Nev./Robert McQueen) and Taylor Reynolds (St. Louis, Mo./Webster Groves) trailed the Buckeyes entering the anchor leg, but Reynolds blazed to a 23.02 final 50 yards -- more than a full second faster than the Buckeye anchor -- to give NU a .40 of a second win.
In the 1,000 freestyle, Northwestern and Ohio State swimmers earned the top seven positions, with Powell turning in a season-best 4:53.92 to finish second overall and lead the 'Cats. Meredith King (Louisville, Ky./duPont Manual) placed sixth with a 4:58.67 while Ellen Grigg (Charlotte, N.C./Charlotte Latin School) was seventh overall in 5:00.16.
Junior Jacquie Godbe (Rapid City, N.D./Stevens) broke up a pair of Ohio State swimmers with a second-place overall finish in the 200 IM, swimming a season-best time of 2:04.76. Kathleen Patterson (Naperville, Ill./Neuqua Valley) placed fifth overall with a 2:05.84.
Northwestern claimed the 2-3-4 positions overall in the 50 free behind an OSU swimmer. Hall led the way with a career-best 23.60, followed by Reynolds in third with a 23.63 and Powell in fourth with a 23.96.
On the 3-meter springboard, Cosima Lenz (Altadena, Calif./Polytechnic School) placed third overall with a 303.30 while Felicitas Lenz (Altadena, Calif./Polytechnic School) was fourth with a score of 296.30.
In the final 400 medley relay, Notre Dame and Ohio State took first and second place, but the Wildcats grabbed the third- and fourth-place overall results. The team of Engstrom, Jenny Wilson (Bethesda, Md./Sidwell Friends School), Hall and Reynolds were third in 3:48.37 while the squad of Katie Eschenburg (Hartland, Wis./Arrowhead), Patterson, Meghan Cavanaugh (Anchorage, Alaska/East Anchorage) and Powell claimed fourth in 3:49.32.
The Shamrock Invitational concludes tomorrow, Saturday, Jan. 29, with a pair of sessions at the Rolfs Aquatic Center.
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