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NU 179, UIC 112 NU 155, Oakland 134 Norris Aquatics Center Evanston, Ill. Final Results |
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EVANSTON, Ill. -- Northwestern was at home for the first time this season and did not disappoint, collecting a pair of wins Saturday afternoon to move to 3-0 on the young season.
The Wildcats scored a convincing 179-112 win over UIC, while holding on down the stretch to edge out Oakland, 155-134.
NU won nine events during the double dual meet but even in events where a Wildcat did not win, the team was able to place several finishers near the top to negate points scored by the opponents.
The `Cats started in style, winning the first two events by wide margins. The Northwestern "A" team of Alex Snarski (Libertyville, Ill./Libertyville), Uula Auren (Helsinki, Finland/Makelanrinteen Lukio), Andrew Jovanovic (Chicago, Ill./Loyola) and Almog Olshtein (Haifa, Israel/Haifa) earned their stripes in the 200 medley relay, posting a 1:29.99 mark, which was a full two seconds better than the second-place finishers from Oakland.
Junior Jordan Wilimovsky (Malibu, Calif./Malibu) put on a show in the 1000 free, posting a winning time of 9:08.37 and finishing nearly 40 seconds ahead of the rest of the field. Wilimovsky's splits were nearly two seconds better than everyone else at each turn. Freshman Jonathan Blansfield (Westport, Conn./Staples) followed Wilimovsky to the finish, earning a second-place spot.
Oakland proved to be tough competition on Saturday, as the Golden Grizzlies captured six races but their efforts were thwarted by a Northwestern squad that followed close behind each time. In the 200 free, Oakland's Jorden Merrilees was the victor, but three Wildcats came in 2-3-4, putting significant points on the board. Again, in the 100 back, the Grizzlies' Aleksander Danielewski claimed first, but Northwestern finished 2-3-4.
Northwestern received efforts from all levels of experience to get back in the winner's circle. The senior Auren came out with a dominant effort in the 100 breast, posting a time of 56.37, and freshman Olshtein raced to a 20.60 first-place finish in the 50 free, finishing just shy of an NCAA "B" qualifying time.
Olshtein and sophomore Jovanovic were neck and neck out front in the 100 free. Olshtein was just a little bit faster, taking the victory in 45.38. Jovanovic finished second in 45.70.
When the team needed a spark down the stretch, Van Donkersgoed (Eden Prairie, Minn./Minnehaha) provided it in the form of a tight race to the finish against UIC's Christian Grobe in the 200 breast. Donkersgoed reached the finish in 2:05.82, besting Grobe by just .05 seconds.
Wilimovsky was a winner again in the 500 free, leading a Northwestern 1-3-4 finish in that event. He raced to the win in a time of 4:28.95, beating out Merrilees from Oakland.
Diving proved a strong point for the Wildcats on the afternoon. In the 1-meter, the Wildcats swept the top three spots, including a dominant 326.35 effort from sophomore Andrew Cramer (Indianapolis, Ind./Cathedral). He was equally as dominant in the 3-meter with a 347.0, as the `Cats again finished 1-2-3.
Northwestern returns to action Nov. 7-8 in Lexington, Ky., in a quad dual meet against Kentucky, Missouri and Southern Illinois.
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