Following Thursday night’s first session of the Big Ten championships, the Northwestern women’s swimmers were tired, in sixth place and hungry.

So when the Wildcats’ team bus pulled into a closing Wendy’s, the swimmers banged on the windows and pleaded with store owners to remain open. The workers sympathized, and the Cats got their food.

It was symbolic of their weekend in Bloomington, Ind. – anytime the Cats ran into a roadblock, they took it on with a smile and still got what they wanted.

With an easygoing attitude, NU battled its way to a fourth-place finish in the conference, lapping Wisconsin and Minnesota on the final day of competition. The Cats were eclipsed by only Michigan, Penn State and Indiana.

This may not have been possible, team members said, if they weren’t having fun.

“I think they’re ready to go when I see them having fun,” coach Jimmy Tierney said. “We like to keep the atmosphere loose and focused, and it was great to see them do that.”

Although the team leaped out slowly from the blocks at the Counsilman and Billingsley Aquatic Center – falling back to sixth place after the first two days – it came back with authority Saturday. Senior Tashy Bohm and freshman Vicky West both set school records and won their respective events on day three.

For Bohm, it was just another day at the pool – she not only won her third-straight Big Ten title in the 200-yard backstroke, but she also set a new school record with a time of 1:57.61.

“I wasn’t really expecting it,” she said, “(but) everything came together perfectly. It was a best time, a pool record and an NU team record. It carried more (weight) than past performances.”

Bohm’s record-breaking performance Saturday evening was the second time that day she set a new mark in the 200 back – she broke the old record in the preliminary round as well.

By completing the three-peat, Tierney said, Bohm accomplished a rare feat. But what widened Tierney’s eyes was the way she won the race.

“She just took charge from the first lap,” he said. “There was never any doubt.”

Equally as impressive as Bohm’s victory was West’s win in the mile freestyle, in which she also set an NU record (16:17.20). Following the race, West was shocked – although she knew she was swimming fast, the freshman didn’t expect to hit the wall as quickly as she did.

West’s performance surprised Tierney as well. In the mile, competitors are divided into heats and swim the event only once – the winner is simply the swimmer with the fastest time, from any heat.

A freshman in her first championship meet, West was in control of her heat for half the race – which left her with no one to compete with but herself.

“It shows great maturity,” Tierney said. “There are freshmen who win conference championships, but there are ones who don’t because they don’t handle that pressure in that type of situation.”

Both West and Bohm received automatic berths to the NCAA championships and, along with sophomore Rachel Johnson, were named to the All-Big Ten Team.

Johnson swam a personal best in the 200 butterfly, but fell just shy of winning the event, taking second. She placed third in the 200 individual medley and fifth in the 400 IM earlier in the meet.

Tierney was also pleased with Merritt Adams’ performances, which he termed “gutsy.” The junior placed fourth in the 100 and 200 fly, while sophomore teammate Susie Sample also turned out a top-notch performance, finishing third in the 200 back.

A majority of NU’s best performances came on the final day of competition, which Tierney did not see as unusual. He drilled into the Cats the importance of raising their level of performance each session.

With several opponents showing signs of fatigue on the final day of competition, Tierney said his team had to push harder.

“We always talk about responding to adversity and challenges,” Tierney said, “especially over a meet of three days and six sessions. True championship teams keep fighting through the down times.”

By remaining upbeat the entire weekend, the Cats shrugged off some of the pressure.

Bohm acted as the team clown. For the 200 back final, she made her way to the blocks in obnoxious, striped socks, with her pants rolled up and “goofy” things in her hair. And throughout the weekend, she wore large purple sunglasses and a purple crown.

“I try to distract myself and the crowd to get everybody in a good mood,” she said.

The Cats also compiled a tape of songs with cuts by Outkast, DJ Funk, the Backstreet Boys and Bon Jovi for yet another motivational tool.

The relaxed setting helped NU battle back after two days of competition, Tierney said.

“For most athletes, that’s the type of environment they like,” he said. “The girls feel that’s the type of group they fit in well with.”