By Chris GentilvisoThe Daily Northwestern
Facing one of the toughest teams in the nation, Northwestern women’s swimming came into its first meet of the season outmatched, falling short to No. 3 California, 191-102.
“They’re probably the best team ever to come here next to Stanford’s squad from 12 years ago, which had four Olympians,” NU coach Jimmy Tierney said.
In the first five events, two California swimmers shattered NU pool records. California’s Dana Vollmer finished with a time of 1:47.29 in the 200-yard freestyle. Teammate Jessica Hardy followed with a 1:01.02 split in the 100-yard breaststroke.
Despite the early pressure from the opposition, NU saw two newcomers emerge with potent performances in their first NCAA meets.
Freshman Kassia Shishkoff placed first in the 1000-yard freestyle event, beating out Cal senior Erin Reilly, a three-time All-American, by six seconds.
“Kassia kept the pressure on the whole race,” Tierney said. “She labored a bit during some stretches, but it’s quite a feat to do in her first time out.”
In the 50-yard freestyle event, the Cats’ displayed their depth of sprinters. Freshman Emily Wong finished second in her first individual race, with a time of 23.78. Two-time All-American Andrea Hupman followed in third place, with a split of 23.87.
“Andrea and Emily are two very talented girls,” Coach Tierney said. “They are good sprinters and relayers who will give us a lot of flexibility this year.”
Wong said Hupman is a key influence for her growth as she begins her college swimming career.
“She’s a great teammate,” she said. “I love playing with her and she pushes me every day in practice to continue to get better.”
With many of the girls not seeing meet action in months, Tierney said there were some sloppy finishes in events.
But in the two relay events on the docket, the Cats’ held their own, finishing third in the 200-yard medley and second in the 400-yard free relay.
Katie Braun started her season with a stellar performance in the 100-yard fly. She notched a time of 55.71, ousting Reilly by three tenths of a second.
“[Cal] is really fast,” Braun said. “Knowing that I can stay neck and neck with (Reilly) is huge.”
As one of the leaders on the squad, Braun sees the freshman class as playing a crucial role this season.
“Our entire team stayed in touch with each other over the summer,” she said. “It really helped us tonight. I think we’re going to surprise some teams the rest of the way.”
Reach Chris Gentilviso at [email protected].
