By Abe RakovThe Daily Northwestern
Northwestern swimmer Matt Grevers is fast.
That’s a pretty obvious statement to anyone who has read or heard anything about NU swimming in the past four years, but he continues to impress.
Grevers won the 200-yard IM by more than 10 seconds in the Wildcats’ meet at No. 16 Notre Dame last weekend.
To put that in perspective, the winners of the four other 200-yard events won by a combined eight seconds. Even though the event isn’t part of his normal repertoire, the two-time NCAA champion’s time of 1:45.12 was .03 seconds off fellow senior Mike Alexandrov’s school record.
In other words, Grevers was ridiculous.
In case Grevers has another 10-second break anytime soon, NU Notes came up with a list of what can be done in that timeframe:
-Say the alphabet.
-Chug one of those little Milk Chugs bottles.
-Use mouthwash for not long enough.
-Watch world-class sprinter run 100 meters.
The men’s swimming team as a whole also deserves some mention. With the victory against Notre Dame, NU improved to 6-0 on the season with five wins against top-25 opponents. The Cats are underrated at eighth, but that should change when the new rankings come out.
For the first time in a while, NU has a national championship contender that doesn’t compete in the spring.
Return of the champs
NU’s two-time defending-champion lacrosse team begins its season Sunday against Team USA in Orlando. Unfortunately for Team USA, the best women’s lacrosse player in college in the country, Kristen Kjellman, will be competing for the Cats, although she also is a member of the national team.
Athlete of the Week
Sam Nemecek. The sophomore foilist helped lead NU to a 5-1 weekend at the Haverford Invitational, improving her record to 15-1 on the year.
Home game to watch
NU vs. No. 5 Ohio State tonight at 7 p.m. The game will undoubtedly be closer than the Cats’ 32-point blowout loss last week because it’s at home, but even if it’s not you still get to see a soon-to-be NBA superstar in Greg Oden and a possible Final Four squad.
Deputy sports editor Abe Rakov is a Medill junior. Read his NU Notes column every Wednesday. He can be reached at [email protected].
