After trailing Wisconsin for most of the night, Northwestern came from behind to narrowly win the meet 157-143 on Friday at the Norris Aquatics Center.
Wisconsin (3-3, 1-2 Big Ten) led NU (2-2, 1-2 Big Ten) 125-120 going into the final quarter of events. But a Meghan Cavanaugh-led charge on the 100-yard butterfly handed the Wildcats the lead and the momentum as their swimmers won two of the remaining three races, clinching their first dual meet of the season.
The Badgers started the evening strong, taking first place in four of the first five events. The highlight of the night came on the fourth race, when Wisconsin’s 6-foot-1-inch sophomore Maggie Meyer recorded the NCAA’s top time with her 100-yard backstroke.
The Big Ten Women’s Swimmer of the Week’s 53.01 time also beat Norris Aquatics Center’s 12-year record of 54.43 set by Stanford’s Catherine Fox.
Wisconsin held off the Cats’ surge for most of the meet, extending its lead to as many as 23 points. But NU, mirroring its performance against Purdue last weekend, clawed its way back after a slow start to set up a grand finale.
If the Purdue defeat played on the NU swimmers’ minds going into the last four events, the effect was only to spur them on.
“I guess (the Purdue defeat) is what really pushed us coming in against Wisconsin; we didn’t want that to happen again,” senior Emily Wong said.
Wong was a key figure in NU’s resurgence against Wisconsin, claiming the 100-yard freestyle and narrowly missing out on the 50-yard freestyle by 0.08 seconds.
Senior Kassia Shishkoff was also instrumental in the comeback. After winning last week’s 200-yard freestyle but placing second in the 500-yard freestyle against the Boilermakers, Shishkoff won both events against the Badgers.
“The 500 free last night was something we really needed to see,” coach Jimmy Tierney said. “She swam good 200 frees but her 500 frees weren’t quite where I thought they should be, but that is getting close.”
Senior Jenn Kocsis placed second to Shishkoff in the 500-yard freestyle, a result which Tierney said was key for positioning the Cats heading into the final event.
The three upperclassmen’s impact on the outcome of the meet did not surprise the coach. “(Experience) is just an important extra tool that they have that some of the younger ones don’t,” he said. “(But it’s) certainly not the only thing that makes a difference in winning or not.”
Freshman Meredith King proved experience isn’t everything with her first-place finish in the 200-yard butterfly. Fellow freshman Marybeth Hall also claimed four points with her second place finish in the 100-yard butterfly, the event in which NU overtook Wisconsin. In diving, freshman Felicitas Lenz scored highest on the 3-meter springboard diving.
“(The freshmen) definitely bring a lot to the team, so we’re definitely in good shape with that class right now,” Tierney said.
On Saturday, NU comfortably saw off the University of Illinois-Chicago 189-103, evening its record for the season.
The freshmen were given the chance to shine, competing 18 times compared to 13 against Wisconsin. Hall particularly impressed with her win in the 50-yard butterfly.
“Marybeth Hall’s a terrific racer, she really is,” Tierney said. “She’s going to be a great swimmer for us in the coming years, so I’m really excited and really pleased with how she did today.”
Coming off defeats against Indiana and Purdue, the two victories this weekend were important for team morale.
“It is nice to get back on top like that,” Tierney said. “It shows that their efforts are paying off and if they stay persistent and keep working hard, there’s going to be some great things happening.” [email protected]
