Northwestern chased Michigan throughout Saturday’s meet, but there was no repeat of last week’s dramatic comeback. The No. 23 Wildcats lost their second-to-last meet before the Big Ten Championships 157.5-142.5 in Ann Arbor, Mich.
Big Ten Swimmer of the Week Kassia Shishkoff swam her third NCAA ‘B’ standard qualifying time of the season, fending off five-time NCAA All-American Margaret Kelly by 0.04 seconds on the 200-yard freestyle. Felicitas Lenz recorded her season-best scores on the diving boards but just fell short of No. 16 Michigan’s Amanda Lohman (4-5, 1-2 Big Ten).
NU (7-3, 1-3) hurt itself early when its ‘A’ relay squad of Emily Wong, Jenny Wilson, Liza Engstrom and Katie Eschenburg was disqualified for an illegal exchange after posting what would have been a winning time. The event gave Michigan a lead it didn’t let go.
‘We had a little setback after the first relay,’ sophomore Hannah Points said. ‘But we raced well to almost make a comeback.’
Wong did her best to earn back the lost points, winning her two events. In the 50-yard freestyle, she beat 2008 Beijing Olympics swimmer Natasha Moodie by 0.03 seconds. Her first-place finish, coupled with junior Teisha Lightbourne’s third-place result and freshman Taylor Reynolds’s tie for fourth, gave the Cats a 13.5-point boost. In the 100-yard freestyle, Wong topped Moodie again with a 51.11 time.
‘She’s a terrific racer,’ coach Jimmy Tierney said of Wong. ‘This time of the season, with the travel and all, tends to wear them down, but she’s a terrific competitor and we rely on her quite a bit.’
Wilson shook off the early disqualification to carry NU’s comeback effort. After two second-place finishes to Notre Dame’s Samantha Maxwell last week, Wilson won both of her individual events against Michigan. Her winning time of 1:03.78 on the 100-yard breaststroke was her second fastest of the season.
‘I was happy I could come back and score points for the team since I didn’t come through last week,’ Wilson said. ‘I also have to look at who I’m racing. I was excited to win today but not necessarily because of last week.’
In the 200-yard breaststroke, Wilson recorded a season-low time but still won the race. With Points and sophomore Kathleen Patterson coming in second and third, respectively, NU took a 16-point boost from the event and cut Michigan’s lead to just three points, the smallest margin of the afternoon.
‘Her events were critical for us carrying the meet and making a comeback toward the end,’ Tierney said. ‘She’s quite a competitor and she doesn’t want to let anyone stand in the way.’
In last week’s win over Notre Dame, NU came back from 16 points down with two events to go. Trailing by three with four events left at Michigan’s Canham Natatorium, the stage was set for a similar NU rally. But Michigan held on.
After Wilson’s win, U.S. international swimmer and former NCAA champion Emily Brunemann won the 500-yard freestyle race to extend Michigan’s lead to eight points. In the remaining three events, the Wolverines sealed victory with three wins and 31 points. ‘We swam really well,’ Wilson said. ‘The final score didn’t necessarily reflect that but we came out, we raced hard, and that’s all we could ask for. They just raced better today.’ [email protected]
