Northwestern’s men’s and women’s swimming and diving squads participated in the Purdue Invitational from Thursday to Saturday, finishing first and second, respectively. The Wildcats competed against Illinois, Illinois State, Marshall, McKendree, Missouri State, Purdue and Southern Illinois.
On Thursday, the men’s team walked away with two wins and the lead. Graduate student Andrew Martin placed first for NU in the 500 yard freestyle with a time of 4:19.59. The ‘Cats took the top-six spots in the men’s 200 yard IM. Freshman Diego Nosack recorded a time of 1:45.76 to finish first in the event.
The women’s team won three events on the competition’s opening day. Graduate student Ayla Spitz won the 500 yard freestyle in 4:40.25. Sophomores Lindsay Ervin and Audrey Yu placed first and second in the 50 yard freestyle, finishing in 22.62 and 22.77 respectively.
The combination of Spitz, freshman Maggie Papanicholas, freshman May Peterson and Ervin took home the final win of the day in the 400 yard medley relay with a 3:36.62 finish.
The teams’ dominance extended into the second day, as the squads combined for six wins. Nosack won the 400 yard IM, finishing in 3:44.52. Graduate student Kevin Houseman secured first in the 100 yard breaststroke with a time of 52.43. The 800 yard relay team of sophomore Jan Karolczak, graduate student Ben Forbes, Andrew Martin and freshman Cade Duncan finished in 6:27.55 to win the event.
For the women’s team, Peterson, Papanicholas, Spitz and Ervin added another medley relay win to their tally in the 200 yard race. Spitz also recorded a win in the 200 yard freestyle, clocking in with a time of 1:44.81. Spitz, freshman Sydney Smith, senior Annika Wagner, and sophomore Hana Shimizu-Bowers capped off the day with a winning effort in the 800 yard freestyle relay.
NU finished strong on Saturday, winning both the men’s and women’s 200 yard backstroke, 200 yard breaststroke and 400 yard freestyle relay races. Martin made the 1650 yard freestyle a race for second place, finishing 22 seconds ahead of the next swimmer.
Freshman Adam Cohen secured the only diving victory for both squads in the platform diving event. To close out the competition for the women’s team, Ervin won the 100 yard freestyle and 400 yard freestyle relay alongside Spitz, Yu and Smith.
The men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams will be back in action at the US Open in Greensboro, North Carolina, from Nov. 29 to Dec. 2.
Email: [email protected]
Twitter: @adub_sports
Related Stories:
— NU swimming and diving defeats Miami and Southern Illinois
