Make It an Even 10: 'Cats Add Three More Big Ten Titles, Finish Fifth
Feb. 18, 2007
COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Northwestern's sixth-ranked men's swimming team added Big Ten titles in the 100 free, 200 back and 200 breast to their previous seven on Sunday evening at McCorkle Aquatic Pavilion as the Wildcats finished in fifth as a team at the Big Ten Championships. The 'Cats finished with 470 points, 94.5 points ahead of sixth-place Purdue and 24 points behind fourth-place Indiana. Minnesota claimed the Big Ten Swimming and Diving Championships with 612.5 points despite not winning a single individual gold medal. Michigan finished second with 608.5 points and host Ohio State earned third with 495 points. Although the team finished fifth, the Wildcat stars dominated the pool once again, winning nearly double the amount of titles of any other Big Ten squad. Michigan was the 'Cats closest competitor in this category, as the Wolverines took home six titles to the Wildcats' 10. Senior Mike Alexandrov (Champaign, Ill./Centennial) led the title count for Northwestern, tallying three Big Ten titles. Fellow senior Matt Grevers (Lake Forest, Ill./Lake Forest) claimed two, juniors Bruno Barbic (Zagreb, Croatia/V. Gimnazija) and Kyle Bubolz (Waukesha, Wis./Waukesha North) earned one apiece, and the quartet of Wildcat stars took home three relay titles.
All four of the aforementioned Wildcats earned first-team All-Big Ten honors and were joined on the team by sophomore Eric Nilsson (Weston, Mass./Weston). The Wildcats left Columbus with three other individual honors, as Alexandrov earned Swimmer of the Championships, Grevers was honored as Swimmer of the Year and Northwestern Head Coach Bob Groseth shared Swimming Coach of the Year with Michigan's Bob Bowman.
The evening started with the 1650 free, an event that had no prelims and as a result had no set finals. Daniel Walls (Tucson, Ariz./Sabino) was Northwestern's top finisher in the event, finishing 15th as he almost set a new personal-best time when he touched the wall with a time of 15:32.00. Sophomore Andy Long (Aurora, Ill./Waubonsie Valley) also swam the event for the 'Cats and crushed his previous best, finishing the swim in 23rd place with a time of 15:42.51 -- nearly 20 seconds faster than his previous best. Next up was the 200 back, where Grevers was out for revenge after the previous night's loss in the 100 back. After qualifying second in the prelims, Grevers crushed the field in the finals, smashing his own school and Big Ten records with a time of 1:39.53 to finish over three seconds ahead of his nearest competitor. The outstanding swim also put Grevers in some rare company. His sub-1:40.00 time makes him one of only three swimmers to swim such a time in the history of the 200 back. Two other Wildcats used strong prelim swims to earn a place in one of the finals of the 200 back. After qualifying 15th in the prelims thanks to a season-best time of 1:47.39, Adam Beckman (Kearney, Neb./Kearney) maintained that position in the consolation final. Freshman Jake Vogel (Canton, Ill./Canton) snuck into the bonus final and then moved up to 19th, finishing with a time of 1:49.79. Eric Simpson (Wellesley, Mass./Wellesley) and Alexander Hayden (Wilmette, Ill./New Trier) also swam the 200 back for Northwestern, finishing 27th and 31st respectively. The 100 free finals turned out to be a dual between a pair of Wildcat juniors. In the prelims, Bubolz swam an NCAA 'A' cut time of 43.14 to qualify first while teammate Barbic qualified third. Looking for his first Big Ten individual title, Barbic out-swam his teammate in the finals, matching Bubolz's blistering prelims time to claim his first Big Ten title. Bubolz finished right on Barbic's heels in second. The 43.14 time was both swimmers' season-best and ties them for the fifth-fastest time in the nation for the 100 free. A trio of Wildcats -- Jimmy Sourbeer (Des Moines, Iowa/Dowling Catholic), Chris Doman (Pittsburgh, Pa./St. Charles Prep) and Charlie Cunnick (Davenport, Iowa/Davenport Central) -- also participated in the 100 free prelims, finishing in 38th, 42nd and 48th respectively. Alexandrov made it three straight titles for the 'Cats when he obliterated the field in the 200 breast with a swim that rivaled Grevers' performance in the 200 back. The Wildcat senior already owned the nation's best time in the event (1:55.58) for the season up to this point, but he swam out of his mind in the final, touching the wall with a time of 1:52.93, nearly four seconds ahead of the second-place finisher. Alexandrov's unforgettable swim was the fourth-fastest swim ever in the 200 breast and set new pool, school and Big Ten records. John Franklin (Fort Lauderdale, Fla./North Broward Prep) earned himself a second swim in the 200 breast when he made the bonus final after finishing 20th in the prelims. Franklin then proceeded to set a new season-best in the final, moving up to 18th place with a time of 2:02.28. Two other Wildcats finished close together in the 200 breast prelims, with Adam Lewno (Racine, Wis./J.I. Case) and Alex Hostoffer (Cleveland, Ohio/Gilmour Academy) finishing in 30th and 31st respectively. The final individual swimming event of the championships was the 200 fly, where Nilsson qualified fifth for the final with a career-best, NCAA 'B' cut time of 1:46.61. In the finals, Nilsson swam a similar time but finished eighth. Bryan Pinkston (Richmond, Va./St. Christopher's) made the bonus final in the event and finished 23rd, while Jon Ehret (Phoenix, Ariz./Brophy College Prep) finished in 26th and Long came in 28th. In platform diving, a pair of Wildcats made the final in an event they are not accustomed to. Alex Kiaie (Milwaukee, Wis./Nicolet) finished in 13th with a score of 255.90 and Ryan McIntosh (Louisville, Ky./Trinity) earned a 16th-place finish. The final event of the championships was the 400 free relay. Northwestern's relay quartet of Grevers, Bubolz, Barbic and Nilsson were close, but could not edge out Minnesota's relay and finished second. The 'Cats' time of 2:52.99 was 1.8 seconds faster than their previous best and gives them an NCAA 'A' cut time. After some of its swimmers attempt to qualify for the NCAA Championships in a qualifying meet held next week in West Lafayette, Ind., Northwestern will take a much-needed break before taking on the nation's best at the NCAA Championships. This year's championships are March 15-17 in Minneapolis. For meet results from the 2007 Big Ten Championships, link to the official event page at ohiostatebuckeyes.com.
Final Team Standings
Diver of the Year: Kellen Harkness, Ohio State
All-Big Ten Teams
Second Team
High-Point Scorer (Each School)
Big Ten Sportsmanship Honorees |
 MGOLF: Alum Chris Wilson in PGA Debut Lacrosse Championship Celebration Event WLAX On Fox Chicago Morning News BTN: Lax Championship Coverage WLAX: NU vs. UNC Final Highlights WLAX: Amonte Hiller Postgame Interview WLAX: NU vs. Penn Semifinal Highlights Fitz Sings Stretch At Wrigley Field Fitz Shoots Puck At Hawks Clincher
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