Feb. 28, 2004

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - Northwestern's men's swimming and diving team came into the Big Ten Championships with hopes to establish and confirm their spot among both the conference's and nation's elite-- mission accomplished. The Wildcats finished in third place with 478 points, behind 2004 Big Ten champ Minnesota with 712.5 and Michigan, which finished with 605 points.

While many in the swimming world would claim that Northwestern freshman Matt Grevers had already arrived earlier this season, nobody can deny that his performance in the Big Ten Championships soldifies his status as one of the top swimmers in the nation.

Today, Grevers added to his gold medal collection with a first-place finish in the 100-yard freestyle, touching the wall in 43.14. He broke a Big Ten championship, pool, and NU school record in this morning's prelim session with a time of 42.72 and held on for the win, his third individual title overall.

Northwestern swimmers picked up two third-place finishes as well as two fourth-place finishes on the final day. Brian Davis finished third in the 1650-yard freestyle with a time of 15:08.78, an NCAA "B" standard time, while Mark Hamming took third in the 200-yard butterfly with a "B" cut time of 1:45.15.

Louis Torres placed fourth in the 200 breaststroke with a time of 1:58.69, an NCAA "B" standard time, while Tony Swanson, who added to his gold-medal collection already, placed fourth in the 200-yard backstroke, hitting the wall in 1:45.40, a "B" standard.

Diver Mike Oxman posted his best performance of the meet in the platform event, finishing seventh with a score of 400.70.

For the final results, and other meet information, visit Big Ten Men's Swimming and Diving Championships or Purdue Men's Swimming and Diving.