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Northwestern Dominates Field to Win the TYR Invitational

Wildcats showcase team depth with 620-point victory over six-team field

Emily Wong earned individual and relay NCAA 'B' cuts Sunday in the final session of the 2009 TYR Invitational.

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Nov. 22, 2009

Results

EVANSTON, Ill. -- Northwestern added three more NCAA `B' provisional qualifying times to its TYR Invitational haul during Sunday's final day of action, easily swimming away with the championship at the six-team meet.

NU finished with 1,375 points compared to Iowa State's second-place total of 755. Michigan State came in third with 692 points, Cleveland State was fourth with 311, Kenyon placed fifth with 309 and Illinois-Chicago rounded out the field with 216 points.

Ellen Grigg (Charlotte, N.C./Charlotte Latin School) led off Sunday's afternoon finals session with a win in the 1,650 free. The junior's time of 16:58.10 was the only one to break the 17:00.00 mark in the meet. Grigg was followed by teammates Beth Loe (Upper Arlington, Ohio/Upper Arlington) in third, Jenn Kocsis (Omaha, Neb./Marian) in fifth and Kate Stephensen (Davis, Calif./Davis Senior) in eighth.

Alex Kraus (Birmingham, Ala./Vestavia Hills) and Meghan Cavanaugh (Anchorage, Alaska/East Anchorage) went 3-4 in the 50 fly championship final to lead NU. They were following by a trio of Wildcats comprised of Teisha Lightbourne (Nassau, Bahamas/Peddie School (N.J.)) in sixth, Katie Eschenburg (Hartland, Wis./Arrowhead) in seventh and Marybeth Hall (Brighton, Mich./Brighton) in eighth.

The Wildcats' three entries in the championship final of the 200 back took third, fourth and fifth places. Liza Engstrom (Reno, Nev./Robert McQueen) was the top 'Cat with a 2:02.70, followed by Meaghan Fenn (New Rochelle, N.Y./The Ursuline School) in fourth and Genny Szymanski (Haines, Alaska/Haines) in fifth. Jacquie Godbe (Rapid City, S.D./Stevens) won the consolation final with a 2:04.75 for NU.

Emily Wong (Nepean, Ontario/St. Joseph's) continued her strong TYR Invite with an NCAA `B' provisional qualifying time of 49.82 to win the 100 freestyle by nearly a full body length. Fellow Wildcats Kassia Shishkoff (Raleigh, N.C./St. David's School) (51.01) in second, Lightbourne (51.40) in third and Caitlin Masney (Hong Kong, China/Chinese International School) in fourth (51.47) completed a Northwestern sweep of the top four spots. Taylor Reynolds (St. Louis, Mo./Webster Groves) also was in the championship final, placing sixth, while Sheila O'Neill (Dunwoody, Ga./Marist School) won the consolation final and Hall captured the non-scoring bonus heat.

Jenny Wilson (Bethesda, Md./Sidwell Friends School) picked up an NCAA `B' cut in winning the 200 breast by .96 of a second, finishing with a time of 2:16.29. Kathleen Patterson (Naperville, Ill./Neuqua Valley) placed third with a 2:19.54 and Hannah Points (Tualatin, Ore./Tualatin) was fifth in 2:21.83. Fenn was the lone Wildcat in the consolation final, placing second in the heat and 10th overall with a 2:22.42.

Engstrom's 27.03 in the 50 back gave her a second-place finish in the event, followed by fellow Wildcat Eschenburg in fifth with a 27.36. Erin Reilly (Frankfort, Ill./Lincoln-Way East) was second in the consolation final and 10th overall while Godbe was fourth in the consolation heat and 12th overall. Reynolds (14th) and Katie McCullough (Grand Rapids, Mich./Forest Hills Central) (15th) also scored points in the 50 back for NU.

Points and Shishkoff swept the top two spots in the 200 fly, with Points barely out-touching her teammate 2:02.73 to 2:02.83. Cavanaugh (2:03.67) placed fourth, Meredith King (duPont Manual) (2:03.84) fifth and Kraus (2:07.57) seventh for NU in the championship heat. O'Neill was 11th overall after a third-place effort in the consolation final.

The Wildcat team of Masney, Wong, Lightbourne and Shishkoff blazed to a 3:22.80 winning time in the 400 free relay, easily defeating the nearest competition (the Wildcats' own `B' relay squad) with Northwestern's third `B' cut of the day.

The Wildcats now are off until their holiday training trip to Boca Raton, Fla.