Feb. 18, 2011

Results

Official 2011 Big Ten Championships Website

Friday Photo Gallery (Images by Walt Middleton)

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- School records fell in bunches Friday at the 2011 Big Ten Championships, with one mark falling during the preliminary heats and two more records being set in the evening session. With one day to go in the competition, Northwestern stands in ninth place.

Senior Liza Engstrom (Reno, Nev./Robert McQueen) first broke her own school record in the 100 back during Friday morning's preliminary session, then re-broke it with her leadoff leg of the 400 medley relay. Not to be outdone, junior Hannah Points (Tualatin, Ore./Tualatin) shattered the NU mark in the 400 IM during Friday night's finals session.

In the team race, The Wildcats have 131 points, two behind eighth-place Iowa and 57 in front of 10th-place Michigan State. Entering the diving finals on each of the first two nights, NU has been ahead of Iowa, but the Hawkeyes have jumped the Wildcats by the slimmest of margins each time before the end of the evening.

Also, it was announced Friday that Alex Kraus (Birmingham, Ala./Vestavia Hills) is Northwestern's Big Ten Sportsmanship Award honoree for 2010-11.

Saturday's preliminary session begins at 10 a.m. CT with finals getting underway at 5:30 p.m. CT. Live results and further information are available at the Official 2011 Big Ten Championships website.

Friday Morning Preliminary Session Recap:

Career-best efforts were the theme during Friday morning's preliminary session at the 2011 Big Ten Championships after a pair of Wildcat veterans earned scoring spots in the evening finals session with spectacular swims -- including one who broke her own school record in the 100 back.

Points got Northwestern off to a good start Friday morning in the 400 IM, coming within half a second of her career best in the event to qualify ninth overall in an NCAA `B' time of 4:15.63. Joining her in the consolation final will be Meredith King (Louisville, Ky./duPont Manual), whose `B' time of 4:19.14 was good for 15th overall after the morning session.

Both Kathleen Patterson (Naperville, Ill./Neuqua Valley) and Becca Soderholm (Madison, Wis./Madison East) won second swims in the bonus final of the 400 IM. Patterson qualified 21st overall in 4:21.55 while Soderholm was 23rd with a 4:22.24.

In the 100 fly, Meghan Cavanaugh (Anchorage, Alaska/East Anchorage) gave NU another point scorer when she qualified 15th overall with a time of 54.85. A pack of four swimmers were within .03 of a second of each other in spots 14 through 17, with Cavanaugh touching just well enough to get the consolation final berth.

Identical times of 55.48 for Katie Eschenburg (Hartland, Wis./Arrowhead) and Kraus gave the Wildcats the final two spots available for Friday night's 100 fly bonus final. Missing out on a second swim, but still finishing 30th overall with a career-best time was Marybeth Hall (Brighton, Mich./Brighton), whose 56.11 continued to lower the lifetime standards she set just a few weeks ago at the Shamrock Invitational.

Freshman Jackie Powell (Madison, Wis./James Madison Memorial) earned a consolation final berth in the 200 free with a `B' cut of 1:47.99, qualifying in the 16th and final scoring spot for the 'Cats. Senior Ellen Grigg (Charlotte, N.C./Charlotte Latin School) will swim in the bonus final after a 23rd place `B' time of 1:48.98.

Jenny Wilson (Bethesda, Md./Sidwell Friends School) earned Northwestern's first championship final berth of the meet when she swam a career-best and NCAA `B' time of 1:01.31 in the 100 breast to qualify eighth overall.

In the 100 back, Engstrom's career-best and NCAA `B' cut time of 54.56 earned her a consolation final berth after she ended up 11th overall following the morning session. It also broke her own school record in the event. Eschenburg is the first alternate for the bonus final, qualifying 25th with a time of 56.79.

During diving preliminary action in the 3-meter event Friday afternoon, NU sophomore Felicitas Lenz (Altadena, Calif./Polytechnic School) qualified 10th for the consolation final with a 316.85. Junior Carlin Dacey (West Roxbury, Mass./Choate Rosemary Hall) also had a strong showing for the Wildcats with a top-20 finish, scoring 269.05 to place 19th.

Friday Evening Finals Session Recap:

In the opening 400 medley relay, Engstrom lowered her own 100 back record that she broke earlier in the day with her leadoff leg and NCAA `B' time of 54.01. Her effort contributed to an NCAA `B' cut of 3:38.78 for the entire 400 medley relay comprised of herself, Wilson, Cavanaugh and Taylor Reynolds (St. Louis, Mo./Webster Groves), which placed them seventh on Friday but second on NU's all-time top times list in the event.

In the bonus final of the 400 IM, Soderholm had a nice drop to place fourth in the heat and 20th overall with a 4:19.98, good for eighth on NU's all-time top times list in the event. Patterson swam a 4:21.77 to earn 22nd overall position.

In the consolation final, Points shattered the school record in the event by .95 of a second, swimming an NCAA `B' cut of 4:13.57 -- a time that would have placed her fifth in the championship heat. King's consolation final swim also was a career-best, placing her 14th overall after a 4:17.95.

In the 100 fly, Kraus took 19th overall with a 55.38 while Eschenburg ended up 22nd with a 55.58 in her evening swim. Cavanaugh picked up a pair of points with a 15th place overall finish after turning in a 55.08 in the consolation final.

Powell remained in 16th place after the consolation final to earn a point for NU, swimming a 1:48.51. Grigg's 1:48.79 in the bonus heat was good for 22nd overall.

Wilson nearly matched her career-best effort from the morning during the championship heat of the 100 breast, but she fell .08 of a second short with a 1:01.39 to take eighth place overall in the event.

After twice breaking her school record in the 100 back, Engstrom did not have enough gas left in the tank for a third go-round. In the consolation final of the event, she turned in a 54.62 which still was good enough for third in the heat and 11th overall. In the bonus final, Eschenburg was 24th overall after a 57.13.

In the 3-meter diving consolation final, Lenz ended up 16th with a 304.05 to pick up a single point for the Wildcats.

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