Northwestern University Athletics
Men's Swimming Season Recap
6/21/1999 12:00:00 AM | Men's Swimming and Diving
Steketee finished 16th in the 200 freestyle (1:37.26) and 29th in the 100 freestyle (44.52). Both swimmers earned All-America honors. Following the season, both Walters and Northwestern head coach Bob Groseth were honored as Swimmer and Coach of the Year, respectively, by the Illinois Swimming Association.
Northwestern improved one place from 1998 at the Big Ten Championships, finishing sixth out of 10 teams. For the second straight year, NU had an individual Big Ten Champion. Walters won the 200-yard backstroke championship with a time of 1:43.55.
The Wildcats set a remarkable six school records during the season. Walters broke his own marks in the 100 back (47.93) and 200 back (1:42.70) during the postseason, while Steketee broke Northwestern's seven-year-old mark in the 50 free, the school's oldest record, at the Big Ten Championships (20.53).
Todd Capen set two new school marks at the Big Ten Championships, in the 200 butterfly (1:49.22) and the 400 IM (3:52.99). The 800 free relay team of Steketee, Capen, Walters and Steve Harms also set a new mark at the meet (6:33.31). Walters also set a pool record at Norris Aquatics Center by swimming a 49.17 in the 100 back in NU's home meet against Northern Illinois Feb. 5. It was the third-consecutive meet, following meets at Michigan State and Purdue, that Walters came away with pool records.
Northwestern finished its dual meet season with a 3-4 record, 1-4 against Big Ten schools. The Wildcats finished in first place out of five teams at the UIC Windy City Invitational and tied for first out of seven teams at the NU Relays. In November, Northwestern hosted and participated in a meet billed as the fastest Illinois swim meet since the 1972 Olympic Trials. Called the Swim Meet of Champions, the meet pitted the best swimmers in the Big Ten against the U.S. National Team.
