Northwestern University Athletics
Northwestern
Iowa
Iowa Leads NU After Day One of Competition, 104-99
2/7/2003 12:00:00 AM | Men's Swimming and Diving
Feb. 7, 2003
EVANSTON, Ill. - There must be something about the 200 butterfly and Northwestern seniors swimming in their final home meet. For the second time in six days, a Wildcat swimmer broke the Norris Aquatics Center record in the event. This time it was Kellan O'Connor (Phoenix, Ariz./Brophy Preparatory), who followed women's team member Carmen Cosgrove, that topped the pool record. However, Iowa, thanks to a first-place finish in the 200 freestyle relay holds a slight 104-99 lead after the opening session of competition.
O'Connor bettered his own pool mark by 26-hundredths of a second, posting a winning time of 1:46.30. It also set a season-best standard in the event for O'Connor, the top-ranked Big Ten swimmer in the event, by three-hundredths of a second.
O'Connor wasn't the only one to break a pool record on the night, though, as Tony Swanson (Coon Rapids, Minn./Coon Rapids) topped his best ever performance at the NAC in the 200 individual medley. Swanson's time of 1:49.04 was his season-best performance by a second and took nearly four-tenths of a second off the previous record.
Swanson was a double-winner on the evening, as he also captured the 100 backstroke title in a winning time of 49.53, improving his NCAA "B" cut time.
The 'Cats also received first place finishes from Brian Davis (Issaquah, Wash./Issaquah), who shaved 15 seconds off his season best time in the 1650 freestyle (15:46.19), and Dan Williams (Hinsdale, Ill./Central), who captured the 200 free (1:41.33).
Steven Petric (Mequon, Wis./Homestead) actually posted NU's top time of the season in the 200 free (1:40.87), but his performance took place during an exhibition heat.
Iowa won six of the 11 events during the opening session, including sweeping both diving and relay events. The teams were tied 93-93 heading into the final event of the night, but the Hawkeyes edged NU for first by two-tenths of a second.
The meet concludes Saturday with action getting underway at 11 a.m.
