Northwestern
Big Ten Championships
O'Connor Captures 200 Butterfly Title, Wildcats Finish Fourth
3/2/2003 12:00:00 AM | Men's Swimming and Diving
March 1, 2003
ANN ARBOR, Mich. - Senior Kellan O'Connor (Phoenix, Ariz./Brophy Preparatory) repeated as the conference champion in the 200 butterfly to help lead the Northwestern men's swimming and diving team to a fourth-place finish at the Big Ten Championships Saturday. The Wildcats finished with 378 team points, as host Michigan won its 32nd Big Ten title with 727.
O'Connor won the 200 fly by posting a winning time of 1:44.99, over a half-second ahead of the runner-up finisher. His time of 1:44.53 in the preliminary round earned him an NCAA "A" cut and came within 18-hundreths of a second of his own school record.
O'Connor's Big Ten title was NU's only first-place finish of the 2003 Championships and earned him all-conference honors. Mark Hamming (Lake Forest, Ill./Lake Forest) placed third in the 200 fly, finishing in a time of 1:45.65 to improve his "B" cut time.
Freshman Mike Oxman (Mequon, Wis./Homestead) contributed a fourth-place finish in the platform diving competition. His score of 444.15 in the finals round allowed him to equal his place after the prelims.
Louis Torres (Morton Grove, Ill./Niles West) and Brian Davis (Issaquah, Wash./Issaquah) also reached the championship heat for the Wildcats Saturday. Torres placed seventh in the 200 breaststroke in a time of 2:00.56, while Davis was eighth in the 1650 freestyle in 15:19.60. Both were season-best times that earned "B" cuts.
Senior David Hersh (West Milford, N.J./West Milford) scored an 11th-place finish in the 1650 free (15:22.37) and Chris Biedrzycki (Charlotte, N.C./Myers Park) added an 11th in the 200 breast (2:02.07).
Tony Swanson (Coon Rapids, Minn./Coon Rapids) finish first in the consolation final of the 200 backstroke to finish ninth overall. His time of 1:46.41 was a season best and provisionally qualified him for the NCAA Championships.
Shelby Clark (Aurora, Colo./Smoky Hill) was also an individual place-winner for Northwestern, taking 14th in the 100 free in a time of 45.55. His time of 45.30 in the preliminary round was a season best.
NU wrapped up the meet with an impressive fifth-place finish in the 400 freestyle relay. The team of Swanson, Clark, Matt Wever (Boise, Idaho/Boise) and Ben Dexter (Indianapolis, Ind./Roncalli) touched in at 2:59.45 to earn a "B" cut.
Northwestern will compete in a last chance meet next weekend at a site and time to be determined in an attempt to improve and achieve standards for the NCAA Championships.
Players Mentioned
