Northwestern University Athletics
Northwestern Travels to Purdue for Big Ten Showdown
11/2/2011 12:00:00 AM | Women's Swimming and Diving
Nov. 2, 2011
Northwestern (1-0) at Purdue (1-0)
Saturday Nov. 5 • 1 p.m. CT
Boilermaker Aquatic Center
West Lafayette, Indiana
EVANSTON, Ill. -- After proving their prowess in the pool with a powerful season opener against Illinois, Northwestern is primed to give Purdue all its got at 1 p.m. CT Saturday, Nov. 5, in a combined dual meet with the NU men. The Wildcats captured back-to-back victories in this series in 2007-08, and are looking to get back on that winning track Saturday.
Under head coach Jimmy Tierney's guiding hand, this year's team gave a mighty season-opening performance against Big Ten foe Illinois on Oct. 21, winning the meet, 199-101. The Wildcats proved their tenacity by coming from behind to win nine out of the 14 events.
The Wildcats left no question of their strength in distance events thanks to Hannah Points (Tualatin, Ore./Tualatin), who tallied three victories against Illinois. Points started off her senior season with wins in the 200 fly, 200 breast and 400 IM for Northwestern. The Wildcats continued to showcase their distance finesse with the help of Megan Goss (Brentwood, Tenn./Brentwood) and Jackie Powell (Madison, Wis./James Madison Memorial), who led Northwestern to a 1-2 finish in the 1,000 free.
Erin Sosdian (The Woodlands, Texas/Woodlands College Park) delivered another distance victory in the 500 free with teammate Beth Loe (Upper Arlington, Ohio/Upper Arlington) following close behind in second. Meredith King (Louisville, Ky./duPont Manual) led Sosdian and Jacquie Godbe (Rapid City, S.D./Stevens) to a 1-2-3 finish in the 200 free.
Along with Northwestern's distance talents, another Wildcat dominated the Illini outside of the pool. Felicitas Lenz (Altadena, Calif./Polytechnic School) swept away the competition with victories in both of her events. After commanding both springboards in the season opener, Lenz was named Big Ten Diver of the Week for the third time in her career. Lenz was the only competitor to score more than 300 points in both diving events in the meet against Illinois.
While Purdue historically is home to a premier diving program, Felicitas Lenz has scored higher than any Purdue diver this season. In 3-meter diving, Lenz has scored over 20 points more than Purdue's highest scoring diver. Although early in the season, Lenz has already cemented her place as an elite Big Ten diver.
Purdue opened its season with a steady victory against Miami (Ohio). The Boilermakers beat the Redhawks, 175-117, in a dual meet opener on Oct. 21. Purdue will look to challenge Northwestern with four strong swimmers who won multiple events against Miami.
Northwestern opens its home schedule at 5 p.m. CT Friday, Nov. 11, with a combined Big Ten dual meet versus Wisconsin at the Norris Aquatics Center.
Live results for Saturday's meet at Purdue can be found at .
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