Northwestern University Athletics
Northwestern Finds Success in National, International Competition
12/6/2011 12:00:00 AM | Men's Swimming and Diving
Dec. 6, 2011
EVANSTON, Ill. -- Two Northwestern divers competed internationally in Canada while a consortium of Wildcat swimmers traveled to USA Swimming's AT&T Nationals last week, and all met with a great deal of success.
NU women's divers Felicitas Lenz (Altadena, Calif./Polytechnic School) and Cosima Lenz (Altadena, Calif./Polytechnic School) traveled to Montreal, Quebec, on Saturday, Dec. 3, to dive the 10-meter platform event at the 2011 Camo Invitational. Felicitas earned the first medal of her international career with a third-place score of 302.00 while Cosima placed eighth overall in her first international meet with a 271.60 total.
Meanwhile, 12 current and several former Wildcats traveled to Atlanta, Ga., Dec. 1-3 for the 2011 USA Swimming AT&T Nationals meet, which was competed in long-course meters (LCM). For the women, Becca Soderholm (Madison, Wis./Madison East) and Jenny Wilson (Bethesda, Md./Sidwell Friends School) both earned 2012 Olympic Trials cuts. Soderholm placed 15th overall in the 400 IM with a career-best time of 4:52.60. Wilson earned cuts in both breaststroke distances, placing 13th overall in the 100 with a best time of 1:10.13 in the preliminary heats of the event while coming in 16th in the 200-meter race with a finals effort of 2:33.25.
Junior Meredith King (Louisville, Ky./duPont Manual) won a second-swim opportunity in the 200 fly, coming in 24th overall.
In addition to those three, Jackie Powell (Madison, Wis./James Madison Memorial), Kathleen Patterson (Naperville, Ill./Neuqua Valley), Jacquie Godbe (Rapid City, S.D./Stevens), Tori Larsen (Elmhurst, Ill./York Community), Lauren Clifford (Pollock Pines, Calif./El Dorado), Megan Goss (Brentwood, Tenn./Ravenwood) and Meghan Cavanaugh (Anchorage, Alaska/East Anchorage) also represented the Northwestern women in Atlanta.
Two current Northwestern men made the trip to Atlanta, and both came home with 2012 Olympic Trial cut times. Junior Charlie Rimkus (Tustin, Calif./Beckman) swam an Olympic Trial qualification time of 4:30.05 in the 400 IM to qualify for a second swim, ending up 18th overall in the event. He also took 29th place in the 200 fly after swimming in the `C' final.
Senior Tony Mattar (Lake Orion, Mich./Lake Orion) did not have a good race during the 200 fly event, coming in 47th place with a 2:07.26. Shaking off that performance, Mattar came out in a time trial of the 200 fly and killed it, earning an Olympic Trials berth with a 2:03.30.
In Northwestern alumni news, 2007 graduate and Olympic gold medalist Matt Grevers won the 100 back, took third in the 200 back and was sixth in the 50 free. His classmate and two-time Olympian Mike Alexandrov finished third overall in the 100 breast and fifth in the 200 breast.
More recent 2011 NU graduates Alex Tyler and Sean Mathews also swam well at the meet. Mathews put together three top-20 finishes with a 13th-place effort in the 400 IM, a 14th-place swim in the 200 fly and a 19th-place result in the 200 IM. Tyler placed 16th overall in the 200 IM while coming in 29th following the `C' final of the 200 breast.
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