Northwestern Sweeps Iowa, Harvard in Dual Meet Action

1/21/2012 12:00:00 AM | Women's Swimming and Diving

Jan. 21, 2012

Results

EVANSTON, Ill. -- With University President Morty Schapiro in the crowd, Northwestern swept a competitive double-dual meet Saturday at the Norris Aquatics Center, taking down strong challenges from Big Ten foe Iowa (165.5-133.5) and Ivy League opponent Harvard (172-127). In a competitive meet, Iowa defeated Harvard, 153-146.

Northwestern's 200 medley relay team of Rachel Kim (Federal Way, Wash./Todd Beamer), Jenny Wilson (Bethesda, Md./Sidwell Friends School), Meghan Cavanaugh (Anchorage, Alaska/East Anchorage) and Taylor Reynolds (St. Louis, Mo./Webster Groves) swam to a dominating and season-best 1:42.79 to win the opening event by more than a full second.

In the first individual event, sophomore Megan Goss (Brentwood, Tenn./Ravenwood) finished second for Northwestern in the 1,000 free, but showed great resolve in doing so. In sixth place following the first 200 yards and a full five seconds behind second place, Goss willed herself to a season-best 10:09.08 to overtake all but Iowa's top swimmer. Senior Jacquie Godbe (Rapid City, S.D./Stevens) also had a season-best time in the event, placing fifth overall with a 10:13.81.

Sophomore Jackie Powell (Madison, Wis./James Madison Memorial) took third overall in the 200 free with a 1:50.86, barely being out-touched for second place at the wall by .09 of a second by a Harvard swimmer.

Two Hawkeyes, including NU men's swimmer Dominik Cubelic's older sister, Daneila, took 1-2 in the 100 back before Wilson turned in her third-straight NCAA `B' provisional qualifying time in the 100 breast to win by 2.02 seconds in a time of 1:02.77. Senior Kathleen Patterson (Naperville, Ill./Neuqua Valley) placed third with a season-best 1:05.19 and Katie McCullough (Grand Rapids, Mich./Forest Hills Central) took fifth overall with a season-best 1:05.53.

Swimming in the first of two 200 fly heats and in just her fourth meet of the year following a fall injury, senior Hannah Points (Tualatin, Ore./Tualatin) blazed to a Northwestern-season-best 2:01.19 to win the event for the Wildcats. Cavanaugh came in fourth for NU with a 2:03.87.

Reynolds (23.56) and McCullough (23.68) both swam season-best times to finish 1-2 in the 50 free for Northwestern. During the first half of the meet, sophomore Cosima Lenz (Altadena, Calif./Polytechnic School) won the 3-meter springboard diving competition with a 316.25 score. Sophomore Mary Kate Campbell (Burr Ridge, Ill./Fenwick) placed third overall for the `Cats with a 285.00.

Reynolds picked up her second-straight season-best time victory with a 51.35 in the 100 free coming out of the meet's halfway point break. Powell followed in third place with a 51.78 to give NU good points in the event.

Lauren Clifford (Pollock Pines, Calif./El Dorado) was the top Wildcat finisher in the 200 back with a 2:05.83 to come in fifth, then Wilson and Points went 1-2 in the 200 breast for Northwestern. Wilson won by nearly three full seconds over Points, swimming a 2:16.97 while Points turned in a 2:19.71.

Northwestern finished 3-4-5 in the 500 freestyle, led by Erin Sosdian's (The Woodlands, Texas./Woodlands College Park) season-best time of 4:56.07 in third place. Meredith King (Louisville, Ky./duPont Manual) took fourth and Goss was fifth place in the race.

Cavanaugh got a quick start and an early lead in the 100 fly that she rode to a 56.22 first-place finish. The 200 IM featured two Northwestern swimmers and a Harvard entry in a tightly bunched top three. Entering the final 50 yards in third place among that group, NU's Godbe swam a 28.37 final split to out-touch Harvard's Courtney Otto by .01 at the wall and win with a 2:04.98. Points placed third, just .04 behind Otto with a season-best 2:05.03.

In the final 400 free relay, the team of Powell, Hall, Sosdian and Reynolds finished in second place with a 3:24.98, just .33 of a second behind a winning NCAA `B' consideration time for Iowa.

In 1-meter diving action over the second half of the meet, Lenz was the top NU competitor with a score of 282.50.

Northwestern returns to action January 27-28 in a two-day double dual meet against both Denver and Missouri at the Norris Aquatics Center. Friday's action begins at 5 p.m. CT while Saturday will feature two sessions starting at 10 a.m. CT and 4 p.m. CT.

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