Northwestern University Athletics
Late 90s Wildcats Reunite at TYR Invitational
11/19/2014 12:00:00 AM | Women's Swimming and Diving
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EVANSTON, Ill. -- This weekend at Northwestern's traditional fall-season-ending TYR Invitational, the Wildcats will celebrate the 15th anniversary of their 1999-2000 team that finished sixth in the nation, bringing to a head an incredibly successful stretch of NU swimming and diving in the late 1990s.
Alumnae from teams spanning the 1995-2000 squads will converge on Evanston for the weekend and will be honored during Saturday evening's finals session. The TYR runs from Friday through Sunday, Nov. 21-23, with 9 a.m. preliminary heat sessions each day and 5 p.m. finals on Friday and Saturday. Sunday's finals session is at 3 p.m.
Northwestern enjoyed top-20 NCAA finishes in each season from 1995-2000 under head coach Jimmy Tierney, taking 11th in 1995 to start the streak during Tierney's first season at the helm. In 1998, the Wildcats finished 10th in the first of three-straight top-10 efforts, culminating in the 2000 team's program-best sixth-place result.
The 2000 team alone earned six Big Ten Championships, won 12 All-America honors in 11 events and racked up 11 Academic All-Big Ten awards in the classroom for good measure en route to their sixth-place finish. This weekend honors all of those former Wildcats who pushed the program to that mark.
Past Wildcats who are returning include:
- Allyson Bowman Sterling: A four-time All-American and member of the 1999 Big Ten Champion 200 free relay. Three-time Academic All-Big Ten award winner and a CSCAA All-Academic honoree.
- Brianne Fowles Godwin: A member of the 2000 All-America 400 free relay.
- Emily Maxwell: A two-time Academic All-Big Ten honoree from 1996-97.
- Heather McConahey Shaffer: A three-time Academic All-Big Ten honoree from 1995-97.
- Lauren Moore: Two-time All-American and 1999 Big Ten Champion with the 200 free relay. She still ranks seventh in school history in the 50 free and was a three-time Academic All-Big Ten honoree.
- Adrian Talcott: A three-time Academic All-Big Ten honoree from 2000-02.
All told, Northwestern has earned seven top-20 national finishes during Tierney's tenure.
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