Northwestern University Athletics
Northwestern
No. 19 Minnesota/No. 16 Purdue
Day One Complete at Two-Day Minnesota Double Dual
1/30/2015 12:00:00 AM | Women's Swimming and Diving
RESULTS
MINNEAPOLIS -- Several young Wildcats turned in highlight swims, though Northwestern trails in the team races against a pair of ranked programs following the opening day of a two-day double dual at the University Aquatic Center in Minneapolis, Minn.
NU is behind No. 16 Purdue, 124-59, and No. 19 Minnesota, 138-45. The Wildcats are facing their second and third ranked opponents in a row after felling No. 21 Iowa on the road last week. This is the final tune-up for the 2015 Big Ten Championships.
The Minnesota/Purdue double dual will conclude with the second half of the meet program at noon CT tomorrow, Saturday, Jan. 31.
Northwestern kicked off the meet with a solid 1:42.57 in the 200 medley relay that placed the Wildcats' squad of Lacey Locke (Carmel, Ind./Carmel), Julianne Kurke (Atlanta, Ga./Parkview), Julia Pratt (Vincennes, Ind./Vincennes Rivet) and Mary Warren (Hartland, Wis./Arrowhead) in third behind the `A' squads of each of their ranked opponents.
In the first individual event, Minnesota and Purdue each scored a 1-2-3 sweep over Northwestern, with sophomore Lauren Abruzzo (Denver, Colo./Kent Denver) leading the Wildcats with a seventh-place overall 10:07.86. Then, in the 200 free, sophomore Annika Winsnes (Singapore/United World College) was sixth with a 1:49.91 to pace NU.
Locke then gave the Wildcats their first win of the meet with a 55.45 in the 100 back. She trailed slightly at the halfway point before pulling away to touch first by .31 of a second over Minnesota's Tori Simenec.
Kurke took fourth behind two Gophers and a Boiler in the 100 breast before Ellen Stello (Shorewood, Wis./Shorewood) was part of a tight three-person race to the finish in the 200 fly. Stello swam a 2:00.93 to continue her string of 2:00 times in the event this season, but this time was edged out by Purdue's 2:00.27 and Minnesota's 2:00.62.
In the 50 free, Warren swam a strong 23.26 to finish second overall behind Minnesota's Becca Weiland, who touched in an NCAA `B' cut time of 22.60. Warren's time paired with a fifth-place 23.52 from Winsnes gave NU a 1-3 finish in the event against Purdue.
Locke had another good swim in the 200 IM with a 2:05.35 to conclude Friday's individual action. This time she finished behind a pair of Gophers but in front of all Purdue entries to give her another win over the Boilermakers in the meet.
In the 800 free relay to conclude Friday's schedule, NU's entries placed fifth and sixth overall.
For the second meet in a row, NU is without its divers due to injury and illness.
