Clutten Wins 100 Breaststroke At Miami Invitational

Jan. 7, 2005

CORAL GABLES, Fla. - Junior Ian Clutten (Capetown, South Africa) captured the 100 breaststroke title as the Michigan State women's and men's swimming and diving teams placed fourth and third, respectively, at the University of Miami's Matt Gribble Invitational Friday in Coral Gables, Fla.

Clutten won his ninth event of the season after touching the wall first in the 100 breaststroke (55.88), beating Virginia Tech's Kevin Furlong by nearly two seconds.

"I am happy with the performances from our swimmers today, especially since we didn't have any high expectations coming into this meet after a week of winter training," said MSU head coach Matt Gianiodis.

Junior Rachael Hagerman (Goodland, Kan.) and sophomore Eve Brusie (Grand Haven, Mich.) placed second (24.01) and fifth (24.33), respectively, in the 50 free. The MSU `A' team of Hagerman, Brusie, senior Tammy Jones (Conyers, Ga.) and junior Katrina Kniff (Grosse Pointe, Mich.) finished fifth in the 400 free relay (3:37.38).

The MSU women completed the meet in fourth place, with a score of 114 points. No. 3 Florida won the team title with 648 points followed by Penn State (378) and Colorado State (167). The Spartans placed ahead of Virginia Tech (111), Miami (87) and Florida International (45).

Freshman Jesse Noble (Metamora, Mich.) was second in the 200 butterfly (1:56.64), while junior Rudolf Wagenaar (Capetown, South Africa) placed fourth in the 100 backstroke (53.65).

Sophomore Jason Vadney (Taylor Mill, Ky.) placed second in the 200 freestyle (1:43.36) and freshman Adam Schmitt (Grand Haven, Mich.) finished fourth in the event (1:55.66). Schmitt later teamed with junior Matt Wisniewski (Plymouth, Mich.), senior Peter Politi (Newburgh, N.Y.) and sophomore David Lessard (Clinton Township, Mich.) to earn a fourth-place finish in the 400 free relay (3:13.89).

In the men's competition, the Spartans finished third with 305 points. Penn State finished first in the meet with 462 points followed by Virginia Tech (437).

Michigan State hosts Purdue in a Big Ten dual meet at the Charles McCaffree Pool, located in the IM West Building, on Jan. 15 at 2 p.m.