Michigan State University
Purdue
Swimming & Diving Splits Dual with Purdue on Saturday
1/15/2011 12:00:00 AM | Swimming and Diving
Jan. 15, 2011
EAST LANSING, Mich. - The Michigan State swimming and diving team opened its semester on Saturday afternoon hosting Purdue at McCaffree Pool at IM West. The Spartan men were victorious over the Boilermakers, 164.5 to 135.5, while the women lost 168 to 126. Jacob Jarzen paced the men on the day, winning all four events he competed in.
"I was happy with the way performed," said MSU head coach Matt Gianiodis. "Jacob (Jarzen) and Kevin (Puskaric), as well as all of the guys, performed well today, so I was happy today. I wish we would have finished a little stronger, and at times our "B" squad was swimming faster than the "A" team. Becca Ebner and Kerry Sodonis both swam well on the women's side of things."
Jarzen won his first individual title when he posted a win in the 100-yard backstroke. Jarzen clocked in a pool record time of 49.04, finishing 2.6 seconds ahead of the next swimmer. Posting a second-place mark of 51.64 was Nick Roberts while Nick McGowan placed third with a time of 52.16.
The afternoon started strong for the Spartans with a win in the men's 200-yard medley relay. Jarzen, Kevin Puskaric, Josh Geschwendt and Brandon Williams combined for a time of 1:30.82.
Brad Gillilan posted the team's fastest 1,000-yard freestyle time of the year when he clocked in at 9:29.17, good enough for the event win.
In arguably the closest heat of the day, Pat Falconer held off Drew Wolfred of Purdue in the 200-yard freestyle to win with a time of 1:40.94, topping Wolfred's 1:40.95 by 0.01 seconds.
Kerry Sodonis got the women on the board for the first time on the day when she turned in the fastest 100-yard breaststroke time. Sodonis clocked in at 1:05.42.
Puskaric gave MSU the event sweep when he turned in the fastest men's time with a 55.57 mark. Jason Lintjer followed in second with a time of 57.67.
Ricky Forrest turned in the top time in the 200-yard butterfly, posting a mark of 1:52.75.
Jarzen picked up his third win of the day when he turned in a time of 1:48.34 in the 200-yard backstroke. Jarzen topped the next swimmer by 4.57 seconds.
Sodonis once again led the team in the 200-yard backstroke, turning in the team's fastest time in the event this year for second place overall (2:20.42).
Puskaric earned another individual win when he placed first by 5.81 seconds in the 200-yard backstroke, turning in a time of 2:00.68.
Becca Ebner finished tops in the 100-yard butterfly, turning in a time of 56.37.
Jarzen concluded his events with a win in the 100-yard butterfly as he finished in 49.46. Jarzen was joined by Bryan Williams who placed second with a 50.48 mark.
Alex Pierce gave the women their third win of the day when she won the 200-yard IM. Pierce clocked in at 2:10.39.
In the diving events, Sarah Clay placed second in the 3-meter board with a score of 313.66. Ivan Zalessov paced the men's squad with his second-place finish on the 1-meter board with a 339.97 mark.
Clay once again was the top female for MSU on the 1-meter board, posting a mark of 294.97. Zalessov was also the top male diver for the Green and White as he finished second on the 3-meter board with a 365.32 score. David Boudia of Purdue won both the 1-and 3-meter men events with pool-record marks of 415.87 and 434.69, respectively. Erin Mertz won both the 1-and 3-meter female diving events.
Michigan State returns to action next Friday when the men host Notre Dame at 5 p.m. in East Lansing. The complete squad will then travel to Columbus, Ohio for a dual against Ohio State on Saturday, beginning at 1 p.m.
Players Mentioned
