Nov. 13, 2009
Complete Results | Complete Results 
MADISON, Wis. – Maggie Meyer has been one of the nation’s top performers in the backstroke all season, but she officially moved to the head of the class Friday.
Meyer clocked the NCAA’s top time in the 100-yard backstroke and was part of four event wins to help lead the Wisconsin women’s swimming team in a Big Ten Conference dual meet with Northwestern.
The Badgers came up on the short end of a 157-143 score, as they dropped a second Big Ten dual meet for the first time since going 3-2 in league duals in the 1999-2000 season.
Beyond the team score, however, the Badgers won a total of eight events, tallied six NCAA championships qualifying marks and set a pair of pool records at Northwestern’s Norris Aquatic Center.
As she has most of the season, Meyer led the Badgers’ charge by winning both the 100- and 200-yard backstroke and contributing to UW’s sweep of the 200 medley and 400 freestyle relays.
In the 100 back, Meyer clocked a season-best and pool-record time of 53.01 seconds to run away with the win, a mark that equals the standard for automatic NCAA championships qualification. Based on times entering the weekend, Meyer’s clocking also is the nation’s fastest mark this season.
She followed that performance with a win in the 200 backstroke, winning in a season-best time of 1:57.20 to improve her NCAA consideration mark in the event.
Meyer has won all 12 individual races she has competed in this season, recording a total of 10 NCAA qualifying marks in those events in the process.
Sophomore Ashley Wanland also doubled up in individual events, as she swept the breaststroke races with a pair of NCAA consideration times.
Wanland easily won the 100 breast in a season-best time 1:01.47, finishing with a cushion of nearly 2 1/2 seconds on the rest of the field. She then claimed the 200 breast by more than six seconds with her season-best mark of 2:12.79.
Wanland has won nine of the 11 breaststroke races she has entered this season and grabbed second place in the remaining two.
Both Meyer and Wanland were key to the Badgers’ sweep of the relay events, as well. The duo joined with junior Karlyn Hougan and sophomore Beckie Thompson to run away with the 200 medley relay in 1:41.88.
Meyer and Thompson then combined with senior Rosie Morahan and freshman Laura Miller to take the top spot in the 400 free relay in 3:22.51.
Both the Badgers’ winning relay times also were good for NCAA championships consideration.
Thompson also was a winner in the 50 free, clocking a time of 23.15, while sophomore Danielle Beckwith claimed victory in the 1,000 free with a time of 10:08.68.
Like Meyer, senior Candice Peak was impressive in the backstroke events, finishing second to Meyer in both races. She clocked a season-best time of 56.45 to take the runner-up spot in the 100 back and then trimmed more than 3 1/2 seconds off her previous season-best mark to take second in the 200 back in 2:01.48.
The Badgers’ swimmers will now have three weeks to prepare for their next competition, the Texas Invitational, which is set for Dec. 4-6. UW’s divers, however, return to action next weekend in the Arizona Diving Invitational in Tucson, Ariz.
