Feb. 20, 2010

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WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. -- The Wisconsin women’s swimming and diving team closed out the 2010 Big Ten Championships with another all-conference relay performance Saturday at the Boilermaker Aquatic Center.

The runner-up effort from the quartet of Maggie Meyer, Laura Miller, Beckie Thompson and Rosie Morahan in the 400-yard freestyle relay put bookends on the meet for the Badgers, who opened competition Wednesday with a Big Ten title in the 200 medley relay.

The foursome combined for a time of 3:17.58, an NCAA championships consideration mark and the third-fastest time in school history.

Meyer had the Badgers out to an early lead after taking the first 50 yards in 23.22. She finished with a lead split of 49.40, and the Badgers were in fourth at the first exchange.

Miller followed and the Badgers were fifth at the race's halfway point, before Thompson moved them up to third on her first lap and, eventually, to second when Morahan hit the water for the final leg.

The senior finished strong by holding her ground and closing up on Indiana, which clocked a winning time of 3:16.95.

The performance capped off the Badgers’ sixth-place finish in the meet, as they scored 384.5 points. Indiana tallied 758 points to win the conference crown for the second-consecutive year.

Wisconsin finished with Big Ten titles in four events and had eight swimmers earn all-conference honors, including six that landed on the All-Big Ten first team.

“I was really pleased with some of the things we did individually, in terms of swimming personal-best times and positioning ourselves well for NCAAs,” said head coach Eric Hansen. “On the other hand, we let too many opportunities pass us by, and the team scores reflect that.

“Still, to have six swimmers earn first-team all-conference is something to be proud of, and I was happy with the way we came together for our relays, especially ending things on a good note tonight with the 400 free relay.”

Among the strong individual showings was sophomore Danielle Beckwith’s swim in the 1,650-yard freestyle.

Beckwith earned a fifth-place finish, clocking an NCAA “B” qualifying time of 16:22.09 to win her heat.

Beckwith used her fastest laps to open and close the race, starting off in 27.41 before closing the final 50 yards in 27.68. That final split allowed her to hold off Penn State’s Stephanie Roop, who clocked in at 16:22.24.

In between, Beckwith led at the 1,000-yard mark by covering that distance in 9:52.49 to hold a half-second lead on Roop.

In the 200 breaststroke, defending champion Ashley Wanland took fourth by finishing in a season-best time of 2:11.06.

Freshman Brittany Kimmitt was fifth in the consolation final in 2:17.01, with fellow freshman Paulina Gralow just behind in sixth with a time of 2:17.14. The duo's finishes translated into 13th- and 14th-place finishes overall.

Senior Libby Brooks was second in the "C" final of the event, clocking in at a season-best 2:16.47.

A day after winning the 100-yard backstroke title, Meyer settled for a sixth-place finish in the 200 back, clocking in at 1:56.47. Senior Candice Peak was eighth in 1:57.06. Both times were slower than the NCAA consideration cuts the duo posted in the prelims.

Like Peak, senior Sara Goff closed out her Big Ten career in style in the consolation final.

Goff was second with 50 yards to go but finished seventh in the heat -- and 15th overall -- in a season-best time of 1:58.60.

Thompson clocked a time of 49.83 to finish eighth in the 100-yard freestyle after taking second in the event last year.

Senior Rosie Morahan clocked in at 49.95 to take third in the consolation final -- and 11th overall -- while freshman Ruby Martin went 50.25 to finish fifth in the consolation heat and 13th overall.

In the "C" final, junior Kelsey Gergen posted a season-best time of 51.50 to take fifth in the heat.

The Badgers also grabbed points in platform diving, as freshman Roxanne Fitter posted a personal-best score of 250.50 in the consolation final to grab a 10th-place overall finish.

Fitter’s performance came on the heels of a 229.35 score in the preliminaries, which had her seeded 10th for the consolation final.

Senior Emily Cheffins was 19th in the prelims with a total of 199.75, while freshman Leslie Cannon scored 168.65 to finish 20th.

In the 200 butterfly, junior Karlyn Hougan clocked a personal-best 2:03.36 to take seventh in the "C" final.

The Badgers now will wait until the list of qualifiers is released Monday, March 1, to see who will make the return trip to West Lafayette for the 2010 NCAA Championships, which are set for March 18-20.

2010 Big Ten Championships Breakdown

Big Ten Champions
- 50-yard Freestyle (Beckie Thompson)
- 100-yard Backstroke (Maggie Meyer)
- 200-yard Freestyle Relay (Thompson, Meyer, Kelsey Gergen, Ruby Martin)
- 200-yard Medley Relay (Meyer, Ashley Wanland, Karlyn Hougan, Thompson)

First Team All-Big Ten
- Kelsey Gergen
- Karlyn Hougan
- Ruby Martin
- Maggie Meyer
- Beckie Thompson
- Ashley Wanland

Second Team All-Big Ten
- Laura Miller
- Rosie Morahan

High-Point Scorer
- Maggie Meyer

Big Ten Sportsmanship Award
- Lauren Borja

School Records
- 50-yard Freestyle: 22.27 (Meyer – matches own record)

Pool Records
- 100-yard Backstroke: 52.27 (Meyer)
- 200-yard Medley Relay: 1:37.34 (Meyer, Wanland, Hougan, Thompson)

NCAA “A” Cuts
- 100-yard Backstroke: Meyer (52.27); Meyer (52.76-R)
- 200-yard Medley Relay: Meyer, Wanland, Hougan, Thompson (1:37.34)

NCAA “B” Cuts
- 50-yard Freestyle: Thompson (22.23); Meyer (22.54); Gergen (22.97)
- 100-yard Freestyle: Thompson (49.38); Meyer (49.40-R); Morahan (49.85)
- 200-yard Freestyle: Morahan (1:49.19-R)
- 500-yard Freestyle: Gabby Maddalena (4:48.79); Danielle Beckwith (4:48.25)
- 1650-yard Freestyle: Beckwith (16:22.09); Maddalena (16:33.38)
- 100-yard Backstroke: Candice Peak (54.06); Sara Goff (54.58); Amie Osten (55.22)
- 200-yard Backstroke: Meyer (1:55.42); Peak (1:56.55); Goff (1:58.11)
- 100-yard Breaststroke: Wanland (1:00.16); Paulina Gralow (1:02.53)
- 200-yard Breaststroke: Wanland (2:11.06); Gralow (2:15.77): Brittany Kimmitt (2:16.00); Brooks (2:16.47)
- 400-yard IM: Maddalena (4:18.88)
- 400-yard Freestyle Relay: Meyer, Miller, Thompson, Morahan (3:17.58)
- 800-yard Freestyle Relay: Morahan, Miller, Thompson, Martin (7:16.77)
- 400-yard Medley Relay: Meyer, Wanland, Miller, Thompson (3:36.47)