Feb. 17, 2011
Results
MADISON, Wis. – Beckie Thompson made history Thursday night.
With her close win over Michigan’s Natasha Moodie in the 50-yard freestyle during day two of the 2011 Big Ten Championships in Bloomington, Ind., the junior became the first three-time winner in the sprint event in the history of the conference.
Thompson finished with a time of 22.22, her 10th NCAA ‘B’ qualifying time in the event this season. She also set a new Councilman Billingsley Aquatic Center pool record while getting her second Big Ten title of the championships.
“It’s a good feeling coming in as a freshman and then winning every year since,” Thompson said.
“That (defending her title) was definitely the highlight of the day,” assistant head coach Geoff Hanson agreed.
Overall, seven Badgers advanced to the finals in three events during the first full day of competition, including three in the 50-yard freestyle.
Freshman Trisha Nelson finished fourth in the consolation final with her season-best time of 23.01, while sophomore Ruby Martin won the bonus final in 23.04.
Wisconsin was also represented in the finals of the other individual events of the night.
Junior Danielle Beckwith led the Badgers in the 500-yard freestyle, finishing sixth in the consolation final with her personal-best time of 4:46.68. After finishing with a season-best time of 4:49.74 in the preliminary round, redshirt sophomore Monika Stitski finished seventh in the bonus final (4:53.89).
Two underclassmen represented the Badgers in the finals of the 200-yard individual medley. Sophomore Laura Miller took fifth in the consolation final with her season-best time of 2:00.68. Classmate Brittany Kimmitt, meanwhile, finished the event in 2:04.11, good for seventh place in the bonus final.
The Badgers' 200-yard freestyle relay team set a Big Ten record with a mark of. 1:28.31, but unfortunately the team was disqualified for an exchange of .05 early.
The 1-meter diving competition also took place Thursday. Sophomore Roxanne Fitter finished one place away from qualifying for the finals, leading the Badgers in the preliminary rounds with her score of 263.60.
Despite finishing day two with numerous season-best times and eight NCAA ‘B’ qualifying times, Wisconsin fell to seventh place in the overall team standings with 99.5 points. Indiana holds the lead with 279 points.
“That’s a setback,” Hanson said. “But we’re just going to look ahead and try to qualify more women for the NCAA Championships (in March).”
Competition resumes Friday morning with preliminary rounds and finals kicking off at 5:30 p.m.
Among the contested events, seniors Karlyn Hougan and Maggie Meyer have the fastest times among Big Ten swimmers in the 100-yard butterfly and 100-yard backstroke, respectively. Meyer will also defend her championship title in the event.
The 3-meter diving competition also takes place Friday.
