Night 3 of the 2013 Big Ten Women’s Championships ran with a little bit of a hitch toward the end of the meet. As the session started off very fast, it then receded once a 20-minute delay came to the schedule in the 200 free.
As of posting time, final team standings after night 3 had not been posted.re
Women’s 400 Medley Relay Final
The Minnesota women, using their event-winners from later in the session in the 100 fly and 100 breast, cruised to a 3:31.45 win in the women’s 200 medley relay. Ohio State, who all-of-a-sudden got very hot on night three of this meet, took 2nd in 3:33.55, out-touching Indiana’s third-place relay of 3:33.71.
Aside from the runaway by the Gophers, this was a very competitive battle; Penn State was just a few tenths back of them with a 3:34.12 for 4th.
No splits for the relay were immediately available.
Women’s 400 IM Final
Where the now-graduated Allysa Vavra left off, Indiana sophomore Dorina Szerekes has picked up. Her 4:07.91, two-plus-second victory in this 400 IM is the 4th straight for the Hoosiers at the Big Ten meet. Vavra won her first title as a sophomore as well, and it doesn’t look like there’s anyone on the horizon who is going to keep Szerekes from going on a similar run (save incoming Minnesota swimmer Breanne Siwicki).
Current Minnesota freshman Sam Harding took 2nd in 4:10.30, followed by Michigan swimmers Courtney Beidler (4:10.33) and Marni Oldershaw (4:10.98).
Women’s 100 Fly Final
Minnesota got their second win on the night when sophomore Becca Weiland won, knocking another three tenths off of her Big Ten Championship record in the race. This time, she also got the overall record, breaking a 51.85 swum by Michigan’s Caroline Rodriguez in 51.85.
Ohio State’s Shannon Graves broke her own school record by half-a-second with a 52.26 for 2nd. Minnesota’s Blake Zeiger took 3rd in 52.70.
Women’s 200 Free Final
This women’s 200 free was full of controversy and delayed the meet by about 20 minutes. On the first attempt, the starter accidentally hit the false-start recall, causing some swimmers to stop while others sprinted through more than 50 yards. After a conference, a 12-minute break was called for, and the heat was reswum.
This time, with no hitches, Penn State freshman Alyson Ackman won in 1:44.83. She has really come on strong after a challenging first individual swim in this meet, having been at-or-near best times in every swim since – culminating in her first Big Ten title.
That included holding off the two women who broke the 500 free league record (crushed it, really) two nights earlier. Minnesota sophomore Kiera Janzen was 2nd in 1:45.20, and Indiana’s Lindsay Vrooman 3rd in 1:45.33. What’s interesting to watch with Ackman is that there hasn’t been a repeat champion in this event at Big Tens since Michigan’s Lindsey Smith took four-straight from 2004-2007. Ackman, being so young and still developing, has a chance to break that curse.
Women’s 100 Breast Final
Maybe a bit deflated and thrown-off by what happened just before, the times in this 100 breaststroke final were across-the-board slower than what they had been in prelims. That didn’t stop Minnesota senior Haley Spencer from winning, though, in 59.15. That’s shy of her personal best from the mornings, but still is much faster than she’d ever been coming into this meet.
Indiana’s Ashley Specht, the head of an impressive breaststroke group there as well, was 2nd in 59.54. Minnesota freshman Kierra Smith was 3rd in 1:00.59.
Women’s 100 Back Final
The funk was clearing by the time this 100 backstroke rolled around, but times were still a bit off of what they had been this morning. Indiana freshman Brooklyn Snodgrass won the title in 52.07, one of two freshman to win at major conferences this week (with at least one more a good possibility next week).
Ohio State’s Kelsey Moran took 2nd in 53.00. She’s another member of a lofty Ohio State senior class; perhaps most surprising as she was only a 58 in this race coming out of high school. Penn State’s Paige Whitmire took 3rd in 53.17.
Live meet results available here.
Way to go GOPHERS!!!! Thanks for the updates.
It seems like they are are struggling, live results not up, no splits, wrong results link and then the issue with the 200 free.Things can happen but not that many and not at a meet like this. Doesn’t make it easy to follow the meet….
The recall wasn’t a mistake. The starter heard someone whistle after people had taken their marks, and one of the swimmers started to move, so they recalled the race.
The splits all go up at the end of the night.