Feb. 1, 2003
Bowling Green, Ky. - The Western Kentucky University men's team remained unbeaten on Saturday at the Preston Center as it defeated both SMS and Emory to improve to 14-0 in dual meets. With a win in the regular season finale on Wednesday night against Evansville, the Hilltoppers can match their best season ever with a 15-0 mark in dual meets. The men went 15-0 during the 1998-99 season and have five unbeaten seasons to their credit.
The women fell to 17-5 in their final dual meet of the season and finished the regular season with four more wins than any previous Lady Toppers team.
The men got the win by taking first in eight of 13 swimming events and swept the top three scoring spots in the 200 Butterfly and 200 Backstroke. In the 200 Fly, Chad Waits (So., Shelbyville, Ky.) got the win with a time of 1:51.93 followed by teammates Ryan Crosby (Jr., Escondido, Calif.) and Alex Handley (So., Kensington, England), who finished in times of 1:53.10 and 1:53.87, respectively. Nick Bracco (So., Leawood, Kan.) led the WKU trio in the 200 Backstroke with a time of 1:51.18. Greg Strickler (So., Midland, Mich.) was second (1:53.14) and Paul Graves (So., Louisville, Ky.) third (1:54.20). The Toppers' "A" and "B" relays finished one-two in the 400 Medley Relay. The "A" relay team of Gord Veldman (Sr., Kingston, Ontario), Charlie Knight (Sr., Avon, N.Y.), Waits and Jay Smith (Jr., Hopkinsville, Ky.) won the relay by four seconds with a time of 3:23.43, while the "B" relay squad of Bracco, Chris Tarter (Fr., Campbellsville, Ky.), Crosby, and Drew Aldridge (Jr., Shelbyville, Ky.) came in second in 3:27.60. The duo of Jerrod Janes (Sr., Carlsbad, N.M.) and Matt Nalbone (Jr., Niagara Falls, N.Y.) finished one-two in the 50 Freestyle with Janes finishing in the top spot in 21.05 and Nalbone winning in 21.52. Stephen Ayers (Fr., Forest, Va.) and Strickler won the 200 Breaststroke and 200 IM, respectively, in top times for the season. Ayers won the 200 Breaststroke in 2:07.99 shaving :00.12 seconds off the teams previous best time of 2:08.11 set by Tarter. Strickler set a new season best in the 200 IM winning with a time of 1:53.93. The previous best was Graves' 1:54.19. Other wins for the Toppers came from Veldman in the 100 Freestyle (45.97) and the 400 Freestyle Relay. The foursome of Veldman, Nalbone, Janes and Smith won the event in 3:04.76.
The women fell despite several solid performances. Freshman Jordan Beck (Normandy, Tenn.) led the way by winning the 200 IM (2:10.35) and the 200 Butterfly (2:07.83). Beck also finished second in the 200 Backstroke (2:10.42). The diving duo of Marci Kascir (Jr., Indianapolis, Ind.) and Trisha Nailor (So., Angola, Ind.) continued to be a formidable as they took 1-2 in the diving events for the fifth straight meet. Kascir won the 1-Meter event with 243.65 points and Nailor the 3-Meter with a score of 230.35. Stacey Schortgen (Fr., Chrubusco, Ind.) finished third in the 1000 Freestyle with a WKU season-best time of 10:33.89.
Top WKU Finishers
Event Place Competitor(s) TimeWomen's 400 Medley Relay 2nd Alexis Rieck, Lucy Faria 4:02.77 Meredith Mountjoy, Rachel BuncherMen's 400 Medley Relay 1st Gord Veldman, Charlie Knight 3:23.43 Chad Waits, Jay SmithWomen's 1000 Freestyle 3rd Stacey Schortgen 10:33.89Men's 1000 Freestyle 2nd Karl Swanson 9:29.62Women's 200 Freestyle 6th Rachel Buncher 1:55.01Men's 200 Freestyle 3rd Keith Janson 1:45.35Women's 50 Freestyle 3rd Carol Brown 25.21Men's 50 Freestyle 1st Jerrod Janes 21.05Women's 200 IM 1st Jordan Beck 2:10.35Men's 200 IM 1st Greg Strickler 1:53.93Women's 3-Meter Diving 1st Trisha Nailor 230.35Men's 1-Meter Diving 4th Andy Ray 229.55Women's 200 Butterfly 1st Jordan Beck 2:07.83Men's 200 Butterfly 1st Chad Waits 1:51.93Women's 100 Freestyle 4th Carol Brown 55.34Men's 100 Freestyle 1st Gord Veldman 45.97Women's 200 Backstroke 2nd Jordan Beck 2:10.42Men's 200 Backstroke 1st Nick Bracco 1:51.18Women's 500 Freestyle 7th Amber Miller 5:18.88Men's 500 Freestyle 2nd Karl Swanson 4:40.13Women's 1-Meter Diving 1st Marci Kascir 243.65Men's 3-Meter Diving 5th Michael Laake 222.45Women's 200 Breaststroke 4th Lori Ludwiczak 2:27.42Men's 200 Breaststroke 1st Stephen Ayers 2:07.99Women's 400 Freestyle Relay 5th Penta Stanley, Meredith McCauley 3:51.06 Amber Miller, Lori LudwiczakMen's 400 Freestyle Relay 1st Gord Veldman, Matt Nalbone 3:04.76 Jerrod Janes, Jay Smith
