Matt Grevers’ 200 Free NU Record Falls, Calypso Sheridan Drops Sub-24 50 Back

NORTHWESTERN V. CINCINNATI

• Jan. 24, 2020
• Evanston, IL
• Short Course Yards
• Full Results

Northwestern welcomes Cincinnati on Friday for some out-of-conference action, and head coach Jeremy Kipp gave his swimmers the chance to throw on some suits at a low-pressure dual and see what they could do.

“From a performance perspective, sometimes when you can swim a non-traditional conference competitor like Cincinnati, it allows the athletes to be more relaxed and you actually see some people really pop,” said coach Kipp. “Which I think was the case tonight.”

While the Big Ten Conference Championships are in about a month, there wasn’t any specific rest going on for this weekend aside from the natural come down for post-season.

“I thought we had a good week training, definitely not rested, but our men are 5 weeks out and our women are 4 weeks out from B1G so I think we are starting to see some fresh legs. People are excited about what they are doing in the water and on the boards,” said Kipp. “We have been racing a lot in the last few weeks so the tech suits provided a fresh perspective and gave us some things to think about going into B1G and NCAA that I think you might not see in a regular dual meet.”

WOMEN’S MEET

• Northwestern 184, Cincinnati 111

Freshman Ally Larson took down a Northwestern program record in the 200 fly last night, ripping a 1:56.32 to erase teammate Calypso Sheridan‘s school (and pool) record of 1:56.91 from November’s TYR Invite. Last season, NU had zero swimmers under 2:00 in the event; now they have four, including Larson and Sheridan under 1:57 as the two fastest performers in school history.

Sheridan led off NU’s 200 medley relay with a 23.84, making her the third-quickest 50 backstroker in the nation this season. Sophie Angus followed (27.04), then Maddie Smith (24.39) and Malorie Han (22.33). Hannah Brunzell was 27.16 on the B relay breast leg, and Miriam Guevara 23.84 on the B relay fly leg.

Sheridan’s only individual event was the 500 free, where she went 4:46.88 in a tight finish ahead of Larson’s 4:46.98. Sheridan was back in the 400 free relay, and she, Larson, Han, and Smith all split 49’s to combine for a 3:17.45, a school and pool record.

Brunzell returned to win the 200 breast in a 2:09.07, just off her own pool record, while Angus posted a 1:00.40 in the 100 breast to win. Ilektra Lebl contributed two wins of her own, posting a 9:47.08 in the 1000 free and a 2:00.58 in the 200 IM.

Cincinnati went 1-2 in the 200 free, with Maddie Exton (1:49.00) and Michaela Wheeler (1:49.24), and then Lina Kutsko took the 100 fly (53.14).

MEN’S MEET

• Northwestern 167, Cincinnati 130

Perhaps the biggest swim of the day was freshman Federico Burdisso in the 200 free. Known primarily as a butterflier, Burdisso churned out a 1:34.15 in the event to break Matt Grevers‘ school record of 1:34.21 from 2007 and lead a NU 1-2-3-4. Fellow freshmen Aleksa Bobar (1:36.23) and Ben Forbes (1:37.63) followed.

Later, Burdisso posted a 4:20.84 to dominate the 500 free, showcasing his endurance. On the 200 medley relay, he split a 20.84 on the fly leg to combine with Manu Bacarizo (22.50), freshman Kevin Houseman (24.15) and Andrew Zhang (19.78) for a 1:27.27 win.

Houseman would win the 100 breast with a 53.54, and Bacarizo added a win in the 200 back (1:43.69). Sophomore Ryan Gridley posted a 47.97 to win the 100 back.

Cincinnati had a collection of wins, including two from freshman standout Michael Balcerak. He swept the butterfly races, going 1:44.98 in the 200 to come within a second of Burdisso’s pool record from last week, and 47.63 in the 100. Other winners included Dom Polling in the 200 IM (1:48.33), Dalton Lillibridge in the 200 breast (1:58.17) and Alex Fortman in the 100 free (44.97).

NU dropped the 400 free relay to Cincy to close the meet due to a DQ. Cincy’s A touched out NU’s B relay, 2:59.86 to 3:00.36.