In the first in-conference test of the season, the Wisconsin swim and dive team (1-6 men, 1-6 women) came out of the Big Ten Quad Duals in third place out of four, but achieved some crucial wins in the process.
With the star of the women’s team, junior Cierra Runge, still nowhere to be found after missing her fourth straight meet, it was up to other Wisconsin swimmers to pick up the pieces. Sophomore Beata Nelson rose to the occasion, picking up three individual event wins and one second-place finish after having a lackluster showing against NC State due to illness. Her winning time of 58.01 seconds in the 200-yard butterfly is the top time in the conference this season, and her time in the 200-yard individual medley, where she placed second to Olympian Siobhan Haughey of Michigan, was a personal best.
On the men’s side, it was a freshman and a senior who made the biggest impact in the backstroke events. Matt Novinski has seen a meteoric rise to the top of the conference as a freshman in the backstroke events, continued his all-out domination of the 100-yard backstroke with a time of 48.04 seconds, annihilating the rest of the field by over a second. In the 200-yard version of the event, senior Todd McCarthy came away with the win in 1:47.01 and was quickly followed by sophomore Cam Tysoe in second, Novinski in fourth, and sophomore Justin Temprano in fifth place.
Head coach Whitney Hite had substantial praise for McCarthy when he talked to UWBadgers.com.
“Todd especially was great,” Hite said. “We've been waiting for it, but it was well worth the wait. I'm proud of the way he competed. He's just doing what he's capable of."
The next meet up for the Badgers will be the Minnesota Diving Invitational for the Badgers’ 11 divers that opens on Nov. 9, while the swimmers will head to Green Bay for an in-state showdown on Nov. 10.
