Wisconsin puts up fourth-place finish at SMU classic
October 26, 2008 | Women's Swimming & Diving
After the second and final day at the annual SMU Classic Saturday night in Dallas, Texas, the Badger women's swimming and diving team racked up 258 points for an impressive fourth-place finish.
The No. 23 Wisconsin team beat out the University of Alabama and Arizona State University, but could not get passed No. 16 Southern California, twelfth-ranked Southern Methodist and No. 15 North Carolina, who placed first, second and third, respectively. The Badgers were just 43 points shy of tying SMU and UNC for a second-place finish.
Saturday's racing kicked off with the 400-yard freestyle relay, where the Wisconsin team of freshman Beckie Thompson, sophomore Maggie Meyer, senior Christine Zwiegers and senior Jen Illescas put up a fifth place finish with a time of 3:27.52. The event was followed by the 500-yard freestyle, where Wisconsin junior Gabby Maddalena grabbed third place and Illescas took seventh.
The Badgers also put up a top-three finishes in the 200-yard backstroke, as junior Candice Peak clocked 2:00.61 for third, and in the 200-yard butterfly, where Illescas took second. Wisconsin narrowly missed the top-three in the 200-yard freestyle relay, finishing fourth by 22 hundredths of a second. The team of Thompson, Zwiegers, junior Rosie Morahan and Meyer was edged out by USC.
In diving, junior Emily Cheffins took the top Wisconsin spot, claiming fourth in the 3-meter competition with a final score of 229.25.
Throughout the two days of competition, the Badgers took one of the top three spots in eight different events.
The Badgers' next challenge is against defending national champion and top-ranked Arizona, which Wisconsin will take on this Friday at 2 p.m. in Tucson, Ariz.
