Aug. 9, 2009

The Purdue men's swimming team finished five days of competition Saturday at the U.S. Open National Championships in Federal Way, Wash.

"Halfway through the national championships Purdue has been well represented and successful," head coach Dan Ross said. "It was fun watching our guys perform well. Now we have several incoming swimmers competing next week beginning Monday at the Junior National Championships still right here in Federal Way."

Freshman Vinny Donnelly earned the highest finish of any Purdue swimmer throughout the week when he touched the wall in 8:05.93 for sixth place in the 800 freestyle Saturday night. The Tampa, Fla., native also finished ninth in the 1,500 freestyle Tuesday with a 15:33.41 swim and won the C final in the 400 freestyle Thursday after stopping the clock in 3:56.23.

Senior Sam Wilcher qualified for finals in the 200 and 100 butterfly events. The Arlington Heights, Ill., native finished 15th in the 200 butterfly Tuesday with a 2:01.79 clocking. Wilcher then finished 19th in the 100 butterfly Thursday after touching the wall in 54.16.

Wyatt Hodges and Ben Wachtel also contributed to Purdue's success with lifetime-best long-course times. Hodges, a sophomore from Columbia, Mo., began his week with a 2:25.71 clocking Tuesday in the 200 breaststroke. He also touched the wall in 1:05.39 Friday in the 100 breaststroke. Wachtel, a sophomore from Carmel, Ind., stopped the clock in 51.86 Wednesday in the 100 freestyle before recording a time of 1:53.34 in the 200 freestyle Friday. He also swam the third leg on the 4x100 freestyle relay team that finished in 3:29.55 and anchored the 4x100 medley relay team to a 3:54.24 time.