Feb. 29, 2008

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - Purdue's women's swimming team will play host to the annual Boiler-Make-It last-chance meet this Saturday and Sunday at the Boilermaker Aquatic Center. Prelims begin each day at 11 a.m. and finals start at 2 p.m.

Notre Dame, Indiana, Illinois, Oakland, West Virginia, University of Indianapolis and Toledo are among the 12 schools slated to compete, making it one of the largest fields in the meet's short history.

The biggest change between this year's edition and previous years is that the competitors will swim short-course yardage in the morning and long-course meters in the afternoon. Swimming in meters will help swimmers qualify for or improve on their times for this summer's Olympic Trials.

"I really like the format," Purdue head coach Cathy Wright-Eger said. "It opens doors for swimmers who need to get their NCAA, Senior National or Olympic Trial cuts."

Wright-Eger added there's only three times a season when competitors are really shaving and tapering down to swim their very fastest: at Big Ten's and NCAA's, during the summer and for a short window in November. This meet provides everyone with that last chance in case something was off at the recent conference championship.

"It's good to have this event in case someone's taper was off, or they were feeling too much pressure at the big meet," Wright-Eger said. "We even welcome swimmers to try a different event or to swim their primary race a different way."

Purdue swimmers have totaled 17 NCAA provisional cuts this season, including ones on the 200 and 400 free relays and the 400 medley relay, but none of them have been guaranteed a spot at next month's national championships.

Jennifer Lavers and Elyse Dudar are the lone active Boilermakers to have posted Olympic Trial cuts. Lavers has hers in the 200 breaststroke and will try to qualify in the 100 breast. Dudar will swim the 400-meter freestyle to get her ready for the Canadian Olympic Trials.

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