Six meet records fell and six NCAA automatic qualifying times were achieved during the third night of the BIG EAST Swimming & Diving Championships on Feb. 22 at the Nassau County Aquatic Center in East Meadow, N.Y. Following the completion of 27 events, the Notre Dame women lead the field with 525 points. The Irish men also stand in first place with 531 points.

The Louisville women trail ND in second place with 385.50 points, while West Virginia stands at third with 317.50 points. The Cardinals also trail the Irish on the men’s side with 421 points. Pittsburgh is third with 280.50 points.

The night’s first NCAA ‘A’ qualifier came from Louisville junior Leslie Van Winkle, the women’s 400 IM winner with a time of 4:11.00. Pittsburgh junior Agnes Mago followed at 4:18.70, while Connecticut junior Lisa Shelps rounded out the top three with a time of 4:20.40. Both marks are NCAA ‘B’ qualifiers. Three additional ‘B’ cuts were achieved in the finals race.

West Virginia junior Michael Walker set the first BIG EAST Swimming & Diving Championships record of the evening, shaving 0.51 seconds off the men’s 2005 400 IM mark with a finish of 3:50.14. A pair of Cincinnati Bearcats, sophomore Jeremy Peter and junior Kuba Carda, followed Walker at second and third place, respectively, with times of 3:51.02 and 3:54.23. All three finishes are NCAA ‘B’ qualifiers.

Rutgers earned its first title of the meet’s fifth session when junior Kasey Kesses took the 100 butterfly with a NCAA ‘A’ qualifying time of 53.68. Two Irish freshmen followed Kesses, as Amywren Miller and Katie Casey finished second and third with times of 54.88 and 55.37, respectively. Wren’s mark is a NCAA ‘B’ qualifier.

The second meet record of the night again came courtesy of the Cardinals, as junior Adam Madarassy slid under the 2007 mark, shaving 0.10 seconds for a NCAA ‘B’ qualifying mark of 47.62. Sophomore Josh Schneider of Cincinnati took second place, touching the wall at 48.06, also a ‘B’ cut. WVU senior Nick Delic clocked in third at 48.55.

The race of the evening belonged to Notre Dame junior Christa Riggins, as she knocked 1.14 seconds off the championships’ 200 freestyle record and won the event with an automatic qualifying time of 1:44.89, a NCAA top 10 performance. Villanova sophomore Sarah Czar followed at 1:48.98 and Louisville freshman Sarah Andrews rounded out the top three at 1:49.24. Both finishes are NCAA ‘B’ cuts.

Junior Andrei Radzionau won the second event of the night for the Louisville men with a meet record-setting finish of 1:35.35 in the 200 freestyle, a NCAA 2007 Invitational mark. Notre Dame took second and third place, with sophomore John Lytle and junior Danny Lutkus touching the wall at 1:38.02 and 1:38.86, respectively.

The Scarlet Knights took the top points again with sophomore Shayna Longacre’s win in the 100 breaststroke. Longacre’s finish of 1:01.49 is a meet record and a NCAA ‘A’ qualifier. Freshmen followed Longacre on to the winner’s podium, as Sam Maxwell of Notre Dame and Therese Bergstrom of Louisville finished second and third, respectively, at 1:01.68 and 1:02.50. Maxwell’s mark is a NCAA automatic qualifier and Bergstrom’s is a ‘B’ cut. Five additional student athletes achieved ‘B’ cuts.

Senior Kevin Donohue was the second Mountaineer to set a BIG EAST Swimming & Diving Championships men’s record, winning the 100 breaststroke with a NCAA automatic qualifying time of 53.07. The finish was 0.47 seconds under the 2003 record. Two Pittsburgh Panthers followed Donohue, as senior Warren Barnes and junior Adam Plutecki took second and third with times of 53.93 and 54.37, respectively. Barnes’ finish is a NCAA 2007 Invitational time, while Plutecki’s is a ‘B’ cut.

WVU sophomore Morgan Calloway scored the first victory of the night for the Mountaineer women with a 54.96 finish in the 100 backstroke. Notre Dame took second and third place, with senior Caroline Johnson and sophomore Margaret Behrens finishing at 55.34 and 55.54, respectively. All three times are NCAA ‘B’ qualifiers.

The Cardinals took two of the top three times in the men’s 100 backstroke, as sophomore Carlos Van Isschot finished first at 48.23 and senior Andrei Teudean took third at 49.72. Van Isschot’s mark is a NCAA ‘B’ cut. Freshman Andrzej Dubiel of Pittsburgh took second place with a time of 49.36.

Keeping with the evening’s theme of close finishes, only 0.45 points separated Notre Dame sophomore Natalie Stitt and Connecticut senior Allison Coleman in the 3-meter board. Stitt took the title with 266.90 points, while Coleman finished second with 266.45 points. Stitt’s teammate, senior Tara Hyer, took third with 263.50 points.

The evening concluded with the exciting 400 medley relay. Only 0.08 seconds separated the top two teams on the women’s side, with West Virginia University taking first at 3:41.46 and Notre Dame trailing at 3:41.54. Sophomore Kayla Andrews keyed the Mountaineers’ win, overtaking the Irish’s anchor and securing the time for her squad. Classmates Kitti Veisz and Stephanie Shupe, along with Calloway, combined with Andrews for the victory. Rutgers took third with a time of 3:45.44.

The men’s race was just as exciting, with the Cardinals and the Mountaineers leading the pack in to the final leg. Teudean pushed UofL out to the win, touching the wall at 3:12.54, a NCAA 2007 Invitational time. Juniors Vali Preda, along with Van Isschot and Madarassy joined Teudean on the winner’s block. WVU clocked in second at 3:13.52 and Notre Dame secured third at 3:17.27. Both times are NCAA ‘B’ cuts.

The championships’ final morning opens at 10 a.m. at the Nassau County Aquatic Center on Feb. 23 with the women’s 200 backstroke preliminaries. Fans can catch all of the action live online by visiting www.bigeast.tv.