Notre Dame’s Men and Women Take Early Lead At Big East Championships

Notre Dame’s women jumped out to an early lead with 80 points coming from two first-place relay finishes in the first day of action at the 2009 BIG EAST Swimming and Diving Championships at the IU Natatorium Indianapolis, Ind. The Irish split the relay wins with Louisville on the men’s side. Notre Dame, however, had four divers finish in the top five to take the overall lead with 128 points.
 
The championships got off to a fast start with four new meet records already being set. Behind the Irish women in second place is Louisville with 68 points. Pittsburgh trails the Irish in second place with 103 points.    
 
Notre Dame’s women started the night’s first race with a dominant, record-breaking performance in the 800-free relay, winning in 7:13.51. The Fighting Irish were over 3.5 seconds faster in the race over their nearest competitor, Louisville, which finished second in 7:17.13. Making up the Notre Dame relay squad were junior Megan Farrell, freshman Amy Prestinario, sophomore Lauren Sylvester and senior Christa Riggins.
 
The Fighting Irish continued their success in the men’s 800-free relay, winning the second final of the night in a meet-record 6:27.19. Louisville’s men mirrored its women’s squad, finishing second in 6:30.69. Notre Dame and Louisville were the frontrunners the majority of the race, as Pittsburgh’s third-place time was 6:35.35. Junior John Lytle, senior Danny Lutkus, sophomore Steven Brus and junior Mackenzie Leblanc gave the winning effort.
 
In a race almost too close to call, Notre Dame’s women emerged as the victors again in the 200-medley relay with a meet-record finishing time of 1:39.61, Louisville was right on the Irish’s tracks with a 1:39.64 second-place finish. Freshman Colleen Fotsch and sophomore’s Samantha Maxwell, Kellyn Kuhlke and Amywren Miller made up the winning team.
 
Another meet record was broken in the night’s final race as Louisville’s men won the 200-medley relay in 1:25.85. The Cardinals never trailed the entire race. Cincinnati was the runner-up, finishing in 1:28.91. Louisville’s winning relay time was comprised of junior Carlos Van Isschot and senior’s Vali Preda, Adam Madarassy and Alex Sweet. 
 
Pittsburgh senior Alex Volovetski won the men’s 1-meter diving finals with a score of 373.15. Volovetski was challenged by Notre Dame senior Michael Bulfin with a 367.60 showing. The Irish were loaded at the top of the results, taking spots two through five of the 1-meter.
 
Championship action resumes at 10 a.m. Eastern with the women’s 500-free preliminaries. All of the Swimming and Diving events can be seen live by signing up at www.bigeast.tv.

Two Records Broken By Irish To Open BIG EAST Meet
The Notre Dame women’s swimming and diving team jumped out to an early lead with 80 points coming from two first-place relay finishes in the first day of action at the 2009 BIG EAST Swimming and Diving Championships at the IU Natatorium in Indianapolis, Ind. Notre Dame has 80 points to lead the pack, in front of Louisville (68) and third-place West Virginia (62) among the 12-team field.

“We’re off to a pretty good start, but you could tell we were a bit nervous out of the gate,” Irish head coach Brian Barnes said. “Hopefully we can pull that out of them a get a bit more confident. But we came out of the evening with two wins and two records and that’s a good start for us. It’s a seven-session meet and we’ll have to keep our wits about us and keep pushing.”

800 Free Relay: West Virginia led by several yards after the 400-yard mark … the Irish got a boost from Lauren Sylvester to put them back on top … Christa Riggins dove in with a sizable lead which she built upon to tap in at 7:13.51 for an NCAA B-cut time … the mark was a school and BIG EAST record.

200 Medley Relay: In a race almost too close to call, Notre Dame emerged as the victors again with a meet and school-record finishing time of 1:39.61 and an NCAA B-cut … Louisville was right on Notre Dame’s tracks and initially appeared to have the race in control before touching second in 1:39.64 … Colleen Fotsch, Samantha Maxwell, Kellyn Kuhlke and Amywren Miller made up the winning team.

Notre Dame Performs In Pool, Off Board To Lead Conference Meet
With three events in the books after one day of action at the 2009 BIG EAST Swimming and Diving Championships, Notre Dame finds itself in a familiar position as the team seeks its third title in four tries. The Irish lead the field with 137 points behind a record-breaking performance in the 800 Free Relay and a second-place finish off the 1-meter board by Michael Bulfin.

Close behind Notre Dame in the standings are Pittsburgh (133) and Louisville (83) among the 12-team field.

“This was a great session for us,” Irish head coach Tim Welsh said. “The divers came through with outstanding performances among a great field. Our 800 Free Relay team was magnificent. They were faster than last year’s NCAA qualifying time. The 200 Medley Relay team rounded out a very strong first day for us. But we have to keep this up for seven sessions in a row.”

800 Free Relay: The Irish were nearly deadlocked with Louisville after the first swimmers exited the water … Danny Lutkus muscled his way past the field in the second leg to give Notre Dame a comfortable lead … Steven Brus and MacKenzie LeBlanc cleaned up the leftovers to help the tandem finish in 6:27.19 … the season-best time was a school and BIG EAST record.

200 Medley Relay: Another meet record was broken in the night’s final race, this time by Louisville (1:25.85) … the Cardinals never trailed the entire race … Cincinnati was the runner-up, finishing in 1:28.91 … Jeff Wood, Joseph Raycroft, Andrew Hoffman and Joshua Nosal finished sixth in 1:30.25.

1-meter Diving: The competition was heated in both the preliminary and final rounds, as the top two finishers went head-to-head down to the final dive … in the end, Pittsburgh’s Alex Volovetski (373.15) edged Michael Bulfin (367.60) for the title … but Notre Dame placed divers in four of the top five scoring positions … Caleb Dunnichay (329.35) earned an all-BIG EAST honor in his first conference action with the Irish … Wes Villaflor (323.75) and Eric Lex (319.90) rounded out the top five.

Day One In The Books At BIG EAST Championships
The University of Cincinnati swimming and diving team set a pair of school records on the first day of competition at the 2009 BIG EAST Championships and the IU Natatorium on the campus of IUPUI.
 
The UC men’s squad sits sixth after tallying 60 points in the five events on day one.  Notre Dame (137) leads the men’s competition, followed by Pittsburgh (113), Louisville (83), West Virginia (66), and Connecticut (63).
 
The women’s squad ranks eighth with 42 points, behind leaders Notre Dame (80), Louisville (68), West Virginia (62), Rutgers (60), Pittsburgh (58), Syracuse (52), and Connecticut (44).
 
The top finish of the day went to the men's 200-yard medley relay team of Jeremy Peter, Rob Langford, Patryk Wakula, and Josh Schneider who placed second with a time of 1:28.91. That time broke the 10-year old school record of 1:30.53 and was just off the NCAA 'B' standard of 1:28.58.
 
The women's group of Liz Hansson, Emma Misanik, Elinore de Jong, and Lange Gilby placed seventh with a school-record clocking of 1:43.39. The previous mark of 1:45.53 was set in 2002.
 
The women's 800-freestyle relay squad of Sarah Krone, Amy Billow, Anna Bersani, and Bree Rossi grabbed 18 points with their ninth-place finish with a time of 7:38.59.
 
The men's 800-freestyle relay quartet of Nathan Williams, Jakub Carda, Nate Kramer, and Stephen Cunningham clocked 6:39.40, placing sixth and earning 26 points.
 
The meet, which runs through Feb. 21, continues Thursday with preliminaries at 10 a.m. Finals are set to begin at 6 p.m. Only swimmers who met the conference standards qualified for competition in Indianapolis.

Volovestski Wins the 1M Diving Event
Senior Alex Volovetski repeated as the 1M diving champion on the first night of the Big East Swimming and Diving Championship, held at IU Natatorium. The men’s swimming and diving team is in second-place with 113 points following the opening session.
 
Entering the finals as the top seed, Volovetski kept the momentum in the evening session and recorded a meet-high 373.15 score for his second consecutive Big East title on the 1M board. He becomes the fourth Panther to repeat in that event at the conference meet.
 
Sophomores Collin Forner and Charlie Hauser took seventh and eighth in the finals, respectively, with 295.85 and 220.60 points. The divers will be back in action on Friday in the 3M event.
 
Earning All-Big East honors, Pitt’s 800 free relay team of Otto Pagel, Alex Navarro, Jake Lucas and Justin Corvin finished third in the first event of the night. As a team, the Panthers touched at 6:35.35, while Pagel just missed breaking the school record with a 200 free split of 1:37.57 that was short of the 1997 mark of 1:37.18.
 
Later, the team of Andre Dubiel, B.J. Conklyn, Lucas and Corvin recorded a fifth-place finish in the 200 medley relay at 1:29.43. Dubiel recorded a 22.97 as the lead-off leg of the 50 back, in the relay, which eclipsed the previous school record of 23.07 (Brian Elko in 1998).
 
Thursday’s morning session begins at 10 a.m. with prelims in the 500 free, 200 IM, 50 free and the women’s 1M diving event.

McDonnell Records Lifetime-Best In 200 Free
Junior Lisa McDonnell posted the fastest 200 free of the season, as Pitt’s women’s swimming and diving team finished fifth with 58 points following the first night of the Big East Swimming and Diving Championship, held at IU Natatorium.
 
The 800 free relay team of McDonnell, Katie Cutrell, Elena Spak and Ruth Seiffert combined for a fourth-place finish in the first event of the night. The Panthers touched the wall at 7:25.43, while McDonnell’s 200 free split was a lifetime-best of 1:48.28.
 
Later, the team of Ryann Kishbaugh, Laura Barnes, Caitlin Trant and Kristen McMullan recorded a fifth-place time of 1:42.14 in the 200 medley relay.
 
Thursday’s morning session begins at 10 a.m. with prelims in the 500 free, 200 IM, 50 free and the women’s 1M diving event.