Senior Drew Pittman will swim in his final home meet on Saturday against Northwestern.

#21 Notre Dame Men's Swimming & Diving To Meet #14 Northwestern in Final Home Meet

Jan. 22, 2005

The 21st-ranked University of Notre Dame men’s swimming and diving team (6-1) will close out its home schedule this weekend by welcoming #14 Northwestern (3-3) to the Rolfs Aquatic Center for a 2 p.m. (EST) meet on Saturday. It will be the first-ever battle of ranked teams in the Irish program history, as well as the first competitive action for the team since its landslide first-place finish in the Notre Dame Invitational nearly two months ago (Dec. 2-4).

FOUR SENIORS SET FOR FINAL HOME MEET: This weekend will mark the final home meet for the four members of Notre Dame’s class of 2005: Matt Bertke (Edgewood, Ky./Covington Catholic H.S.), Frank Krakowski (Erie, Pa./Cathedral Preparatory School), David Moisan (Fisherville, Ky./Louisville Male H.S.), and Drew Pittman (Williamsburg, Va./Lafayette H.S.). Throughout the last four years, this group has helped the Irish to a 31-19 (.620) dual-meet record, as well as three top-four finishes in the BIG EAST Championships, highlighted by a runner-up performance in 2004 that featured Notre Dame’s highest-ever point total in the meet. The class will be honored with a ceremony prior to the commencement of the meet.

NOTRE DAME 21st in CSCAA NATIONAL RANKINGS: Notre Dame is 21st in the latest College Swimming Coaches Association of America National Dual Meet Rankings, released on Jan. 13. The Irish had never been ranked prior to this season, but a 155-145 upset of eight-time defending BIG EAST champion and #17 Pittsburgh on Nov. 12 vaulted them into the rankings at 21st. Notre Dame has occupied that slot since then.

IRISH-WILDCATS SERIES NOTES: Notre Dame and Northwestern will meet for the third consecutive season and 20th time overall, with the Wildcats holding a 12-7 advantage in the all-time series. Northwestern has won each of the last four meets, dating back to a 166-128 triumph by the Irish on Feb. 2, 1991 in the Rolfs Aquatic Center. Since then, the Wildcats won three times at Notre Dame (1991-92, 1993-94, 2002-03) and once in their own pool. The schools first met in the second season of varsity men’s swimming and diving, 1959-60, with the Irish claiming a 50-44 win in the Rockne Memorial Pool. That began a 13-year stretch featuring 12 meets, which began with three straight Notre Dame victories before NU won eight of nine. The series resumed in 1987-88, and the teams met five times in the ensuing seven years (three Irish wins followed by two Wildcat triumphs). Following an eight-year hiatus, the rivalry was renewed two seasons ago. The Wildcats hold a 7-5 advantage at Notre Dame, including a 3-2 lead in the Rolfs Aquatic Center. The Irish have prevailed three times in seven meets under current head coach Tim Welsh. Last year, #15 Northwestern rallied to win 155-133 in its home pool, though Notre Dame held various leads in the meet, marking a program first when taking on a top-15 team. The Wildcats won 13 of 16 events, but the Irish depth kept them in the meet, as they had two of the top three finishers in 10 of 12 individual swimming events and three of the top five in all but one of the 14 swimming races. Winners for Notre Dame were Ted Brown (Kokomo, Ind./Western H.S.) in the 200 free, Louis Cavadini (South Bend, Ind./Riley H.S.) in the 100 free, and Scott Coyle (Indianapolis, Ind./Hamilton Southeastern H.S.) in one-meter diving.

IRISH FINALLY RETURN TO COMPETITION: It has been 49 days since Notre Dame last swam competitively, when the Irish delivered a resounding first-place finish in the Notre Dame Invitational, held Dec. 2-4. The Irish scored 2,709.5 points, while runner-up West Virginia had 1,116. Notre Dame was scheduled to compete in a meet against the Ireland National Team on Jan. 8 in Dublin, but that contest was cancelled due to the National Aquatic Centre, which was to play host to the meet, sustaining damage in a tornado.

FIRST TOP-25 TUSSLE ON TAP: Saturday will mark the first time in the 47-year history of the program that Notre Dame has been involved in a contest between two top-25 teams. The Irish earned their first-ever national ranking in mid-November and have had just one dual meet since then, defeating unranked Louisville on the road 242-117 on Nov. 19-20.

KEGELMAN SETS THREE MEET, POOL, AND UNIVERSITY RECORDS AT NOTRE DAME INVITATIONAL: Sophomore Tim Kegelman (Yorktown, Va./Tabb H.S.) is poised to become the first Notre Dame men’s swimmer to earn an invitation to the NCAA Championships (March 24-26 in Minneapolis, Minn.) after an outstanding performance at last month’s Notre Dame Invitational. He broke the meet, pool, and University records in all three of his individual events, going 47.66 in the 100 fly, 1:47.53 in the 200 fly, and 1:49.48 in the 200 IM. All three were NCAA “B” times, and the mark in the 100 butterfly has never not earned an NCAA berth.

KEGELMAN RANKED FIFTH IN DIVISION I IN 100 BUTTERFLY: Sophomore Tim Kegelman (Yorktown, Va./Tabb H.S.) ranks fifth among all Division I swimmers in the 100-yard butterfly this season, with his NCAA “B” time of 47.66 in prelims of the Notre Dame Invitational. That broke his own University record of 48.43, which he set in being the runner-up at the BIG EAST Championships last year. All four swimmers ahead of him reached the evening finals in last year’s NCAA Championships in the 100 fly. Only two student-athletes – Lyndon Ferns of Arizona (46.04 this year; 10th at ’04 NCAAs) and Daniel DiToro of Texas (46.74; 14th at NCAAs) – have posted NCAA “A” cuts in the event, earning them automatic qualification to the NCAA Championships, slated for March 24-26 in Minneapolis, Minn. Auburn’s Fred Bousquet (sixth at ’04 NCAAs) ranks third in the nation with a time of 47.49 converted from a short-course meters swim, while Daniel Cruz of Kentucky (13th at ’04 NCAAs) is fourth at 47.55. Kegelman also ranks 17th in the 200 fly and 23rd in the 200 IM.

IRISH AMONG THE NATION’S BEST: The most recent set of CollegeSwimming.com Division I top times, released Jan. 10, has Irish swimmers all over it, with a total of 34 entries, including at least one in every event but one (200 free) and multiple student-athletes in nine races (four are listed in the 100 breast). In all, 19 different Irish competitors are mentioned. Leading the way are four swimmers – seniors Frank Krakowski (Erie, Pa./Cathedral Preparatory School) and David Moisan (Fisherville, Ky./Louisville Male H.S.) and sophomores Alan Carter (Bethel Park, Pa./Bethel Park H.S.) and Tim Kegelman (Yorktown, Va./Tabb H.S.) – who are listed in all three of their primary events. The headliner of that group is Kegelman, who ranks fifth in the 100 butterfly (47.66), tied for 17th in the 200 fly (1:47.53), and 23rd in the 200 IM (1:49.48). Moisan ranks 46th in the 400 IM (3:58.47), 75th in the 200 IM (1:52.26), and 90th in the 200 breast (2:05.60), while Krakowski is 51st in the 100 fly (49.47), 75th in the 50 free (20.79), and tied for 100th in the 100 free (45.72). Carter checked in at 66th in the 200 back (1:49.64) and 67th in both the 100 back (50.29) and the 200 IM (1:52.03). Sophomore Doug Bauman (Erie, Pa./Cathedral Preparatory School) is mentioned on both backstroke lists (tied for 53rd in the 100 at 50.11; 65th in the 200 at 1:49.63), while junior Tyler Grenda (Hockessin, Del./Salesianum H.S.) is 97th in both breaststroke events (57.76 and 2:06.05). He rounds out a quartet of Irish swimmers in the 100 breaststroke, which also features junior Tim Randolph (Crown Point, Ind./Merrillville H.S.) at 77th (57.37), freshman Eric Swenson (Scotch Plains, N.J./St. Joseph H.S.) at 78th (57.38), and sophomore Nick Fanslau (Lansdale, Pa./North Penn H.S.) tied for 81st (57.48). Sophomore Ted Brown (Kokomo, Ind./Western H.S.) is 44th in the 500 (4:28.65), while the 1,650 freestyle is one of the team’s strongest events, with three in the top 85: sophomore Chris Zeches (Tucson, Ariz./Salpointe Catholic H.S.) at 44th (15:42.65), freshman Jay Vanden Berg (Holland, Mich./Southfield Christian School) at 46th, and sophomore Patrick Davis (Clearwater, Fla./Jesuit H.S.) at 84th (15:58.08). Freshman Graham Parker (Cherry Hill, N.J./Cherry Hill H.S. East) ranks 61st in the 200 breast (2:04.42), while sophomore Louis Cavadini (South Bend, Ind./Riley H.S.) is 61st in the 100 fly (49.68). Defending BIG EAST champion junior Jamie Lutkus (Granger, Ind./Penn H.S.) ranks 66th in the 400 IM (4:00.32), while sophomore Justin Barber (Carson City, Nev./Carson H.S.) is 97th (4:03.00). Senior captain Matt Bertke (Edgewood, Ky./Covington Catholic H.S.) – who did not even swim the event in last year’s BIG EAST meet – ranks 90th in the 200 butterfly (1:51.42), while junior Steve Shomberger (Spotsylvania, Va./Courtland H.S.) is 90th in the 200 back (1:50.52).

Notre Dame’s relays are well-represented in the leaders, with all of them ranking among the top 40 and four listed in the top 25. The top ranking is 16th by the 200 free relay team of Randolph, Krakowski, Cavadini, and Kegelman (the top 12 relays at the end of the year earn automatic entrance to the NCAA meet) with a time of 1:21.85, while the same quartet is 21st in the 400 free (3:01.75). The 800 free relay team of Brown, Bertke, junior Patrick O’Berry (Alpharetta, Ga./Milton H.S.), and sophomore Brian Freeman (Sanger, Calif./Immanuel H.S.) are 22nd with a time of 6:44.52, while the 400 medley relay group of Bauman, Randolph, Kegelman, and Krakowski is 23rd in 3:20.98. That quartet ranks 36th in the 200 medley with a mark of 1:31.92.

IRISH IN THE BIG EAST LEADERS: Notre Dame is very well represented in the most recent set of BIG EAST Conference top times, released Jan. 17. The Irish are particularly prolific in the relays, where they rank first in four of the five events (all but the 800 free). In individual action, sophomore Tim Kegelman (Yorktown, Va./Tabb H.S.) is tops in the league in the 100 fly, 200 fly, and 200 IM, while sophomore Ted Brown (Kokomo, Ind./Western H.S.) is first in the 500 free, and junior Doug Bauman (Erie, Pa./Cathedral Preparatory School) holds the top spot in the 100 back.

BIG EAST QUALIFYING UPDATE: With less than a month until the meet, Notre Dame has 25 (of 30) swimmers and five (of five) divers who have hit qualifying marks for the BIG EAST Championships, set for Feb. 17-19 in East Meadow, N.Y. Not all of them will compete there, however, due to a new conference rule that limits schools to 23 entries (with divers counting as one-half entry each since they are eligible to compete in just two events). Thus far, Notre Dame is the only team that has exceeded the maximum number of qualifiers.

COYLE, STONER QUALIFY FOR NCAA ZONE C DIVING CHAMPIONSHIPS: Sophomore Scott Coyle (Indianapolis, Ind./Hamilton Southeastern H.S.) and freshman Sam Stoner (Valparaiso, Ind./Valparaiso H.S.) have already qualified for the NCAA Zone C Diving Championships, to be held March 11-12 at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Ind. Coyle has NCAA qualifying marks off both boards, with season bests of 300.00 in one-meter action and 321.45 and 489.00 off the higher board. Stoner qualified in one-meter action, with a score of 307.65 against Iowa.

IRISH LOOK FOR PERFECT HOME SEASON: A win on Saturday against Northwestern would give Notre Dame its third undefeated home record since the opening of Rolfs Aquatic Center in 1985. In 2004-05, the Irish have defeated Evansville, Pittsburgh, and Michigan State in dual-meet action at home. Notre Dame’s other unbeaten home seasons were 1997-98 (6-0) and 2000-01 (2-0).

KEEPING UP WITH NOTRE DAME SWIMMING & DIVING: For the fastest results of Notre Dame swimming and diving meets, call the Notre Dame Sports Hotline at (574) 631-3000 and choose #7. The hotline provides schedule and results information for all 26 varsity sports and serves as a supplement to the meet previews and recaps provided on the official athletic website, www.und.com. The hotline is the first medium updated with the results of each Notre Dame men’s swimming and diving meet. In addition, media members and fans may be added to the sports information e-mail release list by contacting Bo Rottenborn at Rottenborn.2@nd.edu. He also can provide any needed information about the Irish swimming and diving program.