Nov. 21, 2004
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The 21st-ranked University of Notre Dame men’s swimming and diving team (6-1) was successful in its first-ever meet as a nationally-ranked team, pulling away to win 242-117 against Louisville (2-3) Saturday in Crimson Pool in a three-session, championship-style meet. The Irish won 11 of 15 events on the final day, with senior Frank Krakowski (Erie, Pa./Cathedral Preparatory School) winning both the 100 butterfly and 100 freestyle and also taking part in the first-place 200 medley relay.
The Irish senior, the current University recordholder in the 50 free and formerly so in the 100 fly, opened the day by covering the butterfly portion of the 200 medley relay, the first event of the morning session. He joined juniors Doug Bauman (Erie, Pa./Cathedral Prep School) and Tim Randolph (Crown Point, Ind./Merrillville H.S.) and sophomore Louis Cavadini (South Bend, Ind./Riley H.S.) to post a first-place time of 1:36.96.
Two events later, the Irish senior jumped back in the pool and won the 100 fly with a time of 51.51. Cavadini was third with a mark of 52.09, while senior captain Matt Bertke (Edgewood, Ky./Covington Catholic H.S.) posted his first career BIG EAST “B” cut in the race by taking fourth in 52.73.
In the afternoon session, Krakowski, who had not won an individual race in 2004-05 before Saturday, led a Notre Dame contingent that claimed seven of the top eight spots in the 100 freestyle. He won with a time of 47.88, while Bauman was the runner-up in a season-best 48.21 and Cavadini took third in 48.24.
Sophomore Ted Brown (Kokomo, Ind./Western H.S.) continued his outstanding season with his 12th win in individual action. He led a 1-2-3 Irish sweep in the 200 butterfly with a time of 1:57.15. Bertke, swimming the event for the first time this season, posted his first conference “B” cut in that race, as well, taking second with a career-best time of 1:58.26. Sophomore Chris Zeches (Tucson, Ariz./Salpointe Catholic H.S.) completed the sweep with a mark of 1:58.69.
Brown also helped Notre Dame close the second session with a victory in the 800 free relay. The Irish team of Brown, Bertke, freshman Jay Vanden Berg (Holland, Mich./Southfield Christian School), and sophomore Brian Freeman (Sanger, Calif./Immanuel H.S.) won by more than five seconds with a time of 7:04.79 that was the best for the Irish this season by more than seven seconds.
Junior Tyler Grenda (Hockessin, Del./Salesianum H.S.) claimed his first race victory of 2004-05, winning the 100 breaststroke in a time of 59.06 to lead Notre Dame swimmers that went 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9. Freshman Eric Swenson (Scotch Plains, N.J./St. Joseph H.S.) was the runner-up with a time of 1:01.30, while another rookie, Graham Parker (Cherry Hill, N.J./Cherry Hill H.S. East), claimed third with a 1:01.80 in his first time in the race as a collegian.
Notre Dame also went 1-2-3-4-5 in the 400 individual medley, with freshman Andrew MacKay (Georgetown, Grand Cayman/Cayman Prep & H.S.), who was 33rd in the Athens Olympics in the event, winning with a season-best time of 4:05.99. Junior Jamie Lutkus (Granger, Ind./Penn H.S.), last year’s BIG EAST champion, came in next with a season-best 4:07.88, while ’04 conference runner-up David Moisan (Fisherville, Ky./Louisville Male H.S.) was third in front of a hometown crowd with a time of 4:08.21.
Junior Patrick Davis (Clearwater, Fla./Jesuit H.S.) won the 1,650 free with a time of 15:58.08 that was more than 16 seconds quicker than the top previous Irish time this season. He was followed by Brown, who swam the event for the first time in 2004-05 and posted a 16:12.42.
Sophomore Tim Kegelman (Yorktown, Va./Tabb H.S.) stepped into a different event and was victorious, posting a career-best time of 2:12.85 in the 200 breaststroke, a race that Louisville did not enter. Vanden Berg was second in 2:14.21, while Parker took third with a time of 2:14.73.
The Cardinals also did not participate in the diving. Sophomore Scott Coyle (Indianapolis, Ind./Hamilton Southeastern H.S.) was impressive, however, winning the three-meter competition with a career-best 11-dive score of 489.00, which establishes him as the fourth-best Irish diver of all-time in that format. He was followed by rookies Sam Stoner (Valparaiso, Ind./Valparaiso H.S.) and Steven Crowe (Brockport, N.Y./Brockport H.S.), who had scores of 423.15 and 421.72, respectively. Stoner was victorious on the one-meter board, with a 276.22 that established him as the third-best Notre Dame diver in championship one-meter action since the current format was adopted in 2000-01. He was followed by Coyle (254.55) and Crowe (226.72).
Although Louisville won the event, Notre Dame took second through seventh in the 200 free. Scoring were three student-athletes who were swimming the race for the first time this season. Cavadini was second with a time of 1:46.03, while Kegelman was third in 1:46.33, and Krakowski took fourth with a mark of 1:46.94.
Junior Steve Shomberger (Spotsylvania, Pa./Courtland H.S.) was Notre Dame’s top finisher in the 100 backstroke, taking second in a time of 54.12. Freeman led the Irish in the longer backstroke race with a 1:54.97 that was good enough for second.
Notre Dame was second and third in the event’s final race, the 400 free relay. Sophomore Nick Fanslau (Lansdale, Pa./North Penn H.S.), Cavadini, Krakowski, and Kegelman were the top Irish finishers with a time of 3:13.41.
The Irish will return to action in two weeks with the culmination of their first semester, the Notre Dame Invitational. That championship-style meet will take place Dec. 2-4 in the Rolfs Aquatic Center.