Feb. 19, 2005
EAST MEADOW, N.Y. – The 22nd-ranked University of Notre Dame men’s swimming and diving team scored a meet-record 902.5 points to claim its first-ever title at the BIG EAST Championships Saturday night. The Irish ended Pittsburgh’s eight-year reign as the conference champions, outscoring the Panthers by 275 points. Notre Dame mentor Tim Welsh was named the BIG EAST Coach of the Year for the second year in a row.
Highlights of the final day included two victories, a trio of school records, and a pair of NCAA “B” (consideration) cuts. Freshman Jay Vanden Berg (Holland, Mich./Southfield Christian School) led off the evening by winning the 1,650-yard freestyle and breaking the Irish record by more than 13 seconds with a time that would have earned a trip to the NCAA Championships in 2004. Junior Steve Shomberger (Spotsylvania, Va./Courtland H.S.) then took first in the 200 backstroke with another B cut that broke the Irish record by more than 2.5 seconds. Notre Dame concluded the meet with a final school record – the ninth of the meet for the Irish – in the 400 freestyle relay, as senior Frank Krakowski (Erie, Pa./Cathedral Prep School), sophomore Louis Cavadini (South Bend, Ind./Riley H.S.), junior Tim Randolph (Crown Point, Ind./Merrillville H.S.), and sophomore Tim Kegelman (Yorktown, Va./Tabb H.S.) finished second.
The Irish “D House” led things off with a dominating performance in the mile that saw Notre Dame take five of the top seven spots. Leading that was Vanden Berg, who put together an outstanding swim that broke the University record by more than 13 seconds. He won the race over Pittsburgh’s Chris George by just under seven seconds in a time of 15:19.30 that had been beaten by just 14 swimmers in Division I this season. He also turned in the second-fastest 1,000-yard time in Irish history, splitting in 9:17.55. Jonathan Pierce maintained his record in that event, but saw his 1,650 time of 15:32.37 fall.
Sophomore Chris Zeches (Tucson, Ariz./Salpointe Catholic H.S.) finished third with a career-best time of 15:40.06 that established him as the fourth-fastest Irish swimmer ever in the race. His classmate, Justin Barber (Carson City, Nev./Carson H.S.), swam in the second-fastest heat of timed finals, but went a career-best 15:46.14 to take fifth place. Junior Patrick Davis (Clearwater, Fla./Jesuit H.S.) registered his third consecutive top-six finish, ending up sixth with a time of 15:48.60, while rookie Rob Seery (Garden City, N.Y./Garden City H.S.) – swimming in his home pool in front of a hometown crowd – was seventh in 15:48.72.
Shomberger provided perhaps the most surprising swim of the meet in winning the 200 back. He came into the week with a season-best time of 1:50.52, and his prelims mark of 1:49.13 was just fourth-best. But Shomberger cut more than three seconds off that time, winning the race by nearly 1.5 seconds with a time of 1:46.06. It shattered the previous Notre Dame record, 1:48.44 by current junior Doug Bauman (Erie, Pa./Cathedral Preparatory School) last year, by well over two seconds and had been bettered by just 17 swimmers in Division I this season. He defeated defending champion Jeff Leath of Pittsburgh and became the first Irish swimmer ever to win a BIG EAST title in the backstroke. Bauman was fourth after taking second a year ago, and he posted a time of 1:48.86, while sophomore Alan Carter (Bethel Park, Pa./Bethel H.S.) ended fifth in 1:49.71. Sophomore Brian Freeman (Sanger, Calif./Immanuel H.S.) won the consolation final with a time of 1:50.80 to be eighth overall.
The final event of the meet saw the Irish take second in the 400 free relay, but in the process wipe off the oldest remaining relay University record on the books. Notre Dame’s quartet finished in 3:00.02, which easily bettered the time of 3:01.38 by Vince Kuna, Rob Fetter, Steele Whowell, and Ray Fitzpatrick in 1999.
Junior Tyler Grenda (Hockessin, Del./Salesianum H.S.) led the Irish in the 200 breaststroke with a career-best time of 2:02.36 that was good for third in the race and third on the all-time Irish list of fastest swimmers in the event. It was the second consecutive top-five finish for Grenda. Senior David Moisan (Fisherville, Ky./Louisville Male H.S.) also turned in a career-high finish, taking fifth in a time of 2:04.64, while junior Jamie Lutkus (Granger, Ind./Penn H.S.) was seventh with a time of 2:05.08.
The 200 butterfly – with four Irish swimmers in the championship final – was set up to be one of Notre Dame’s best events of the day, but the Irish ended up taking the bottom four spots in that race. Leading the way was Kegelman, the University record holder, who took fifth with a time of 1:48.55. In his final collegiate race, senior captain Matt Bertke (Edgewood, Ky./Covington Catholic H.S.) put the exclamation point on a season that saw him pick up the 200 fly as a championship event and flourish in it, eventually finishing sixth on Saturday with a time of 1:48.97, making him just the third swimmer in Notre Dame history to go faster than 1:49.00 in the race. Sophomore Ted Brown (Kokomo, Ind./Western H.S.) posted a career-best time of 1:49.75 – which ranks him fourth on the list of all-time Irish fastest swimmers in the race – to take seventh, while junior Patrick Heffernan (Norcross, Ga./Norcross H.S.) was eighth in 1:51.17.
In the 100 free, Krakowski was the top finisher for the Irish, ending up eighth in 45.92, while Cavadini and Randolph tied for 10th with identical times of 45.73. It was a career best for the junior. Sophomore Nick Fanslau (Lansdale, Pa./North Penn H.S.) ended up 12th with a time of 46.21.
The title was the seventh conference championship in 21 years since giving up its independent status. The previous six all came in the Midwestern Collegiate Conference (now the Horizon League), in 1986 and from ’88-92. Notre Dame joined the BIG EAST in 1995-96 and had finished second on three occasions (1999, 2000, 2004) in its championship meet.
The men’s swimming and diving program became the 16th of Notre Dame’s 20 varsity BIG EAST sports to have won a league title in the 10 years since the school became a member. The only Irish teams still seeking a first championship are men’s basketball, women’s basketball, women’s lacrosse, and women’s outdoor track and field.
Pittsburgh’s streak of eight consecutive titles still stands as one of the most impressive streaks in conference history in any sport. There have been only four longer strings of consecutive championships. This year marked just the fourth time since the University of Pittsburgh joined the BIG EAST Conference in 1982-83 that it will not be the league’s men’s swimming and diving champions. Other winners over that span were Villanova in 1993, Miami in 1995, and Syracuse in 1996. Prior to 2005, Pittsburgh had never finished more than 48 points out of first place in the meet.
The season is not over for some of the Irish student-athletes. Sophomore Scott Coyle (Indianapolis, Ind./Hamilton Southeastern H.S.) and freshman Sam Stoner (Valparaiso, Ind./Valparaiso H.S.) will compete in the NCAA Zone C Diving Championships from March 11-12 at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Ind. Notre Dame also could have some participants in the NCAA Championships, slated for March 24-26 in Minneapolis, Minn.
See below a chart of notable performances at the 2005 BIG EAST Championships:
NCAA B Cuts
Ted Brown – 500 free (4:25.89), 200 free (1:38.64)
Tim Kegelman – 200 IM (1:49.62), 100 fly (48.10 & 48.06)
Frank Krakowski – 100 fly (48.30)
Tim Randolph – 100 breast (55.18)
Steve Shomberger – 200 back (1:46.06)
Jay Vanden Berg – 500 free (4:26.82), 1650 free (15:19.30)
400 medley relay (Doug Bauman, Tim Randolph, Tim Kegelman, Frank Krakowski) – 3:16.93
200 free relay (Tim Randolph, Frank Krakowski, Louis Cavadini, Tim Kegelman – 1:20.64
BIG EAST Titles
1,650 freestyle – Jay Vanden Berg
200 backstroke – Steve Shomberger
100 butterfly – Tim Kegelman
200 individual medley – Tim Kegelman
400 medley relay (Doug Bauman, Tim Randolph, Tim Kegelman, Frank Krakowski)
Notre Dame Records
1650 freestyle – Jay Vanden Berg (15:19.30)
100 backstroke – Doug Bauman (50.08)
200 backstroke – Steve Shomberger (1:46.06)
100 breaststroke – Tim Randolph (55.18)
200 medley relay (Doug Bauman, Tim Randolph, Tim Kegelman, Frank Krakowski) – 1:30.12
400 medley relay (Doug Bauman, Tim Randolph, Tim Kegelman, Frank Krakowski) – 3:16.93
200 free relay (Tim Randolph, Frank Krakowski, Louis Cavadini, Tim Kegelman – 1:20.64
400 free relay (Frank Krakowski, Louis Cavadini, Tim Randolph, Tim Kegelman) – 3:00.02
800 free relay (Matt Bertke, Ted Brown, Brian Freeman, Louis Cavadini) – 6:40.79
BIG EAST Championships Record
Tim Kegelman – 100 butterfly (48.10 tied; 48.06)
All-BIG EAST
Doug Bauman: 200 medley relay, 100 back, 400 medley relay
Ted Brown: 500 free, 200 free
Louis Cavadini: 200 free relay, 400 free relay
Tyler Grenda: 200 breast
Tim Kegelman: 200 medley relay, 200 free relay, 200 IM, 100 fly, 400 medley relay, 400 free relay
Frank Krakowski: 200 medley relay, 200 free relay, 100 fly, 400 medley relay, 400 free relay
Jamie Lutkus: 400 IM
Tim Randolph: 200 medley relay, 200 free relay, 100 breast, 400 medley relay, 400 free relay
Steve Shomberger: 200 back
Jay Vanden Berg: 500 free, 1650 free
Chris Zeches: 1650 free