Notre Dame head coach Tim Welsh will have the cupboard full of talent for the 2011-12 season.

#22 Irish Claim First-Ever Overnight Lead At BIG EAST Championships

Feb. 18, 2005

Results

EAST MEADOW, N.Y. – For the first time ever, the University of Notre Dame men’s swimming and diving team holds an overnight lead in the team standings at the BIG EAST Championships, after the 22nd-rankd Irish outscored eight-time defending champion Pittsburgh by 98 points on Thursday in the Nassau County Aquatic Center. Notre Dame, which got a first-place finish from sophomore Tim Kegelman (Yorktown, Va./Tabb H.S.) in the 200-yard individual medley and a school record from the 200 freestyle relay team, has scored 302 points, while the Panthers are 54 back, with 248.

After trailing Pittsburgh by 44 points following Wednesday evening’s opening session (which consisted of two relays and one diving event), Notre Dame used its outstanding depth to score 205 points in 16 swims during the four day-two events, while the Panthers managed 107. Rutgers is third with 169 points.

The Irish dominated the 500 freestyle and the 200 IM to take control of the meet. Notre Dame had seven swimmers combine to score 60 points (compared to 16 for Pittsburgh) in the first race, which brought the Irish and Panthers into a 157-157 deadlock after four events. Notre Dame then had seven swimmers combine to outscore Pittsburgh 79-16 in the 200 IM, handing the Irish a 236-173 advantage. The five-event lead marked the latest in the BIG EAST Championships that Notre Dame had ever been in first place in the team standings. Last year, the Irish were in first place after three events with 120 points, leading Virginia Tech (108) and Pittsburgh (98), but both teams passed Notre Dame in the fifth race, the 50 freestyle.

Kegelman, the University record holder, became the first Notre Dame swimmer ever to win a BIG EAST championship in the 200 individual medley (the top previous finishes were seconds by Scott Zumbach in 1998 and ’99). He was poised to break his Irish record, splitting faster than his record pace the whole way (including .31 seconds quicker with 50 yards remaining) until his asthmatic condition caused the Irish sophomore to have trouble breathing during his final lap. This allowed West Virginia freshman Pablo Marmolejo to close the gap, but Kegelman – who had to receive medical attention afterwards – would not yield, forcing his way to the wall in spite of the pain. He finished with a time of 1:49.62, the second-fastest mark in Irish history and just .14 seconds off his record. It was an NCAA “B” cut and .18 seconds ahead of Marmolejo. Kegelman became just the fifth Notre Dame swimmer ever to win an individual BIG EAST crown, providing Notre Dame’s seventh first-place finish in the meet since joining the conference in 1995-96.

Another BIG EAST champion, junior Jamie Lutkus (Granger, Ind./Penn H.S.) – who will try to defend his 400 IM title on Friday – took fourth in the race, turning in a career-best time of 1:50.46 that established him as the second-quickest 200 IM swimmer in Notre Dame history (behind Kegelman). It was his third consecutive top-five finish in the race, after being fifth in 2003 and fourth a year ago. Lutkus was followed by freshman Andrew MacKay (Georgetown, Cayman Islands/Cayman Prep & H.S.), who was fifth in a collegiate-best time of 1:50.87. MacKay, who was 41st in last summer’s Olympic Games in the race, is already the fourth-fastest Irish swimmer ever in the race. Senior David Moisan (Fisherville, Ky./Louisville Male H.S.) finished a career-best sixth with a time of 1:52.31, while sophomore Nick Fanslau (Lansdale, Pa./North Penn H.S.) – who was 22nd in last year’s meet – ended up eighth in 1:52.63. Another sophomore, Alan Carter (Bethel Park, Pa./Bethel H.S.), finished 13th (up one from a 14th-place finish in ’04) with a time of 1:52.92, while junior Doug Bauman (Erie, Pa./Cathedral Preparatory School) – who did not even swim the event at the BIG EAST meet in his first two seasons – set a career best for the third time in a day by taking 15th in 1:53.15.

In the final race of the session, Notre Dame’s squad of junior Tim Randolph (Crown Point, Ind./Merrillville H.S.), senior Frank Krakowski (Erie, Pa./Cathedral Preparatory School), sophomore Louis Cavadini (South Bend, Ind./Riley H.S.), and Kegelman nearly brought home another BIG EAST title, but were outtouched by .09 seconds by Pittsburgh in the 200 free relay. Nonetheless, the time of 1:20.64 broke the Notre Dame record of 1:21.30 set by the same four last year, and was good for an NCAA “B” cut. Just an hour earlier it seemed doubtful that Kegelman would be able to get in the pool again, but not only did he participate, he covered the final leg in 19.81 to close the gap from .32 seconds to the final margin. It marked the best-ever finish by Notre Dame in the race, eclipsing fourth-place results in 1999, 2003, and ’04. Kegelman earned all-BIG EAST honors for the fourth time in his career, making him fifth on that Irish list, while Krakowski and Randolph both upped their all-conference totals to three, and Cavadini garnered his second in as many days.

Notre Dame’s 500 freestyle unit led off the meet by erasing Pittsburgh’s advantage. Sophomore Ted Brown (Kokomo, Ind./Western H.S.) just missed breaking his own University record, instead posting the second-fastest time ever by an Irish swimmer. He was the runner-up in the race with a time of 4:25.89 that was just .06 seconds off his record. Brown matched the highest-ever finish by an Irish swimmer in the event, which was first done by Jonathan Pierce in 2000. He did manage to post an NCAA “B” cut for the second consecutive year in the event and earn his third career all-BIG EAST accolade. Freshman Jay Vanden Berg (Holland, Mich./Southfield Christian School) was just behind Brown, turning in the third-fastest time in school history, a 4:26.82 that provided his first NCAA “B” cut. Senior captain Matt Bertke (Edgewood, Ky./Covington Catholic H.S.) finished seventh in the race, matching his career best finish, with a time of 4:32.53.

In consolation-final action, junior Patrick Davis (Clearwater, Fla./Jesuit H.S.) finished third (11th overall) with a season-best time of 4:32.20, while sophomores Chris Zeches (Tuscon, Ariz./Salpointe Catholic H.S.) and Justin Barber (Carson City, Nev./Carson H.S.) both were right behind with career-best performances. The former was 12th with a time of 4:32.39, while Barber was 13th in 4:32.46. Neither reached the evening finals last year.

In the 50 freestyle, Krakowski led the Irish by taking a career-best fourth with a time of 20.56 that was just .09 seconds off his University record. It was the fourth-fastest time in Irish history. Cavadini took sixth with a career-best mark of 20.65 that established him as the third-fastest in program history. Randolph ended 13th in 20.85.

The BIG EAST Championships will continue on Friday, with seven more events: 400 IM, 100 butterfly, 200 free, 100 breaststroke, 100 backstroke, three-meter diving, and 400 medley relay (evening only). The preliminaries will begin at 10:30 a.m. (EST), and the finals will commence at 6 p.m.