Sophomore Tim Kegelman is the first Notre Dame men's swimmer ever to qualify for the NCAA Championships.

#22 Irish Pace Field In Thursday Prelims At BIG EAST Championships

Feb. 17, 2005

Results

EAST MEADOW, N.Y. – In pursuit of its first title, the 22nd-ranked University of Notre Dame men’s swimming and diving team set itself up for a strong second-day performance at the BIG EAST Championships in the Nassau County Aquatic Center, performing well enough in prelims to easily earn the most Thursday evening swims of any team. The Irish, whose top performance was taking up five of the top eight spots in the 200-yard individual medley, will have 16 student-athletes (out of 18 competing Thursday) swimming in the three individual finals on day two, including 10 in the championship finals (top eight qualifiers). Eight-time defending champion Pittsburgh will have six total swims, with three of them in championship finals, while Rutgers earned seven swims (three in championship finals).

Notre Dame, which came in with eight of the top 12 seeds in the race, has been outstanding in the 200 individual medley all season, and that paid off on Thursday. Sophomore Tim Kegelman (Yorktown, Va./Tabb H.S.), the University record holder, led all qualifiers with a time of 1:50.20, the third-fastest time in Irish history. He now holds each of the top four Notre Dame marks ever. Kegelman, an all-BIG EAST selection after finishing third in 2004, was followed closely by West Virginia’s Pablo Marmolejo, who posted a time of 1:50.38.

The Mountaineer was followed by a pair of Irish swimmers. Junior Jamie Lutkus (Granger, Ind./Penn H.S.) qualified third with a season-best time of 1:51.15 (tied for the 10th-fastest mark in Irish history). He will be looking for his third consecutive top-five finish in the BIG EAST meet, after taking fifth in 2003 and fourth a year ago. Freshman Andrew MacKay (Georgetown, Cayman Islands/Cayman Prep & H.S.), who finished 41st in last summer’s Olympic Games in the race, was the fourth-fastest qualifier with a collegiate-best time of 1:51.28. It established him already as the sixth-fastest swimmer in Irish history in the race.

Notre Dame also took the final two spots in the championship final, as sophomore Nick Fanslau (Lansdale, Pa./North Penn H.S.) turned in a career-best mark of 1:52.10 to qualify seventh after being 22nd in the race as a freshman. Senior David Moisan (Fisherville, Ky./Louisville Male H.S.) reached the championship final for the first time in his career, coming in eighth in prelims with a season-best time of 1:52.21.

Sophomore Alan Carter (Bethel Park, Pa./Bethel H.S.) qualified for the evening for the second year in a row, coming in 13th with a time of 1:52.78, while junior Doug Bauman (Erie, Pa./Cathedral Preparatory School) – who did not even swim in the race at this meet in his first two years – posted a career-best mark of 1:53.71 that tied him for 16th. He was forced to take part in a swim-off with Rutgers rookie Scott Thompson to see who would garner the final spot in the consolation final, and the Irish junior prevailed by 1.22 seconds, with another career-best time, 1:53.66. Notre Dame also was the class of the field in the first event of the session, the 500-yard freestyle, leading all schools in both total qualifiers for the evening (six) and number of swimmers in the championship final (three). Leading that effort was freshman Jay Vanden Berg (Holland, Mich./Southfield Christian School), who posted the second-fastest qualifying time, a mark of 4:27.59 that was more than four seconds quicker than his previous collegiate best and stands as the fifth-best time in Notre Dame history. The #1 qualifier was Rutgers senior Sean Smith, who went 4:25.42.

Sophomore Ted Brown (Kokomo, Ind./Western H.S.), the University record holder and third-place finisher in last year’s BIG EAST meet, qualified third with a season-best time of 4:28.23. That time is the seventh-fastest ever by a Notre Dame competitor.

Notre Dame’s senior captain Matt Bertke (Edgewood, Ky./Covington Catholic H.S.), who turned in a career-best 200 time in leading off the 800 free relay that set a University record on Wednesday, continued to swim well in his final collegiate meet, qualifying seventh with a time of 4:31.76 that was more than five seconds better than his previous season best. It is the fourth consecutive year that Bertke has qualified for the evening finals in the 500 free, and the second time he has been in the championship final (seventh-place finish in 2002).

Sophomore Justin Barber (Carson City, Nev./Carson H.S.) turned in a career-best time of 4:32.95 en route to a spot in the consolation final, with the 10th-best prelim time. As a rookie, he just missed an evening swim, taking 17th in the race, but Thursday saw Barber shave more than 5.5 seconds off his season best. He is the sixth-fastest swimmer ever for Notre Dame in the event. Fellow sophomore Chris Zeches (Tucson, Ariz./Salpointe Catholic H.S.) qualified 12th with a time of 4:33.85 after finishing 28th at the BIG EAST meet in 2004. Junior Patrick Davis (Clearwater, Fla./Jesuit H.S.) was 14th with a season-best time of 4:34.18. Freshman Rob Seery (Garden City, N.Y./Garden City H.S.) missed an evening swim, but finished 19th with a collegiate-best time of 4:36.14.

In the final event of the session, the 50 freestyle, Notre Dame joined Rutgers as the only schools placing multiple swimmers in the championship final. Sophomore Louis Cavadini (South Bend, Ind./Riley H.S.) – who lost a swim-off to finish 17th and miss the evening finals last season – led the way by qualifying seventh this year with a career-best time of 20.71 which is the fourth-fastest time in Irish history and establishes him as the third-fastest sprinter ever to don a Notre Dame cap, behind only teammates Frank Krakowski (Erie, Pa./Cathedral Preparatory School) and Tim Randolph (Crown Point, Ind./Merrillville H.S.). That duo was right behind Cavadini, all finishing within .09 seconds of each other. Krakowski posted the fifth-fastest time ever by an Irish swimmer, a 20.72 that was good for eighth and his second career spot in the championship final. Randolph was the top qualifier for the consolation final (ninth overall), with a time of 20.80 that earned him an evening swim for the second straight year. Prior to Thursday morning, there had been just nine times of 20.80 or better in program history, but three more were added to that list during the prelims. The top qualifier was Pittsburgh’s Darryl Washington (20.17), who was followed by three West Virginia swimmers.

Thursday’s finals will begin at 6 p.m. (EST), and will feature the 500 free, 200 IM, 50 free, and the 200-yard freestyle relay, an event which has Notre Dame seeded second with a season-best time of 1:21.85.

After one night of competition and three of 20 events, the Irish were in second place with 97 points, trailing Pittsburgh (141) and holding small leads over Connecticut (86) and Rutgers (81). The Huskies have six swims on Thursday evening, with one in the championship finals.