Feb. 16, 2005
The 22nd-ranked University of Notre Dame men’s swimming and diving team (10-2) will look for its first title in the BIG EAST Championships, slated for Wednesday through Saturday in the Nassau County Aquatic Center in East Meadow, N.Y. The Irish, the lone league school in the College Swim Coaches Association (CSCAA) national rankings, took second in 2004, scoring a program-record number of points and finishing 162 behind eight-time defending champion Pittsburgh.
IRISH IN THE BIG EAST CHAMPIONSHIPS: Notre Dame will compete in the BIG EAST Championships for the 10th consecutive season since joining the league in 1995-96. The Irish finished seventh in their first two years in the meet, but have been in the top four each year since then, highlighted by runner-up finishes in 1999, 2000, and `04. Notre Dame was fourth in 1998 and in each of the last three meets.
In 2004, Pittsburgh won its eighth consecutive BIG EAST title, finishing with 746 points, while the Irish posted their highest-ever point total in finishing second with 584 points. Virginia Tech was third, just 15.5 points behind Notre Dame. Virginia Tech’s Gus Calado and Miami’s Derek Starks were named the event’s BIG EATS Championships Most Outstanding Swimmer and Diver, respectively. Notre Dame’s Tim Welsh and Virginia Tech’s Ned Skinner shared coach-of-the-year honors, while Pittsburgh’s Julian Krug was the league’s top diving coach.
The highlight for the Irish was the 400 individual medley, which featured Notre Dame’s first-ever 1-2 finish in the meet, provided by current junior Jamie Lutkus (Granger, Ind./Penn H.S.) and senior David Moisan (Fisherville, Ky./Louisville Male H.S.). The Irish also had three other runner-up finishes in the meet: current junior Patrick Davis (Clearwater, Fla./Jesuit H.S.) in the 1650 freestyle, junior Doug Bauman (Erie, Pa./Cathedral Preparatory School) in the 200 back, and sophomore Tim Kegelman (Yorktown, Va./Tabb H.S.) in the 100 fly.
The Irish were in action against a pair of BIG EAST Conference foes this season. Notre Dame won the final relay by .04 seconds to beat Pittsburgh 155-145 in a dual meet on Nov. 12, snapping the Panther’s 26-meet winning streak against conference foes. The Irish also finished first in the Notre Dame Invitational (2,709.5 points), while West Virginia was second with 1,116.
Notre Dame has posted six event victories in the BIG EAST Championships, with all of the previous instances coming in the other years the Irish finished second, 1999 and 2000. University record holder Jonathan Pierce won the 1650 freestyle in both of those meets (15:35.65 in ’99; 15:33.16 in ’00), while another school record holder, Ray Fitzpatrick, took first in the 200 free in 2000 (1:38.36). In ’99, Dan Szilier was first in the 200 breaststroke (2:00.09), and the 400 free relay team of Vince Kuna, Robert Fetter, Steele Whowell, and Fitzpatrick did the same (3:01.38).
A total of 28 different Irish student-athletes have earned all-BIG EAST honors (awarded to top-three finishers in every event) in the nine years of membership in the conference. That includes 10 current Irish swimmers: three-time honoree Lutkus, plus two-time all-league competitors sophomore Ted Brown (Kokomo, Ind./Western H.S.) and Bauman, as well as Davis, Moisan, senior captain Matt Bertke (Edgewood, Ky./Covington Catholic H.S.), senior Frank Krakowski (Erie, Pa./Cathedral Preparatory School), junior Tim Randolph (Crown Point, Ind./Merrillville H.S.), and sophomore Brian Freeman (Sanger, Calif./Immanuel H.S.).
Notre Dame saw 25 of its 30 swimmers and all five divers post qualifying marks for the BIG EAST Championships, but a new conference rule prohibited any squad from entering more than 23 athletes (with divers counting as one-half). In order to gain entrance to the conference meet, one must achieve an “A” qualifying time in at least one event. Once in the field, a student-athlete may participate in up to two additional events in which he has achieved a “B” qualifying time. In relay competition, each team with at least four qualifiers is eligible to enter one team in every race that can consist of any quartet.
BIG EAST CHAMPIONSHIPS SPORTS NEW FORMAT: The 2005 BIG EAST Championships will feature a first in the meet’s history: four days of action. The championships will begin this year not on Thursday, but on Wednesday evening at 5 p.m. (EST) with a session featuring one-meter diving, the 800-yard freestyle relay, and the 200 medley relay. Thursday through Saturday will proceed in the traditional format except that Thursday and Friday will not see their evening sessions open with relays.
SCOUTING THE ELITES IN THE BIG EAST FIELD: Four defending BIG EAST champions and one 2004 NCAA Championships qualifier highlight the field at this year’s BIG EAST Championships. Pittsburgh junior diver Dennis Nemtsanov was honorable mention All-America in one-meter competition at last year’s NCAA meet after winning the conference title in the event. In swimming, Irish junior Jamie Lutkus (Granger, Ind./Penn H.S.) will look to defend his 400 individual medley championship, while Syracuse sophomore Lukasz Boral will try to break his own meet record in the 200 breaststroke (1:59.30). The other defending champ is Pittsburgh sophomore Jeff Leath, who won the 200 backstroke in 2004.
IRISH BIG EAST LINEUP: Listed below are the events in which each of the 26 Notre Dame qualifiers are entered in the BIG EAST Championships, along with their top-16 seedings based on the preliminary swimming psych sheet compiled by the conference last week. Each competitor can swim in only three individual races and will be scratched down to that number. The Irish also will field relay teams in the 200 free, 400 free, 800 free, 200 medley, and 400 medley, though the combinations for those are as yet undetermined. No student-athlete may compete in more than four relays.
* Justin Barber – 500 free, 400 IM (6th), 1650 free (11th)
* Doug Bauman – 200 IM (12th), 100 back (1st), 200 back (3rd)
* Matt Bertke – 500 free (15th), 200 free (11th), 200 fly (5th)
* Ted Brown – 500 free (1st), 400 IM (9th), 200 free (4th), 1650 free (10th), 200 fly (10th)
* Alan Carter – 200 IM (4th), 100 back (2nd), 200 back (4th)
* Louis Cavadini – 50 free (6th), 100 fly (5th), 100 free (4th)
* Scott Coyle – 1-meter diving, 3-meter diving
* Steven Crowe – 1-meter diving, 3-meter diving
* Patrick Davis – 500 free (11th), 400 IM, 1650 free (5th)
* Nick Fanslau – 200 IM (9th), 100 breast (9th), 100 free (13th), 200 breast
* Brian Freeman – 200 IM (10th), 200 free (8th), 200 back (9th)
* Tyler Grenda – 100 breast (11th), 200 breast (5th)
* Bryan Guarnier – 200 IM (15th), 500 free, 200 free, 200 fly (4th)
* Patrick Heffernan – 200 IM (13th), 400 IM, 100 fly, 200 fly (8th)
* Chris Kane – 1-meter diving, 3-meter diving
* Tim Kegelman – 200 IM (1st), 100 fly (1st), 200 fly (1st)
* Frank Krakowski – 50 free (5th), 100 fly (3rd), 100 free (3rd)
* Jamie Lutkus – 200 IM (7th), 400 IM (4th), 200 breast (8th)
* Andrew MacKay – 200 IM (8th), 400 IM (7th), 100 back (8th)
* Mike Maggio – 1-meter diving, 3-meter diving
* David Moisan – 200 IM (5th), 400 IM (3rd), 200 breast (6th)
* Patrick O’Berry – 500 free (14th), 200 free (6th), 200 fly (13th)
* Graham Parker – 200 IM (11th), 400 IM, 100 breast (12th), 200 breast (3rd)
* Tim Randolph – 50 free (10th), 100 breast (8th), 100 free (16th)
* Rob Seery – 500 free, 200 free, 1650 free (8th)
* Steve Shomberger – 100 fly, 100 back (9th), 200 back (5th)
* Sam Stoner – 1-meter diving, 3-meter diving
* Eric Swenson – 200 IM, 100 breast (4th), 200 breast (11th)
* Jay Vanden Berg – 500 free (5th), 200 free (15th), 1650 free (3rd)
* Chris Zeches – 500 free (9th), 200 free (13th), 1650 free (2nd), 200 back, 200 fly
IRISH HEAD COACH: Tim Welsh is in his 20th season leading the Irish men’s swimming and diving program after helming both the men’s and women’s teams from 1985-94. Last season, he was named Co-BIG EAST Coach of the Year for helping the Irish to their highest-ever point total and a runner-up finish in the conference meet. It was the second time he was so honored in the last six years, also gaining the distinction in 1999. In his career, which spans 28 seasons, Welsh has compiled a 384-233-1 (.622) overall dual-meet mark, including a 234-128 (.646) record coaching men’s swimming and diving and a 262-143 (.647) mark at Notre Dame. A former Division III National Coach of the Year, Welsh has helped his teams to a pair of national titles, as well as 24 conference championships (15 Midwestern Collegiate, 9 Middle Atlantic, 1 North Star). Prior to coming to Notre Dame, he led the Johns Hopkins men’s and women’s programs for eight years, winning back-to-back men’s Division III national titles in 1978 and ’79, being named National Coach of the Year on the latter occasion. At Notre Dame, he has coached 11 athletes who have earned berths in the NCAA Championships. His impact on the evolution of the men’s program is evidenced by the fact that all but one current University record has been set since 1999. Welsh has been awarded an honorary monogram for his distinguished service to the swimming programs by Notre Dame’s Monogram Club. He currently has the second-longest tenure of any Irish coach at Notre Dame (track and field coach Joe Piane is first at 30 years). Welsh also is involved with the sport at the national and international levels, as he served on the NCAA Men’s and Women’s Swimming Committee from 1991-97 and was president of the group at one time. He also has served as the president of the BIG EAST swimming coaches and is a board member of the American Swimming Coaches Association, which recently honored him with the prestigious Ousley Award.
IRISH DIVING COACH: Caiming Xie is in his ninth season as the head diving coach at Notre Dame for both the men’s and women’s teams. Last year he was named the BIG EAST Women’s Diving Coach of the Year for the second time (also in 1999) after helping Meghan Perry-Eaton to conference titles in the one- and three-meter competitions and her second consecutive BIG EAST Most Outstanding Diver award. During his tenure, he has coached two All-Americans on the women’s side, as well as the top two men’s divers in school history: Herb Huesman and Andy Maggio, who barely missed a trip to the NCAA Championships in 2002. On the women’s side, Caiming was responsible for the development of Heather Mattingly and Perry-Eaton, the first two diving All-Americans in Notre Dame history. Caiming also has a great deal of international coaching experience, serving as diving coach for the Chinese Olympic and national team from 1977-90, being recognized as the Chinese National Diving Coach of the Year twice (1986 and ’87). His divers have won a number of medals in international events, including a gold in the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, Spain by Sun Shu-Wei.
NOTRE DAME DROPS TO 22nd IN CSCAA NATIONAL RANKINGS: Despite notching dual-meet victories over Cleveland State, Canisius, St. Bonaventure, and Oakland, Notre Dame dropped one spot to 22nd in the latest College Swimming Coaches Association of America National Dual Meet Rankings, released on Feb. 8. 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 had occupied that slot since then until the most recent rankings.
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 SIXTH IN DIVISION I IN 100 BUTTERFLY: Sophomore Tim Kegelman (Yorktown, Va./Tabb H.S.) ranks sixth 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 19th in the 200 fly and 23rd in the 200 IM.
BAUMAN BREAKS OWN UNIVERSITY RECORD IN 100 BACK: Despite not resting or shaving, junior Doug Bauman (Erie, Pa./Cathedral Preparatory School) broke his own University record en route to winning the 100-yard backstroke at the Notre Dame Invitational with a time of 50.11. After being close in his first collegiate season, Bauman broke 2002 graduate David Horak’s mark of 50.23 when he went 50.16 at last year’s BIG EAST Championships (sixth-place finish). He ranks first in the conference and 57th in Division I in the event this season.
BIG YEAR FOR ROLFS AQUATIC CENTER: The 2004-05 season was a historic one for the Rolfs Aquatic Center, as it saw eight of its pool records fall. The onslaught began on Nov. 12 in the triangular meet between Notre Dame, Pittsburgh, and Michigan State, when the Spartans led off with a pool record in the 200 medley relay by .01 seconds. The all-junior team of Rudolf Wagenaar, Ian Clutten, Nicholas Harley, and Matthew Wisniewski posted a time of 1:31.56, besting the time set by Iowa in 2003-04. The Notre Dame Invitational saw four more records. Notre Dame sophomore Tim Kegelman (Yorktown, Va./Tabb H.S.) broke the Rolfs record in all three of his individual events, first besting the 200 individual medley mark held by Indianapolis’ Orel Oral with a time of 1:49.48. On day two, Kegelman went 47.66 to break the 100 fly record held by Aaron Cole of Denison, while West Virginia’s Pablo Marmolejo won the 400 individual medley in a time of 3:57.08 that was faster than the pool record set by Notre Dame’s David Moisan (Fisherville, Ky./Louisville Male H.S.) in the 2003 event. The final day saw Kegelman beat the 200 fly mark of Jerram Chudleigh (Wyoming) with a time of 1:47.53. On Jan. 22, Northwestern sophomore Matt Grevers knocked off four more pool records, bettering Kicker Vencill’s (Western Kentucky) mark in the 50 free with a time of 20.02 before going 48.01 in the 100 back to take another Hilltopper, Gord Veldman, off the record board. Grevers then shattered Chudleigh’s 200 back record by nearly three seconds with a time of 1:43.96. The Wildcats led off the meet by breaking MSU’s 200 medley mark, as Kyle Bubolz, Louis Torres, Grevers, and Matt Wever went 1:30.05.
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.
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.