Jan. 27, 2005
#25 Notre Dame (5-2) vs. #17 Michigan (3-2)
Friday, January 28, 6:00 p.m. • Canham Natatorium
The 25th-ranked University of Notre Dame women’s swimming and diving team (5-2) will face a nationally-ranked team for the third time this season, when it travels to #17 Michigan (3-2) on Friday for a 6 p.m. (EST) dual meet in Canham Natatorium. It will be the third time the schools have competed in the same pool this month, after they took the top two spots in the Saint Lucia Invitational (Jan. 2) and both registered dual-meet victories against Illinois in the Rolfs Aquatic Center Jan. 14-15.
LAST TIME IN THE POOL: Trailing 175-172 with one event remaining, sophomores Katie Carroll (Toledo, Ohio/Notre Dame Academy) and Ellen Johnson (Toledo, Ohio/Notre Dame Academy), freshman Caroline Johnson (Springfield, Mo./Glendale H.S.), and sophomore Rebecca Grove (Yorktown Heights, N.Y./Yorktown H.S.) won the 400-yard freestyle relay by .06 seconds to hand Notre Dame a thrilling 183-181 victory against Illinois Jan. 14-15 in the Rolfs Aquatic Center. The second day of the three-session, championship-style meet – which also featured #13 Michigan swimming against Illinois – saw a variety of crunch-time heroics by the six Irish seniors taking part in their final home meet, highlighted by fifth-year All-America diver Meghan Perry-Eaton (Brandon, Fla./Bloomingdale H.S.) setting two pool records, claiming the only Rolfs Aquatic Center record she did not own. With a margin of only three points separating the teams, the reality of the final race was that whichever squad saw its top relay touch the wall first – regardless of any other finishes – would be the team victor. Notre Dame built a lead of 1.75 seconds heading into the final leg, but Illinois’ Barbie Viney, who came into the meet ranked 42nd in Division I in the 100 free and had earlier claimed an easy victory in the event, turned in an outstanding leg, going out in 23.95 and eventually closing to virtually even with Grove with 15 yards to go. But it was the Yorktown Heights, N.Y., native whose fingertips reached the wall first, posting a time of 3:28.22 that was the best for the Irish this season. Viney turned in a leg of 50.18, but it was not quite enough, as the Illini finished in 3:28.28 and fell just shy of beating the Irish for the first time since 1997. After holding a one-point advantage after the first session, Notre Dame immediately fell behind the Illini and would not retake the lead again until after the 16th event (of 20). Perry-Eaton concluded her time diving in the Rolfs Aquatic Center appropriately, breaking pool records off both the one-meter (316.30, breaking her own mark) and three-meter. Her score of 576.05 points for 11 dives off the higher board was more than 25 points better than the best performance prior in the facility, a score of 550.55 by Heather Mattingly at the 2000 Notre Dame Invitational. In her last chance to break that mark, Perry-Eaton turned in the second-highest score ever for a Notre Dame diver in the event, behind only her Irish record of 586.43. The win extended Perry-Eaton’s dual-meet winning streak in three-meter competition to 21 in a row, dating back to Nov. 8, 2002.
SCOUTING MICHIGAN: The Wolverines enter the weekend with a 3-2 record, including a 3-1 mark in Big Ten Conference meets. Michigan’s lone defeats came in October against Florida (currently ranked #3) by a score of 164-131 and last weekend at #23 Northwestern (168-132). The Wolverines have victories against Michigan State, Ohio State, and Illinois. The triumph against the Illini came by a 204-163 score in the Rolfs Aquatic Center two weeks ago, when the Irish used a win on the final relay to beat Illinois 183-181. In championship-style meets, Michigan finished fifth in the ultra-competitive Boilermaker Challenge, then took second behind the host in the Indiana Invitational, won the Eastern Michigan Invitational (the host was the runner-up), and finally took first in the Saint Lucia Invitational ahead of second-place Notre Dame. In the triangular meet on Jan. 14-15, Michigan won nine of 20 events, highlighted by Susan Gilliam setting a Rolfs Aquatic Center record in the 1,650 freestyle with a time of 16:38.52. The Wolverines finished first in Saint Lucia with 209 points, while the Irish were second with 170. Michigan returned 15 of 23 letterwinners from last year’s team that finished 8-1, won the Big Ten Conference championship and finished 13th at the NCAA Championships and 16th in the CSCAA national rankings. The Wolverines are led by sophomores Gilliam, Kaitlyn Brady, Lindsey Smith, and freshman Justine Mueller, all who are highly-ranked in multiple individual events. Gilliam leads the way, already boasting NCAA “A” cuts in both the 500 free (4:45.02) and 1,650 free (16:17.43) and ranking sixth in Division I in both races. She also is 25th in the 200 free (1:48.61) and 36th in the 400 IM (4:21.51). Brady is 17th in the 50 free (23.03), 21st in the 100 fly (55.10), 24th in the 200 back (1:59.91), and 37th in the 100 back (55.98). Mueller ranks 19th in the 200 IM (2:01.90), 21st in the 400 IM (4:19.14), and 45th in the 200 breast (2:17.69), while Smith is 36th in the 200 free (1:48.98) and 37th in the 100 free. In relay action, the Wolverines are among the nation’s top 25 in all five events, including 16th in the 800 free (7:24.85). Head coach Jim Richardson is in his 19th season leading the Wolverines, having compiled a 138-48 (.742) dual-meet record, won 14 Big Ten titles, and finished in the top 10 at the NCAA meet 12 times.
IRISH-WOLVERINES SERIES NOTES: Notre Dame and Michigan will meet for the ninth consecutive season and 10th time overall, with the Wolverines holding a 5-4 advantage in the all-time series. The teams have split eight meetings since current head coach Bailey Weathers took over the Irish. Michigan has won four of five meets at home against Notre Dame, but the Irish were victorious in their last trip to Ann Arbor, a 175-124 win in 2001-02. The schools first met in 1992-93, with the Wolverines gaining a 156-131 home victory. The current series began in 1996-97, and the Irish gained their first triumph over U-M in 1999-2000 in a 170-128 affair in the Rolfs Aquatic Center. That began a four-meet winning streak for Notre Dame, which was snapped last season. In that meet, #16 Michigan won nine events en route to a 166-134 victory over the 21st-ranked Irish in the Rolfs Aquatic Center. Double winners for Notre Dame were diver Meghan Perry-Eaton (Brandon, Fla./Bloomingdale H.S.) and Danielle Hulick in the 50 free and 100 back. Notre Dame holds a 23-8-1 (.734) record against current Big Ten Conference opponents under Weathers.
IRISH HEAD COACH: Head coach Bailey Weathers is in his 10th year at the helm of the Irish program. During his tenure, Notre Dame has won eight consecutive BIG EAST Conference crowns, posted an 85-19 (.817) record in dual meets, and he has been named conference coach of the year five times. He is one of just five coaches ever to win eight consecutive BIG EAST championships in any sport. Weathers has coached 17 different competitors to All-America honors while at Notre Dame and over 30 student-athletes to 70 BIG EAST titles. He also has coached 18 swimmers to 18 BIG EAST Championships records and every school record has been broken under his tenure. He has coached seven College Swimming Coaches Association of America All-Academic selections and 12 honorable mention academic All-Americans. Before coming to Notre Dame, Weathers coached at South Carolina, where he was a three-time Metro Conference Coach of the Year and had two top-12 NCAA finishes. Before South Carolina, he was at Southern Illinois where he was named the 1986 NCAA Division I Coach of the Year after placing fifth at the NCAA meet. He also has been an assistant coach at the University of Texas and Indiana University, and coaching the Mission Aurora Swim Club in Colorado from 1990-95.
IRISH HEAD DIVING COACH: Caiming Xie is in his 10th season as the head diving coach at Notre Dame for both the and women’s and men’s teams. During his tenure, he has been responsible for the development of the only two diving All-Americans in Irish history – Heather Mattingly and Meghan Perry-Eaton (Brandon, Fla./Bloomingdale H.S.). Mattingly earned All-America mention three times, highlighted by an eighth-place finish in the 2002 NCAAs. The next season, Perry-Eaton became the first Notre Dame diver in history to win a BIG EAST Conference title when she defeated Miami’s Katie Beth Bryant to take the one-meter competition. She also was named the 2003 BIG EAST Championships Most Outstanding Diver after placing second in the three-meter event. The then-junior went on to place ninth at the 2003 NCAA meet on the one-meter board. This season, she followed that up with another league Most Outstanding Diver award, sweeping the springboard events. Last year, Perry-Eaton became the first Notre Dame diver ever to win a title in the NCAA Zone C Championships. She currently has won the three-meter competition in 21 consecutive dual meets. On the men’s side, Caiming has coached the top two divers in Notre Dame history: Herb Huesman and Andy Maggio . He has been named his conference’s top diving coach on four occasions, including in the BIG EAST in 1999 and 2004. 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.
IRISH DROP TO 25th IN CSCAA NATIONAL RANKINGS: After beating unranked Illinois by just two points, Notre Dame dropped four spots from a tie for 21st (with Florida State) to 25th in the latest College Swimming Coaches Association of America National Dual Meet Rankings, released on Thursday. The Irish were 23rd in the first poll, but they dropped a spot after losing to then-#21 Arizona State and then-#25 Purdue in a triangular meet. Wins in a triangular with Pittsburgh and Michigan State then vaulted the Irish to 21st in mid-November, and they had stayed in that position until this week.
NOTRE DAME-MICHIGAN, PART 3 OF 3: In continuing a recent tradition, Notre Dame and Michigan will see a lot of each other this season. In fact, the teams will compete in the same pool on three different occasions in the month of January. Both took their winter training trips to the Caribbean island of Saint Lucia and competed in the Saint Lucia Invitational on Jan. 2, with the Wolverines taking first and the Irish second. The teams both swim against Illinois from Jan. 14-15 in the Rolfs Aquatic Center, but will not score against each other. Finally, this weekend the squads will participate in a traditional dual-meet matchup in Ann Arbor.
Katie Carroll, Caroline Johnson NOTCH NCAA “B” CUTS: Heading into the latter stages of the season, two Notre Dame swimmers – sophomore Katie Carroll (Toledo, Ohio/Notre Dame Academy) and freshman Caroline Johnson (Springfield, Mo./Glendale H.S.) – have notched NCAA “B” cuts, meaning they will be considered for berths to the NCAA Championships, set for March 17-19 at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Ind. In the very first race of the first meet of the 2004-05 season, Carroll – who broke the Notre Dame record and finished 14th in the NCAA meet last year – notched a “B” cut of 4:22.93 in the 400 individual medley on Oct. 1 against Evansville. An injury caused her to miss nearly two months of action after that meet, and that still remains the only time she has swum the 400 IM this season. Johnson turned in a “B” cut in the 100 backstroke, taking third in the Georgia Fall Invitational last month in a time of 55.93.
PERRY-EATON POSTING ANOTHER SEASON OF DOMINATION: Fifth-year senior diver Meghan Perry-Eaton (Brandon, Fla./Bloomingdale H.S.) has been nearly unbeatable in her final two collegiate campaigns. Last season, she was defeated just one time before the NCAA Zone C Championships (going undefeated in three-meter action) before winning the one-meter competition in that meet and then taking third at the NCAAs. In 2004-05, she has again been impressive, taking first in 15 of the 16 competitions she has entered. Perry-Eaton was first off both boards in the Notre Dame Invitational (her third title in a row in one-meter action), while also registering double dual-meet victories against Evansville, Arizona State, Pittsburgh, Michigan State, and Bowling Green. Her lone blemish came off the one-meter board against Purdue on Oct. 29, when 2004 Big Ten Diver of the Year Carrie McCambridge came out on top by a score of 308.20-297.55. Perry-Eaton did gain revenge in the three-meter competition, though, winning by more than 30 points and setting a pool record with her score of 327.40. Perry-Eaton heads into this weekend with a 21-meet winning streak in three-meter action in dual meets. The last time she was defeated in a dual meet off the higher board was Nov. 8, 2002, when Michigan State’s Stephanie Anisko edged Perry-Eaton 262.87-261.155. She also finished her career with a 15-meet winning streak in one-meter action in the Rolfs Aquatic Center. In her final home meet, she broke her own one-meter championship pool record with a score of 316.30 and then claimed the only Rolfs record that she did not own, notching the second-highest score in Irish history for a three-meter championship facility record of 576.05.
IRISH AMONG THE NATION’S BEST: The most recent set of CollegeSwimming.com Division I top times, released Jan. 10, featured 19 Notre Dame entries among the top 100 swimmers in each individual event and top 50 relays. The top individual ranking for the Irish belongs to freshman Caroline Johnson (Springfield, Mo./Glendale H.S.), who is 33rd in the 100 back (55.93). Sophomore Jessica Stephens (Bloomsburg, Pa./Bloomsburg H.S.) is mentioned four times in individual events, coming in 45th in the 200 breast (2:18.31), 58th in the 100 fly (56.07), 78th in the 400 IM (4:25.76), and 96th in the 100 breast (1:05.10). Notre Dame has multiple people among the top 100 in five events, including three in the 400 IM: sophomore Katie Carroll (Toledo, Ohio/Notre Dame Academy) at 49th, sophomore Ann Barton (Scottsdale, Ariz./Desert Mountain H.S.) at 65th, and Stephens. Barton is one of four swimmers to be mentioned in multiple events, as she is also ranked 80th in the 200 back (2:02.96). Sophomore Ellen Johnson (Toledo, Ohio/Notre Dame Academy) is also in the listing twice, at 91st in the 500 free (4:54.86) and 94th in the 200 back (2:03.54), while junior Christel Bouvron (Singapore, Singapore/Raffles Girls’ Secondary School) ranks 47th in the 200 butterfly (2:02.22) and 64th in the 100 fly (56.16). Senior Brooke Taylor (Orlando, Fla./Lake Highland Prep School) also is mentioned in the 200 fly, at 96th (2:04.40). The Irish have two in the leaders of the 1,650 free, as well, with sophomore Abby Strang (St. Simons Island, Ga./Bolles School) coming in 84th (17:06.28) and senior co-captain Kelli Barton (Scottsdale, Ariz./Chaparral H.S.) right behind in 85th (17:07.20).
IRISH IN BIG EAST LEADERS: As you might expect from the eight-time defending BIG EAST champions, Notre Dame is well-represented in the latest edition of conference top times, released Jan. 17. Leading the way is sophomore Jessica Stephens (Bloomsbug, Pa./Bloomsburg H.S.), who is tops in the BIG EAST in the 200 breaststroke (2:18.31; Pittsburgh’s Lindsey Tiberio is second at 2:19.72), while defending conference champ sophomore Katie Carroll (Toledo, Ohio/Notre Dame Academy) is first in the 200 individual medley (2:04.72; Seton Hall’s Ashley Johnston is second at 2:04.86). Fifth-year senior Meghan Perry-Eaton (Brandon, Fla./Bloomingdale H.S.), the BIG EAST Championships Most Outstanding Diver in 2003 and ’04, ranks first in both diving events by considerable margins. Her six-dive one-meter score of 316.30 is more than 45 points better than the next-best tally, 270.53 by Pittsburgh’s Colleen Kristobak, while Perry-Eaton’s 576.05 for 11 dives off the three-meter board is more than 120 points clear of the second-best diver in the conference, Irish rookie Laura Rings (Gahanna, Ohio/Columbus School for Girls), who had a score of 455.25 in the Notre Dame Invitational. Notre Dame junior Christel Bouvron (Singapore, Singapore/Raffles Girls’ Secondary School), a 2004 Olympian in the event, is the BIG EAST’s leader in the 200 butterfly, with a time of 2:02.22 (Rutgers’ Sarah Bicknell is next at 2:02.83). Notre Dame has three of the top four in the 400 IM, with Pittsburgh’s Kathy Siuda (4:20.46) leading Irish sophomores Katie Carroll (Toledo, Ohio/Notre Dame Academy) (4:22.93), Ann Barton (Scottsdale, Ariz./Desert Mountain H.S.) (4:24.26), and Stephens (4:25.76). In the 100 butterfly, Kelly Harrigan of Rutgers (54.65) is first, but Stephens (56.07) and Bouvron (56.16) are right behind. The Irish also hold three of the top five spots in the 200 breast, with senior co-captains Kelli Barton (Scottsdale, Ariz./Chaparral H.S.) and Georgia Healey (New York, N.Y./Trinity School) coming in behind Stephens in fourth (2:20.98) and fifth (2:21.05), respectively. In relay action, the Irish rank second in the 400 free and 800 free, as well as third in the three other relays.
BIG EAST QUALIFYING UPDATE: Just past the midway point in the season, Notre Dame has 23 (of 29) swimmers and three (of five) divers who have hit qualifying marks for the BIG EAST Championships, set for Feb. 17-19 in East Meadow, N.Y. Not all of them will compete there, however, due to a new conference rule that limits schools to 23 entries (with divers counting as one-half entry each since they are eligible to compete in just two events). Thus far, Notre Dame is the only team that has exceeded the maximum number of qualifiers. Sophomore Ann Barton (Scottsdale, Ariz./Desert Mountain H.S.) leads the Irish with BIG EAST “A” cuts (automatic qualifying times) in seven different events: the 200 free, both backstrokes, both butterflys, and both individual medleys. Four other swimmers – senior co-captain Kelli Barton (Scottsdale, Ariz./Chaparral H.S.), sophomores Katie Carroll (Toledo, Ohio/Notre Dame Academy) and Jessica Stephens (Bloomsburg, Pa./Bloomsburg H.S.), and freshman Caroline Johnson (Springfield, Mo./Glendale H.S.) – have five “A” cuts, while senior Brooke Taylor (Orlando, Fla./Lake Highland Prep School), junior Christel Bouvron (Singapore, Singapore/Raffles Girls’ Secondary School) and sophomores Rebecca Grove (Yorktown Heights, N.Y./Yorktown H.S.) and Ellen Johnson (Toledo, Ohio/Notre Dame Academy) boast four apiece. Swimmers can also swim any events in which they have a BIG EAST “B” cut, but no one can match Ann Barton’s seven race qualifications. Kelli Barton, freshman Morgan Bullock (Stamford, Conn./Westhill H.S.), Carroll, Ellen Johnson, and Stephens all have six events to choose from in selecting their BIG EAST programs.
PERRY-EATON, RINGS QUALIFY FOR NCAA ZONE C DIVING CHAMPIONSHIPS: Fifth-year senior All-American Meghan Perry-Eaton (Brandon, Fla./Bloomingdale H.S.) and freshman Laura Rings (Gahanna, Ohio/Columbus School for Girls) have already qualified for the NCAA Zone C Diving Championships, to be held March 11-12 at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Ind. Perry-Eaton, who was first in the zone meet in one-meter action and sixth off the three-meter board a year ago before taking third at NCAAs off the one-meter, has easily made the qualifying standards in both springboard events. Rings punched her ticket with a performance at the Notre Dame Invitational that saw her finish second to Perry-Eaton in three-meter action with a score of 455.25.
STEPHENS HOLDS TEAM LEAD IN POINTS SCORED: Sophomore Jessica Stephens (Bloomsburg, Pa./Bloomsburg H.S.), the team leader in four events, leads the Irish in points scored this season, having put up 188.7. Her 150 in individual competition rank behind only fifth-year senior diver Meghan Perry-Eaton (Brandon, Fla./Bloomingdale H.S.), who has scored 185 en route to 15 first-place finishes. Caroline Johnson (Springfield, Mo./Glendale H.S.) leads all freshmen and ranks third overall with 183.15, while sophomore Ellen Johnson (Toledo, Ohio/Notre Dame Academy) is fourth with 166.15.
DUAL-MEET DOMINANCE: Notre Dame currently stands 5-2 this season, with the lone defeats coming against #21 Arizona State and #25 Purdue. Over the past six seasons, the Irish hold a 52-6 (.897) dual-meet record, including 10-0 campaigns in 1999-2000 and 2001-02. In eight years as the Irish head coach, Bailey Weathers has led Notre Dame to an 85-19 (.817) record in dual meets.
SECOND-SEMESTER SUCCESS: Notre Dame has been nearly unbeatable in the second semester in recent years. Over the last five seasons, the Irish compiled a 25-1 (.962) dual-meet record in January and February, while also handily winning the BIG EAST championship in each year. The lone blemish was a 166-134 defeat against #16 Michigan on Jan. 31, 2004, in the Rolfs Aquatic Center.
IRISH NOTCH ANOTHER PERFECT HOME SEASON: A two-point win over Illinois earlier this month gave Notre Dame its fourth undefeated home record in the last six years. The Irish opened the 2004-05 campaign by beating Evansville in the Rolfs Aquatic Center and then beat both Pittsburgh and Michigan State in a home triangular meet on Nov. 12 before topping the Fighting Illini 183-181. The Irish have posted a 91-26-1 (.775) record at home since the opening of the Rolfs Aquatic Center in 1985. Notre Dame has posted five undefeated seasons and has lost just one meet or fewer at home in every year since 1994-95 (11 consecutive seasons).
AGAINST THE BIG TEN: Since the arrival of head coach Bailey Weathers prior to the 1995-96 season, Notre Dame has posted a 23-8-1 (.734) record against Big Ten Conference opponents after the Irish were just 4-15 vs. the league prior to that. But over the past six years, the Irish have lost or tied in dual meets just eight times, and seven of those contests were against Big Ten foes.
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.