Feb. 19, 2005
EAST MEADOW, N.Y. – Sophomore Katie Carroll (Toledo, Ohio/Notre Dame Academy) assured herself a second consecutive invitation to the NCAA Championships and sophomore Ellen Johnson (Toledo, Ohio/Notre Dame Academy) broke the 200 freestyle school record, as the University of Notre Dame women’s swimming and diving team won three events en route to opening up a 104-point lead in the BIG EAST Championships Friday evening in the Nassau County Aquatic Center. The Irish, who have 503 points with one day and seven events remaining, have 503 points, while Rutgers and Pittsburgh are tied for second with 399.
Carroll, who did not swim the race en route to being tabbed the meet’s Most Outstanding Swimmer in 2004, won the 400-yard individual medley by more than five seconds, with an NCAA automatic-qualifying time of 4:15.55. That stands as the fourth-quickest 400 IM time ever by an Irish swimmer (she also holds both of the top two). It was the Notre Dame sophomore’s fastest yards time as a collegian, as well as the second-fastest yards time ever by an Irish student-athlete (Carroll’s top two 400 IM times were converted from short-course meters). Coming into this week, only four Division I swimmers had posted faster times than 4:15.55 this season. Carroll, who was named honorable mention All-America last year after taking 14th at NCAAs in the race, continued her record of being unbeaten in individual competition in the BIG EAST meet. Thus far, she has been the top qualifier and the first-place finisher in all five individual events in which she has competed during her career. Her réumé puts her in elite company, as one of just four Irish student-athletes to have five individual BIG EAST championships, joining 2002 graduates Kelly Hecking and Carrie Nixon and ’00 grad Shannon Suddarth. After not taking first in the race in any of the first seven years of league membership, Notre Dame has now boasted the 400 IM champ in each of the last three years. Marie Labosky won the title in both 2003 and ’04.
For the second day in a row, Ellen Johnson came up short in her quest for her first BIG EAST title and ended up as the runner-up. After doing so in the 500 free on Thursday, the Notre Dame sophomore was just outtouched by .14 seconds by West Virginia freshman Maritza Paredes. Nonetheless, Johnson broke the six-year-old school record in the event, ending in a time of 1:49.20 that was .09 seconds better than the previous Irish record of 1:49.29, set by Kristen Van Saun at the 1999 BIG EAST meet. It was an NCAA “B” time for Johnson – who finished sixth in the race last year – meaning that she will be considered for a bid to the NCAA meet. Heading into this week, that time had been bettered by just 41 Division I swimmers this season.
Another Friday highlight was 2004 Olympian and junior Christel Bouvron (Singapore, Singapore/Raffles Girls’ Secondary School) winning her first BIG EAST championship, in the 100 butterfly with a time of 54.75 that was good for an NCAA “B” cut. She topped runner-up Sarah Bicknell of Rutgers by .58 seconds after being second in 2003 and eighth a year ago. Bouvron’s time had been bettered by just 18 swimmers in Division I prior to this week. She became the 34th different Irish student-athlete to win a conference title since Notre Dame joined the league in 1995-96, and the 16th competitor to win an individual BIG EAST championship.
Sophomore Jessica Stephens (Bloomsburg, Pa./Bloomsburg H.S.) earned all-BIG EAST honors with a third-place finish in the 100 fly, turning in a time of 55.86. Senior Brooke Taylor (Orlando, Fla./Lake Highland Prep School) finished 13th in the event with a time of 57.29.
Notre Dame reclaimed its tradition of dominance in the 400 medley relay, as freshman Caroline Johnson (Springfield, Mo./Glendale H.S.), Stephens, Bouvron, and Carroll combined for an NCAA “B” time of 3:42.80 that was good for a nearly-two-second victory over Rutgers in the race. It was the seventh time in 10 years – but the first since 2002 – that Notre Dame finished first in the race, and the Irish time had been topped by just 10 teams in the country prior to this week. The victory continued Carroll’s perfect meet, giving her five titles in five events this week. She now has nine career BIG EAST titles to her credit, placing her fourth on that list, behind only Hecking (19), Nixon (18), and 2000 graduate Elizabeth Barger (11).
Caroline Johnson led the Irish in the 100 backstroke with a collegiate-best mark of 55.52 that was good for a runner-up result and an NCAA “B” cut. Her mark had been bettered just 24 times in Division I prior to this week. Sophomore Rebecca Grove (Yorktown Heights, N.Y./Yorktown H.S.), a product of the New York area, finished seventh with a time of 56.88. Freshman Katie Guida (Alexandria, Va./Georgetown Visitation Prep School) took 10th in the 100 back with a collegiate-best time of 58.95. Senior Kristen Peterson (Wichita, Kan./Bishop Carroll H.S.) ended 13th with a time of 59.15.
Carroll led a strong overall performance in the 400 IM, as sophomore Ann Barton (Scottsdale, Ariz./Salpointe Catholic H.S.) – who also did not swim the race in 2004 – ended up fifth with a time of 4:24.83, and her classmate, Kiley Gooch (Carmel, Ind./Carmel H.S.), was right behind with a sixth-place time of 4:26.47. Taylor won the consolation final with a season-best time of 4:25.18 that was quicker than three swimmers in the championship final. Her ninth-place result marked her fourth consecutive top-10 finish in the 400 IM, after being ninth in 2002 and eighth in both 2003 and ’04. Another senior, co-captain Kelli Barton (Scottsdale, Ariz./Salpointe Catholic H.S.), finished 13th with a time of 4:31.37.
Junior Courtney Choura (Bridgeville, Pa./Oakland Catholic H.S.) led the Irish in the 100 breaststroke with a sixth-place finish in 1:05.41, while senior co-captain Georgia Healey (New York, N.Y./Trinity School) was eighth in 1:05.77. Freshman Natalie Burke (Cape Town, South Africa/Reddam House College) ended 11th in 1:06.92.