April 5, 2007
NOTRE DAME, Ind. – The Notre Dame men’s swimming and diving team recently held its annual awards banquet to conclude the 2006-07 campaign. Senior co-captain Ted Brown (Kokomo, Ind./Western) emerged as the big winner on the evening as he received three awards, including team MVP honors. Six awards were presented in all and the night ended with the naming of the 2007-08 team captains.
Brown was named the Notre Dame Monogram Club Team MVP along with receiving the Notre Dame Club of St. Joseph Valley Rockne Student-Athlete Award for the 2006-07 season. Brown was also honored with the Blanchard Award, which is given annually by the Dolphin Club to the swimmer or diver who by performance, inspiration and leadership has exemplified the personal qualities for former Notre Dame swimmer and 1963-64 captain Charles Blanchard.
During his senior season, Brown collected four all-BIG EAST honors along with being a part of two school record-setting relay units, the 400 and 800 free. He concluded his Fighting Irish career with 10 all-conference accolades. Brown posted a team-best 10 individual wins during the 2006-07 season, including three in the 200-yard freestyle, and notched the Irish’s top 500-yard free time.
Junior diver Steven Crowe (Brockport, N.Y./Brockport), sophomore swimmer Bill Bauman (Erie, Pa./Cathedral Prep) and freshman swimmer John Lytle (Clearfield, Pa./Clearfield Area) all received the Most Improved Swimmer/Diver Award.
Crowe had his best season to date at Notre Dame as he competed at the NCAA Zone C Diving Championships after a solid showing at the BIG EAST meet, where he placed sixth off the one-meter board and eighth off the three-meter. He also captured his first-career win as he took the three-meter competition in a dual meet at Louisville.
Bauman finished his season on a high note as he posted career marks in the 100-yard back, 200-yard back and the 200-yard IM at the BIG EAST Championships.
Lytle made an instant impact for the Fighting Irish as he was a part of five program records. He established school marks in both the 100 and 200-yard freestyle events along with being a part of three record-setting relays, the 400 and 800-yard free and the 400 medley. The freshman collected a team-high five all-BIG EAST honors at this year’s conference meet.
Lytle also received the Beeler-Hipp Award. This award, which is voted on by the senior class, is presented to an outstanding freshman who best exemplifies the vitality, competitiveness and love for Notre Dame shown by Meghan Beeler and Colleen Hipp in their freshman year. The award continues to honor the 1991-92 men’s and women’s swimming teams for their courage, discipline and love for one another displayed during that season.
Each year the captains select the swimmer they feel performs well both in and out of the pool and exemplifies the term teammate and honors that individual with The Patrick Reilly McManus Captain’s Award. This year’s recipient was Bauman.
At the conclusion of the evening, Brown, Louis Cavadini (South Bend, Ind./Riley) and Tim Kegelman (Yorktown, Va./Tabb) handed over the captains’ duties to current juniors Rob Seery (Garden City, N.Y./Garden City) and Eric Swenson (Scotch Plains, N.J./St. Joseph) along with sophomore Sam Pendergast (Melbourne, Australia) for the 2007-08 season.
Notre Dame finished the 2006-07 campaign ranked 19th in the final College Swim Coaches Association of America (CSCAA) dual-meet poll with an 11-3 record. The Fighting Irish peaked at No. 16 in the CSCAA poll during the season. That marked the highest ranking ever for the program. The Irish were denied their third straight BIG EAST title as they were edged out by West Virginia, 765.5-761 at the 2007 conference meet.
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