July 28, 2005
NOTRE DAME, Ind. – Head coach Tim Welsh and the University of Notre Dame men’s swimming and diving team has landed a total of eight commitments for the 2005-06 season. The incoming freshman class consists of seven swimmers and one diver, with three of them joining older brothers on the Fighting Irish roster. Two of the student-athletes will compete at the U.S. Nationals Aug. 3-7 in Irvine, Calif.
Daniel Lutkus hails from nearby Granger, Ind. and is a product of Penn High School. He will join his older brother Jamie, a senior captain-to-be, at Notre Dame and at the U.S. Nationals. Daniel qualified for nationals as a member of the 400-yard freestyle relay team that also features Notre Dame’s Louis Cavadini, Alan Carter and Ted Brown, who all swim for the Irish Aquatics Swim Club. As a member of his high school team this past season, Daniel placed fourth in the 100-yard freestyle with a time of 46.54 at the Indiana High School Athletic Association (IHSAA) Championships. Additionally, he notched a fifth-place showing in the 200-free at the meet by posting a time of 1:41.84. The Penn High graduate also clocked a time of 21.56 in the 50-yard freestyle during the year.
“Danny is predominantly a short to middle distance freestyler,” states Welsh. “He is very energetic and a spirited kind of racer, who is at his best in gameday situations. His brother is a consistent leader and I expect Danny will continue to do the same. They both have strong family ties to Notre Dame.”
Another local addition to the Irish roster is South Bend Riley’s David Cavadini, the brother of junior-to-be Louis. The younger Cavadini captured the 2005 IHSAA 50-yard freestyle championship in a time of 21.24 to go along with a third-place performance in the 100-freestyle with a time of 46.46. David, another member of the Irish Aquatics, also collected a 100-yard butterfly time of 50.90 during the season.
“David is a sprinter like his brother,” says Welsh. “He is the current 50-freestyle champion in Indiana and he is a very gifted athlete. His brother has led the way from high school to college and I anticipate David doing the same and step up to emerge as a top sprinter.”
Bill Bauman comes from Erie, Pa. to team up with his older brother Doug, a senior-to-be at Notre Dame. They both attended Cathedral Prep as did recent Irish swimming graduate Frank Krakowski. Bill was fifth in the 100-yard backstroke at the 2005 Pennsylvania AAA High School Championships in a time of 53.19. He is also a YMCA National qualifier.
“Bill is primarily a backstroker like his brother,” states Welsh. “He also does freestyle and IM events. His brother is a competitor and Bill is also competitive and has a solid work ethic like Doug. Bill may be a little more versatile than his brother.”
Mitchell Sherman comes to Notre Dame from St. Charles Prep in Columbus, Ohio. Sherman placed fourth in the 100-yard backstroke at the Ohio High School State Championship by posting a time of 51.70. He has also clocked times of 1:54.24 in the 200-yard backstroke and 24.43 in the 50-yard back, which was part of a relay event.
“Mitchell is a dedicated backstroker and IM swimmer,” says Welsh. “He has a good history in the backstroke and my hopes are that he will contribute right away. With two of our three primary backstrokers being seniors, Mitchell and Bill (Bauman) could be the successors and will look to contribute this season.”
Two outstanding foreign student-athletes will also be part of the incoming eight-man class for the Fighting Irish. Samuel Pendergast hails from Australia and Daniel Rave joins the team from Germany. Both swimmers have impressive resumes primarily in the breaststroke.
Pendergast represented his native Australia in the Youth Olympics in 2001 and again in 2003 as he was team captain the latter year. He is also the three-time Australian age champion in the 100-meter breaststroke and was a finalist at the Australian World Championship trials in the 50-meter breast in 2002. In 2004 and 2005, he was a semi-finalist at the Australian Championships in the 50 and 100-meter breaststroke in addition to being a finalist in the 50 and 100-meter breast at the 2003 and 2004 Melbourne World Cup. His top breaststroke times include 28.51 in the 50-meter, 1.01.91 in the 100 and 2:15.31 in the 200. Those marks would have qualified him for the U.S. Nationals.
Rave has posted solid times in breaststroke events, including 2:18.72 in the 200-meter, which tops the U.S. Nationals qualifying standard by over four seconds. He also topped the U.S. Nationals qualifying mark in the 400-meter IM with a time of 4:33.14. Rave owns the state record for the 200-meter breaststroke in both the long and short-course with respective times of 2:18.72 and 2:15.41. He established the state’s 17-year old age group record in the 200-meter breast with a time of 2:21.37. That is one of four age group standards that he possesses. Rave participated in the 2004 Germany Olympic Trials and placed 13th in the 200-meter breast and 26th in the 400-meter IM.
“Daniel should instantly be a team leader in the breast and IM events,” states Welsh. “He will fill the role of graduated senior David Moisan and is comparable to Jamie Lutkus. He should be able to have an immediate role. If Dan is more of a 200 (yard) swimmer, then Sam is more of a 100 (yard) swimmer.”
Diving coach Caiming Xie has landed an accomplished diver in Michael Bulfin from St. Thomas Aquinas in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. During his sophomore and junior seasons, Bulfin was the runner-up at the Florida High School 3A State Championship. He competes with the Ft. Lauderdale Club Team and has qualified for Junior Nationals each of the past three years. His sister will begin her junior year at Notre Dame this fall.
“Michael has a lot of potential,” states Xie. “His strength is the platform but he should really help us in the one and three-meter dives. I look for him to raise the level of all of our divers and he should be one of the better divers in the BIG EAST.”
These student-athletes will join Jace Hopper, who committed to the Irish back in January, as the Class of 2009 at Notre Dame. The Las Vegas-native also joins the Lutkus brothers and five other current Fighting Irish swimmers at next week’s U.S. Nationals. Hopper qualified for the meet in the 1,000-yard freestyle with a time of 9:18.07 and the 1,650-freestyle with a mark of 15:31.36. He also qualified for the U.S. Open in the 400-meter freestyle after clocking a time of 4:05.02.
-ND–