Oct. 6, 2006
NOTRE DAME, Ind. – The University of Notre Dame men’s swimming and diving team began the 2006-07 season with a victory in the Dennis Stark Relays Friday night in the Rolfs Aquatic Center. The Irish men claimed the victory with 264 points, winning 11 of 13 events while taking down five meet records.
At one point during the evening, the Irish captured seven straight events en route to the dominating victory. The marks eclipsed by the Fighting Irish on the night were in the 200-yard freestyle relay (1:25.46), 400-yard butterfly relay (3:23.76), 400-yard backstroke relay (3:28.36), the 400-yard freestyle relay (3:07.01) and in synchronized diving (244.20).
The Dennis Stark Relays (formerly known as the Notre Dame Relays) were competed for the 42nd time for the men and 23rd time for the women on Friday night. Comprised of 11 swimming events and two diving events, it provides the competing teams with a competitive and unique start to their seasons. The Irish have won the title 22 times, including 10 in the last 11 years.
The final team scores:
WOMEN
1. Notre Dame, 273
2. Ball State, 182
3. Illinois State, 144
4. Oakland, 122
5. Wisconsin-Milwaukee, 108
6. Valparaiso, 70
7. Marquette, 22
MEN
1. Notre Dame, 264
2. Oakland, 158
3. Ball State, 156
4. Wisconsin-Milwaukee, 114
5. Valparaiso, 94
6. Marquette, 44
MEET RECAP:
200-Yard Freestyle Relay: The Irish opened the meet in fine fashion by knocking out their first record of the evening. Seniors Louis Cavadini and Tim Kegelman teamed up with freshmen John Lytle and Ray Toomey to post the win in a time of 1:25.46.
400-Yard Medley Relay: Oakland evened up the score with a win in a time of 3:27.23. The Irish team of senior Alan Carter, junior Eric Swenson, freshman MacKenzie LeBlanc and senior Ted Brown placed second in 3:30.20.
800-Yard Free Relay: Notre Dame began its stretch of seven consecutive victories as junior Jay Vanden Berg, sophomore Daniel Lutkus, sophomore transfer Jeff Wood and junior Rob Seery clocked a time of 6:59.81.
400-Yard Individual Medley Relay: Notre Dame’s youth was put on display in its third victory of the night. Freshmen Andrew Deters, Ross Moore and MacKenzie LeBlanc joined junior Andrew MacKay in capturing the win with a time of 3:36.78.
300-Yard Freestyle Relay: A young Irish foursome took home the event with a time of 2:18.14. Sophomore Daniel Lutkus teamed with freshmen John Lytle, Andrew Hoffman and Pat Lloyd for the win.
400-Yard Butterfly Relay: The second record of the night was eclipsed as senior tri-captains Tim Kegelman, Ted Brown and Louis Cavadini were joined by freshman Ray Toomey to clock a mark of 3:23.76.
400-Yard Backstroke Relay:Another standard was surpassed as the quartet of Andrew MacKay, Jeff Wood, Alan Carter and MacKenzie LeBlanc combined to swim a mark of 3:28.36.
400-Yard Breaststroke Relay: The Fighting Irish captured their sixth straight event title as Eric Swenson, Sam Pendergast, Tyler Angelo and Daniel Rave teamed to touch the wall in 3:57.01.
1000-Yard Freestyle Relay: Junior’s Rob Seery and Jay Vanden Berg made it seven wins in a row for Notre Dame with a time of 9:26.62.
200-Yard Medley Relay: Oakland would put a halt to the Irish streak and claim its second victory of the evening. The Notre Dame team of Andrew MacKay, Eric Swenson, Tim Kegelman and Louis Cavadini placed second in 1:36.63.
400-Yard Freestyle Relay: The ninth win of the night came in the final swimming event from the efforts of Ted Brown, Ray Toomey, John Lytle and Jeff Wood. The quartet clocked a meet record with a mark of 3:07.01.
Diving Relay: All-BIG EAST performers Michael Bulfin, a sophomore, and Sam Stoner, a junior, teamed to post a winning score of 643.35.
Synchronized Diving: The duo of Bulfin and Stoner combined to take down another meet standard for the Irish as they registered a score of 244.20.
The Fighting Irish return to action as the open the dual meet portion of their slate at Texas A&M on Saturday, Oct. 28.