Dec. 2, 2006
COLUMBUS, Ohio – The No. 16 Notre Dame men’s swimming and diving team currently resides in third place heading into the third and final day of the Ohio State Invitational. The Fighting Irish entered the second day of the meet in the McCorkle Aquatic Pavilion in fourth place and notched six top-five finishes to move up into third with 422 points. Seventh-ranked Minnesota remains in first with 823 points.
Eight events were completed during the second day of the meet. The third and final day of the invitational will begin at 9:00 a.m. (ET) on Sunday and will feature eight events. Rounding out the top five teams after the second day is No. 13 Ohio State in second with 518 points, South Carolina is fourth (368 points) and Denver is fifth (171 points).
The Irish had four student-athletes collect fifth-place finishes on the evening. Junior Jay Vanden Berg (Holland, Mich./Southfield Christian School) placed fifth in the 400 IM with a time of 3:59.92 and senior Louis Cavadini (South Bend, Ind./Riley) did the same in the 100 fly with a mark of 49.66. Sam Pendergast (Melbourne, Australia), a sophomore, took fifth in the 100 breast in 56.01 and senior Alan Carter (Bethel Park, Pa./Bethel Park) was also fifth in the 100 back with a time of 50.26.
Notre Dame’s 200-yard medley relay gave the Irish their top finish of the night. Jeff Wood (Fairport, N.Y./Fairport/Indiana), Pendergast, Tim Kegelman (Yorktown, Va./Tabb) and Louis Cavadini teamed up to post a time of 1:31.04 to place third overall. The Irish’s 800-yard free relay of Louis Cavadini, Danny Lutkus (Granger, Ind./Penn), John Lytle (Clearfield, Pa./Clearfield Area) and Ted Brown (Kokomo, Ind./Western) took fifth in 6:43.02.
Live scoring and full results of the meet can be found at ohiostatebuckeyes.com.
SATURDAY RECAP (all distances in yards):
200 Medley Relay: Notre Dame’s quartet of Jeff Wood, Sam Pendergast, Tim Kegelman and Louis Cavadini placed third in a time of 1:31.04 to collect 32 team points. The Irish also took seventh with Alan Carter, Eric Swenson, Ray Toomey and John Lytle posting a time of 1:32.92. Minnesota took first with a mark of 1:27.64, which was an NCAA consideration time and pool record.
400 IM: Jay Vanden Berg notched a fifth-place showing by touching the wall in 3:59.92 to earn 14 points. Justin Barber was right behind him in sixth with a time of 4:01.80. Swimming in the consolation final for the Irish were MacKenzie LeBlanc (9th, 4:01.02), Andrew MacKay (10th, 4:01.93), Andrew Deters (12th, 4:03.42) and Daniel Rave (16th, 4:07.51). South Carolina’s Kyle Cormier placed first in 3:55.22.
100 Fly: Louis Cavadini swam the fifth-fastest time in the finals with a mark of 49.66 to give the Irish 14 points. Tim Kegelman was seventh in 50.15, after posting a mark of 49.64 in the morning’s prelims. MacKenzie LeBlanc took 11th in 50.51 and Ray Toomey was 14th in 50.91. Joseph Doyle from Ohio State won the event with an NCAA `B’ cut and pool-record time of 47.63.
200 Free: Notre Dame did not have a competitor in the final, yet did have three athletes in the consolation final. John Lytle placed 11th in 1:39.54 for six points, while Ted Brown took 12th in 1:39.61 for five points and Danny Lutkus came in 14th in 1:40.41 for three more points for the Irish. Minnesota’s Igor Cerensek was first in 1:36.93, an NCAA `B’ cut and pool-record time.
100 Breast: Sam Pendergast took fifth for the Fighting Irish in the final with a time of 56.01. Notre Dame had four competitors in the consolation final. Eric Swenson (9th, 57.61), Tim Kegelman (12th, 58.00), Tyler Angelo (14th, 58.22) and Daniel Rave (16th, 59.62) combined to earn 18 points for the Irish. Colin Lee-To was first for the Golden Gophers in 54.60, which was another NCAA consideration and pool-record time.
100 Back: Alan Carter claimed another fifth-place showing for Notre Dame as he touched the wall in 50.26. Jeff Wood finished 11th in 50.61, while his Irish teammates Mitchell Sherman and Andrew MacKay had identical marks of 51.88 to tie for 14th. Minnesota’s David Plummer won the event in an NCAA `B’ cut and pool-record time of 47.85.
3-Meter Diving: The Fighting Irish did not send anyone to the finals. Michael Bulfin placed 17th in the prelims with 260.75 points, while Steven Crowe was 20th (254.20) and Sam Stoner was 21st (250.80). Arizona State’s Michele Benedetti posted 381.50 points in the final to take first.
800 Free Relay: Notre Dame’s unit of Louis Cavadini, Danny Lutkus, John Lytle and Ted Brown came in fifth with a mark of 6:43.02 to earn 28 team points. The Irish quartet of Jeff Wood, Andrew Hoffman, Brian Freeman and Rob Seery took ninth with a time of 6:46.98. Minnesota won the event in a time of 6:29.80, which was yet another NCAA `B’ cut and pool record.