June 21, 2012

U.S. Olympic Trials – Psych Sheet

NOTRE DAME, Ind. – A record 12 members of the Notre Dame men’s swimming team will represent the Irish at the 2012 United States Olympic Swimming Trials set for June 25 – July 2 at the CenturyLink Center in Omaha, Neb. Each Irish swimmer will be vying for a bid to represent the United States at the 2012 Summer Olympic Games in London.

By comparison, Notre Dame did not send a single competitor to the U.S. Trials in 2004 or 2008.

Live results and video will be available throughout the event at USAswimming.org.

All-American Frank Dyer is seeded 57th in the 100m free, 76th in the 400m free, 94th in the 200m free and 113th in the 50m free.

Colin Babcock is seeded 63rd in the 100m breast, 121st in the 200m breast and 53rd in the 200m individual medley.

Bill Bass, who represented the Irish at the 2012 NCAA Championships, ranks 71st in the 200m individual medley.

The 200m butterfly will feature 141st-seeded Wesley Mullins and 86th-seeded John Williamson.

Christopher Johnson will compete in the 100m breast as the 120th-seeded swimmer as Mason Weber is the 103rd-seeded swimmer in the 100m breast.

Ranked 50th in the 100m breast in Cameron Miller, who is also 68th in the 200m breast.

Zachary Stephens is ranked 90th in the 200m breast, 132nd in the 100m breast and 87th in the 200m individual medley.

Seeded 100th in the 200m back is Jimmy McEldrew. McEldrew is 56th in the 1,500m free, nine spots ahead of Brennan Jacobsen. Jacobsen is seeded 73rd in the 400m free.

Patrick Olson ranks 126th in both the 100m and 200m breast.

Notre Dame will be represented in all but three events (400 individual medley, 100 fly and 100 back).

The competitors in the U.S. Trials will be riding the wave of the program’s most successful season ever, including a BIG EAST Conference title and Dyer’s All-American accolade in the 200 free – the first by any Irish swimmer in program history.

Even more, graduated senior and Serbian national record holder in the 100 back Petar Petrovic recently competed at the European Championships while continuing his success on the international circuit. Bertie Nel represented the Irish at the South African Olympic Trials earlier this summer.

The program has enjoyed a number of recent accolades dealt by CollegeSwimmingAwards.com, as Dyer was tabbed one of its Male Breakout Award winners while receiving more votes than any other swimmer. Notre Dame was named one of the top Male Breakout Teams and earned the site’s Championship Performance award for its 2012 BIG EAST title run.

To put the icing on the cake, Matt Tallman was named one of the top men’s assistant coaches in the nation. Tallman was also named one of the top men’s assistant coaches by CollegeSwimming.com.

Out of the pool, the Irish were named a Scholar All-American team by the College Swim Coaches Association of America with a team grade-point average of 3.18 in the fall of 2011, tied for 25th-best in the nation.

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2011-12 Season In Review
Men's Swimming and Diving (6-4)NCAA Championships - 28th (15 pts.)BIG EAST Conference ChampionsFinal CollegeSwimming.com Ranking - RV

– For the first time in program history, Notre Dame sent multiple swimmers to the NCAA Championships as Frank Dyer and Bill Bass represented the Irish at the season finale in Federal Way, Wash. Even more, Dyer became the first All-American in the storied program’s 53 seasons with a thrilling fourth-place showing in the 200 free while earning the first swimming points ever for the Irish at the NCAA Championships. Notre Dame reset 13 school records in 2011-12.

– Brennan Jacobsen and John Williamson each copped individual titles on the final day of competition as Notre Dame held off a scrappy Louisville squad en route to winning its fifth BIG EAST Conference Swimming and Diving title. Notre Dame totaled 887 points for its first league crown since 2009, as two-time defending champion Louisville (859.5) was second in front of Pittsburgh (520) and West Virginia (509.5) among the 10-team field.

– Bass, who won a pair of races at the BIG EAST Championships, was named the meet’s Most Outstanding Swimmer as Irish skipper Tim Welsh was named Swimming Coach of the Year. The awards gave Notre Dame a clean sweep of the league’s postseason hardware, as Nick Nemetz was named Diver of the Year and Caiming Xie was tabbed Diving Coach of the Year.

– Dyer, who was the 16th-seeded swimmer in the 500 free heading into the NCAA Championships, had to wait until the sixth heat of the prelims to clock a 4:17.97 for a school record at the national meet. The performance was 19th overall, one spot away from being an alternate for the evening’s finals. As a comparison, Dyer placed 44th overall in the 500 free (4:27.25) during his first NCAA Championships appearance as a freshman in 2011.

– Nemetz stole the spotlight for two straight nights at the BIG EAST Diving Championships by winning the 1-meter diving title one day after taking home gold in the 3-meter event. Nemetz is the second Irish diver – and the first freshman – to sweep the 1- and 3-meter events at a BIG EAST Championships. The Irish placed at least four divers in the top eight of the 1-meter event at the BIG EAST Championships for the third time in program history.

– Zachary Stephens parlayed his Rolfs Aquatic Center record in the 200 breast with a school record by going 1:57.06 in the prelims and 1:57.44 in the finals for the bronze at the BIG EAST Championships. Stephens was one of four swimmers to break the previous record.

John Andrade // Fr.Notre Dame Most Improved Award
Colin Babcock // So.All-BIG EAST - 800 free relayPatrick Reilly McManus Captains' AwardCharles Blanchard AwardRosenthal Leadership Academy
Bill Bass // Jr.NCAA Championships - ParticipantBIG EAST Most Outstanding SwimmerBIG EAST Champion - 200 individual medley, 100 flyAll-BIG EAST - 400 free relay, 200 free relay, 400 medley relay, 200 medley relay, 200 individual medley, 100 fly, 200 flyNotre Dame Most Improved Award
Ryan Belecanech // Sr.Rosenthal Leadership Academy
Jordan Berry // Jr.Rosenthal Leadership Academy
Frank Dyer // So.NCAA Championships - All-American - 200 freeBIG EAST Champion - 500 freeAll-BIG EAST - 800 free relay, 400 free relay, 200 free relay, 400 medley relay, 500 free, 200 free, 100 freeBIG EAST Swimmer of the Week (Oct. 25)Notre Dame Monogram Club Most Valuable PlayerRosenthal Leadership Academy
Kevin Hughes // Fr.All-BIG EAST - 1,650 free
Brennan Jacobsen // Fr.BIG EAST Champion - 1,650 freeAll-BIG EAST - 500 free, 1,650 free
Christopher Johnson // Jr.All-BIG EAST - 400 medley relay, 200 medley relay, 100 breastRosenthal Leadership Academy
Michael Kreft // Fr.All-BIG EAST - 3-meter diving
John McGinley // Jr.All-BIG EAST - 800 free relay, 400 free relay, 200 free relay
Cameron Miller // Fr.All-BIG EAST - 200 medley relay
Wesley Mullins // Jr.Notre Dame Most Improved Award
Patrick Murphy // Fr.Meghan Beeler and Colleen Hipp Award
Bertie Nel // So.All-BIG EAST - 400 medley relay, 200 medley relay
Nick Nemetz // Fr.BIG EAST Most Outstanding DiverBIG EAST Champion - 3-meter diving, 1-meter divingAll-BIG EAST - 3-meter diving, 1-meter diving
Kevin Overholt // Jr.All-BIG EAST - 800 free relay, 400 free relay, 200 free relay
Kevin Rahill // Sr.Notre Dame Club of St. Joseph Valley Rockne Student-Athlete Award
Marshall Sherman // Sr.Rosenthal Leadership Academy
Zachary Stephens // Fr.All-BIG EAST - 200 breastNotre Dame Most Improved Award
Mason Weber // Jr.Rosenthal Leadership Academy
Jonathan Whitcomb // Sr.Notre Dame Club of St. Joseph Valley Rockne Student-Athlete Award
Jonathan Williamson // Fr.BIG EAST Champion - 200 flyAll-BIG EAST - 200 flyNotre Dame Saco Del Toro Award
Tim WelshBIG EAST Swimming Coach of the Year
Caiming XieBIG EAST Diving Coach of the Year

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