Nov. 13, 2003
by Nicole Rapagnani
THIS WEEK: The 19th-ranked Notre Dame women’s swimming and diving team plays host to Bowling Green and Louisville in a tri-meet Friday, Nov. 14, at the Rolfs Aquatic Center. Meet time is 6:00 p.m.
SCHEDULE OF EVENTS FOR FRIDAY’S MEET: The following is the schedule for today’s tri-meet against Bowling Green and Louisville.
1. 200 medley relay
2. 1,000 freestyle
3. 200 freestyle
4. 100 backstroke
5. 100 breaststroke
6. 200 butterfly
7. 50 freestyle
8. One-meter diving
9. 100 freestyle
10. 200 backstroke
11. 200 breaststroke
12. 500 freestyle
13. 100 butterfly
14. Three-meter diving
15. 400 individual medley
16. 200 freestyle relay
ABOUT NOTRE DAME: Notre Dame is 2-1 on the year after starting the dual-meet season by defeating Tampa on Oct. 23, falling to Indiana on Oct. 30 and beating Pittsburgh last Friday.
Against Tampa, the Irish won 11 of 14 events claiming a 158-114 win in Florida to conclude their fall training trip. Freshman Katie Carroll won two events for the Irish, the 200 individual medley and the 200 butterfly, while eight other people won individual events. Other winners for the Irish included junior Kristen Peterson (1,000 freestyle), freshman Ann Barton (200 free), freshman Rebecca Grove (100 back), freshman Jessica Stephens (100 breast), senior Danielle Hulick (100 free), freshman Kiley Gooch (200 back), sophomore Courtney Choura (200 breaststroke) and freshman Abby Strang (500 free). The Notre Dame team of Grove, senior Laurie Musgrave, sophomore Christel Bouvron and Hulick also won the 200 medley relay starting the meet.
Against Indiana, Notre Dame won five events but lost 176-124. Senior Meghan Perry-Eaton easily swept both diving boards winning the one-meter with 285.15 points and the three-meter with 283.65 points. Ann Barton posted Notre Dame’s first victory against the Hoosiers in the 200 backstroke, touching the wall in 2:03.29, while Carroll claimed the second event victory in the 100 butterfly (56.21) and junior Brooke Taylor was first in the 200 race with a time of 2:03.90.
Against Pittsburgh, the 19th ranked Irish won 12 of 16 events winning 184-116. The Irish had a number of multiple winners as Hulick won three events (100 backstroke, 50 freestyle, 100 freestyle), while seniors Marie Labosky (1,000 freestyle, 200 backstroke) and Perry-Eaton (one- and three-meter boards) and Carroll (100 butterfly, 200 individual medley) won two races each. Other winners for the Irish included Bouvron (200 butterfly), Choura (200 breaststroke) and freshman Ellen Johnson (500 freestyle).
ABOUT BOWLING GREEN: Bowling Green is 0-3 in dual meets this season after falling to Ohio State 134-99 on Oct. 31, and to Mid-American Conference opponents Toledo, 179-119, and Eastern Michigan, 200-100, last weekend.
Against the Buckeyes, Bowling Green’s only event winner was Erin Dilkes in the 200 breaststroke. Dilkes’ teammates also captured second and third in the event. The Falcons also won the 200 free relay.
Against Toledo, the Falcons won five of 16 events, with two wins each coming from Caroline Keating in the 200 free and 500 free and diver Molly Peterson in the one- and three-meter boards. Sophomore Dana Schultz captured the 200 fly. The Falcons had runner-up finishes against the Rockets in six events, including Kara Ohngren in 1,000 free and 200 individual medley, Brittany O’Connor in the 100 and 200 backstroke, Carolyn Cusack in the one-meter and Lindsay Hines in the three-meter.
At Eastern Michigan, the Falcons won the three events and placed second in five races. Keating captured and improved her times in both the 200 free and 500 free. Schultz won the 200 butterfly. Ohngren (1650 free), O’Connor (100 backstroke, 200 backstroke), Sarah Agnew (100 breaststroke and Dilkes (200 breaststroke) all had runner-up finishes against the Eagles.
ABOUT LOUISVILLE: Louisville is 2-5 in dual meets this season, defeating Virginia Tech 136-88 and Eastern Illinois 146-90. The Cardinals fell to Eastern Carolina (174-109), Boston College (153-103), the University of Houston (110-60), Xavier and Ohio State.
NOTRE DAME RANKED #19: The Irish women’s swimming and diving team remains ranked 19th in the second Collegiate Swimming Coaches Association Poll of 2003-04. Defending national champion Auburn received all eight first-place votes and is first with 200 points, for the second consecutive week, followed by Florida, Georgia, Stanford and USC. Here is the complete poll:
1. Auburn (8)
2. Florida
3. Georgia
4. Stanford
5. USC
6. Texas
7. Arizona
8. SMU
9. California
10. Wisconsin
11. UCLA
12. Penn State
13. Arizona State
13. Indiana
15. North Carolina
16. Michigan
17. Texas A&M
17. Virginia
19. Notre Dame
20. Florida State
21. Washington
22. Maryland
23. Missouri
24. Hawaii
25. Minnesota
Others receiving votes: Tennessee, Alabama
FRESHMEN MAKING BIG SPLASH FOR IRISH: The 2003-04 Irish freshman class is making a big splash through the early part of the dual-meet schedule. Against Tampa, six different freshmen were credited with wins, while two others would have claimed victories if they did not swim exhibition. Winners against Tampa included Ann Barton, Katie Carroll (twice), Kiley Gooch, Rebecca Grove, Jessica Stephens and Abby Strang. Other winners would have included Grove and Ellen Johnson if they had not been competing exhibition.
The freshmen also performed well against Indiana as Barton and Carroll both were winners for the Irish. Johnson and Stephens recorded second- or third-place finishes during the meet in their respective events.
Against Pittsburgh, Carroll continued her impressive season with wins in the 100 butterfly and 200 individual medley. Carroll also was second in the 50 free, while Johnson was runner-up to Danielle Hulick in the 100 free. Strang and Barton also posted third-place finishes in the 1,000 freestyle and 200 backstroke, respectively.
PERRY-EATON CONTINUES TO SHINE: Senior diver Meghan Perry-Eaton continues to excel for the Irish in 2003-04. After earning BIG EAST Diver of the Year accolades in 2003 and All-America honors at the national meet, Perry-Eaton continues her winning ways this fall. Against North Carolina State, where only the Irish divers competed, Perry-Eaton won both the one- and three-meter event. Against Indiana the next week, the native of Brandon, Fla., also was a double-winner taking first on both boards. Last week, against Pittsburgh, Perry-Eaton continued her streak by taking first place again in both the one- and three-meter boards.
SENIORS ARE HEARD AGAINST PITTSBURGH: In addition to Meghan Perry-Eaton’s two wins against Pittsburgh, senior Danielle Hulick won three events and Marie Labosky two in Notre Dame’s convincing victory over the Panthers. Hulick was first in the 100 backstroke, 50 freestyle and 100 freestyle), while Labosky won the 1,000 freestyle and 200 backstroke.
IRISH MOVING UP THE CHARTS IN BIG EAST HISTORY: The Notre Dame women’s swimming and diving team has won seven consecutive conference titles (1997-current) and are inching ever closer to the all-time consecutive conference title mark. The Pittsburgh men’s swimming and diving program holds the record at 10, winning from 1983-92, while the Panther women won nine straight titles from 1983-91. Here is the list for most consecutive BIG EAST titles:
10 – Pittsburgh men’s swimming and diving (’83-’92)
9 – Pittsburgh women’s swimming and diving (’83-’91)
9 – Connecticut women’s basketball (’94-’02)
8 – Boston College men’s tennis (’81-’88)
7 – Pittsburgh volleyball (’88-’94)
7 – Notre Dame women’s soccer (’95-’01)
7 – Notre Dame women’s swimming (’97-active)
HEAD SWIMMING COACH Bailey Weathers: Irish head swimming coach Bailey Weathers is in his ninth year at the helm of the Irish roster. During his tenure, Notre Dame has won seven straight BIG EAST Conference crowns and he has been named conference coach of the year five times. Weathers coached 16 different swimmers to All-America honors while at Notre Dame and over 30 swimmers to 63 BIG EAST Championships. He also has coached 17 swimmers to 17 BIG EAST Championship records and every school record has been broken under his tenure. He also has coached seven College Swimming Coaches Association of America All-Academic selections and 12 honorable mention All-Americans.
Before coming to Notre Dame, Weathers coached at South Carolina where he was three-time Metro Conference Coach of the Year and had two top-12 NCAA finishes. Before South Carolina, he was at Southern Illinois where he was named the 1986 NCAA Division I Coach of the Year after placing fifth at the NCAA meet. He also has been an assistant coach at the University of Texas and Indiana University, and coaching the Mission Aurora Swim Club in Colorado from 1990-95.
HEAD DIVING COACH Caiming Xie: Caiming Xie is in his ninth season as the head diving coach at Notre Dame for both the men’s and women’s team. During his tenure, he has coached two All-Americans in Heather Mattingly and Meghan Perry-Eaton and was named the 1999 BIG EAST Coach of the Year. Caiming was responsible for the development of Mattingly as she became the first Notre Dame diver to earn All-America honors after placing eighth in the three-meter competition at the 2002 NCAA meet. The next season, Perry-Eaton became the first Notre Dame diver in history to win a BIG EAST Conference title when she defeated Miami’s Katie Beth Bryant to win the one-meter competition. She also was named the 2003 BIG EAST Diver of the Year after placing second in the three-meter event. The then-junior went on to place ninth at the 2003 NCAA meet on the one-meter board.
ASSISTANT COACH Anne Marie Stricklin: Assistant swimming coach Anne Marie Stricklin is currently on maternity leave after the birth of her daughter Sara on Oct. 29. Stricklin is in her second season with the Irish.
THE CAPTAINS: Seniors Laurie Musgrave and Lisa Garcia will serve as co-captains for the 2003-04 season. Musgrave, a breaststroke specialist, earned all-BIG EAST honors in 2003 and was the winner of the 2001 Beeler-Hipp Award given to the outstanding freshman who best exemplifies the vitality, competitiveness and love for Notre Dame as former swimmers Meghan Beeler and Colleen Hipp. Garcia was the 2003 team most valuable swimmer after earning All-America honors in the 200 butterfly at the NCAA meet and winning both the 200 butterfly and 200 IM at the 2003 BIG EAST meet.
FORMER IRISH SWIMMER LINDA GALLO PLACES SECOND IN WORLD TRIATHLON: After qualifying for the World Championships by finishing second in her age group at the Ironman Wisconsin Triathlon in September, former Irish swimmer Linda Gallo competed in the Ironman World Championships, finishing in a time of 10:09.27. Her time was first in her age group (25-29), as she finished the race as the top American amateur and the 19th woman overall. She plans on turning professional in the next few months.
Gallo competed for the Irish from 1995-98. She still holds three university records in the 500-yard freestyle (4:50:44), 1,000 freestyle (9:56:34) and the 1,650 freestyle (16:34.43) and one relay record as a member of the 800 freestyle team. In 1998, as captain of the women’s team, she earned All-America honors by virtue of a 14th-place finish in the 500 freestyle at the NCAA Championships.
UP NEXT: Notre Dame travels to College Station, Texas, Friday-Sunday, Nov. 21-23, for the three-day Texas A&M Invitational. Prelims begin at 10 a.m., while finals start at 6:00 p.m. in what will be a preview for the Irish in the pool where the NCAA Championships will take place in March.
Notre Dame returns home Thursday-Saturday, Dec. 4-6, for the Notre Dame Swimming and Diving Invitational. Prelims start at 10 a.m., while finals take place at 6:30 p.m.