Nov. 21, 1999

Minneapolis, Minn. – The #22 Notre Dame women’s swimming team finished fourth with 578 points at the three-day Minnesota Invitational in Minneapolis, Minn. Minnesota took the team title with 847 points, followed by Wisconsin with 695.50 points and Illinois with 632 points.

Junior Carrie Nixon concluded her strong meet by winning her second event of the weekend as she was first in the 100-meter freestyle. Nixon won in a “B” qualifying time of 56.24. Nixon also won the 50 freestyle Friday night with a “B” qualifying time of 23.04, and was second in the 100-meter butterfly on Saturday. Nixon had the fastest time in the 100 butterfly preliminaries as she swam the 100-yard race in a “B” qualifying time of 55.56, just missing the school record of 55.52, set by Elizabeth Barger in 1999.

The morning preliminary sessions were swum in yards, while the evening sessions were competed in meters as the 2000 NCAA Championships will be contested in meters.

Senior Alison Newell also was a winner as she claimed top honors in the 200-meter butterfly with a “B” qualifying time of 2:13.90.

Sophomore Kelly Hecking also had a good meet as she finished third today in the 200-meter backstroke with a time of 2:16.67. On Saturday, Hecking won the 100-meter backstroke in a “B” qualifying time of 1:02.65.

Other strong finishers for the Irish included: the 400-meter freestyle relay team of sophomore Brooke Davey, junior Brenda Reilly, sophomore Maureen Hillenmeyer and Nixon, who finished fourth in a time of 3:55.51, and senior Shannon Suddarth, who was fourth in the 200 breaststroke with a mark of 2:34.76.

The Irish will next compete Thursday-Saturday, December 2-4, as they host the Notre Dame Invitational at the Rolfs Aquatic Center. Preliminaries each day will be at 10 a.m. and finals will start at 6:30 p.m.

Final team scores of the Minnesota Invitational 1. Minnesota 847 2. Wisconsin 695.50 3. Illinois 632 4. Notre Dame 578 5. Iowa 381

200 Backstroke 1. Jessica Aveyard – ILL 2:14.00 2. Loredana Zisu – IOWA 2:16.39 3. Kelly Hecking – ND 2:16.67

Other Notre Dame Times: 20. Lindsay Moorhead 2:22.23 23. Tiffany O’Brien 2:23.25

100 Freestyle 1. Carrie Nixon – ND 56.24 2. Traci Bollinger – ILL 56.41 3. Jenny Lyman – WISC 57.03

Other Notre Dame Times: 18. Brooke Davey 59.67 23. Brenda Reilly 1:00.27

200 Breaststroke 1. Anna Christensen – ILL 2:34.39 2. Kelsey Hegener – MINN 2:34.42 3. Elizabeth Pierce – MINN 2:24.46

Other Notre Dame Times: 4. Shannon Suddarth 2:34.76 7. Kathleen Rimkis 2:42.09 14. Allison Lloyd 2:41.84

200 Butterfly 1. Alison Newell – ND 2:13.90 2. Gina Panighetti – WIS 2:14.50 3. Andrea Simakova – MINN 2:15.27

Other Notre Dame Times: 10. Elizabeth Barger 2:18.95 11. Amy Deger 2:19.26 20. Nicole Kohrt 2:26.22

400 Freestyle Relay 1. Lyman, Stonebreaker, McCauley, Belfor – WIS 3:49.50 2. Bollinger, Wang, Black, Olech – ILL 3:50.78 3. Cottrill, Christoferson, Sonstegard, Hennen – MINN 3:55.51

Other Notre Dame Times: 4. Davey, Reilly, Hillenmeyer, Nixon 3:55.51 11. Moorhead, Lynch, Watkins, Shepard 4:02.45 18. Kohrt, Rimkus, Suddarth, Lloyd 4:12.12