March 25, 2005
MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. – Sophomore Tim Kegelman (Yorktown, Va./Tabb H.S.), the first Notre Dame men’s swimmer ever to compete in the NCAA Championships, was disqualified after swimming the 100-yard butterfly on Friday morning in preliminary action at the University of Minnesota Aquatics Center. He will complete action on Saturday, when he takes part in the 200 butterfly, beginning with prelims at Noon (CST).
Kegelman, the BIG EAST Conference champion in the race, finished a swim that would have placed him 40th with a time nearly a second slower than his lifetime best (47.66). He was then informed by the officials that he had been disqualified for an illegal third turn, one which he allegedly executed while on his back, which is prohibited under the rules. The time would have been among the top nine in program history in the race. Kegelman currently holds seven of the quickest eight marks in Irish history in the 100 fly, including the University record.
The top 16 qualifiers in prelims of the 43-swimmer field earned spots in the evening finals, with SMU’s Camilo Becerra snagging the final position with a time of 47.46. Stanford senior Jayme Cramer was the top qualifier, with a pool-record time of 46.20.
In his NCAA debut, Kegelman finished 39th in the 200 individual medley on Thursday, which stands as the top finish ever by a Notre Dame student-athlete in the meet. The only previous Irish entrant, diver Bob Ebel, took 77th in three-meter springboard action in 1975.