Feb. 19, 2009
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – Amywren Miller went 22.37 to set a Notre Dame record in the 50 Free while finishing second in the event Thursday to help the Irish maintain their lead at the 2009 BIG EAST Conference Swimming and Diving Championships. Miller’s performance was one of three school records set during the evening session at IU Natatorium on the campus of IUPUI, as Megan Farrell swam under seven-time All-American Katie Carroll’s mark in the 200 Individual Medley and the 200 Free Relay squad set a new benchmark in that event.
Natalie Stitt added a win in the 1-meter diving event. Her final score tied Meghan Perry-Eaton’s BIG EAST meet record.
“It’s always good to set school marks,” Irish head coach Brian Barnes said. “It’s fun for the team and it’s something, historically, that’s great for our young ladies. We did a good job this morning preparing for the opening rounds. Each of our swimmers in each of the events did a fine job for us.
“This meet is not close to being over. I’m not comfortable at all. Louisville gained some momentum tonight and we have to show up tomorrow morning to keep the heat on the competition.”
Notre Dame (289) sits on top of the leaderboard as Louisville (242.5) and Pittsburgh (186.6) take up the next two positions.
The meet continues Friday at 10 a.m. (ET). Live stats and video coverage can be accessed at UND.com. For up-to-the-minute results and scores, sign up for IRISH ALERTS text messaging services at UND.com.
500 Free: Lauren Sylvester and Louisville’s Amanda Henleben jockeyed for position to take second … Sylvester ended up in third with a season-best 4:50.32 … Claire Hutchinson (4:52.90) was sixth and Casey Wagner (4:54.31) finished seventh.
200 Individual Medley: Notre Dame was 1-2-3 at the midway point with Farrell taking the lead in the first leg of the breast … but Anna Dishuck of Louisville took over during the freestyle and finished first in 1:59.94 … Farrell was second with an NCAA B-cut and school-record 2:00.63, the fastest Notre Dame time ever recorded at the BIG EAST meet … Emily Barton (2:01.49) was a close third and Ashlee Edgell (2:01.77) was fourth … Samantha Maxwell found her lead with the breast and pushed it to the limit with the free to wrap things up in 2:02.49 to finish first in the consolation race.
50 Free: Miller was a hair behind after the first turn but challenged BIG EAST recordholder Whitney Campbell down the stretch … Miller (22.37) set a school record but was a shade behind Campbell (22.36) at the finish … her efforts gave her sole possession of the fastest record in the books, an honor she previously shared with Carrie Nixon (22.39) … Colleen Fotsch (23.03) was first in the consolation round as Christa Riggins (23.15) found her way into second place.
200 Free Relay: Miller went 22.49 to lead things off for the Irish … Maggie Behrens kept things close, and Riggins went the final two lengths for a second-place finish in 1:31.01 for an NCAA B-cut … the new school record would have also been a meet record had it not been for Louisville’s first-place time of 1:31.04.
1-meter Diving: Stitt was the clubhouse leader after the preliminary round, and she did not disappoint in the finals … Stitt posted a 290.15 for the title after finishing third in the event at last year’s championships … Heidi Grossman nailed her final dive to bump ahead to silver honors with a final count of 268.05.
–ND–