Nov. 3, 2006
NOTRE DAME, Ind. – A showdown between two top 20 teams did not disappoint as No. 17 Notre Dame topped No. 18 Purdue 156-144 in men’s swimming and diving action on Friday evening in the Rolfs Aquatic Center. The dual meet would go down to the final event with the Irish holding a slim three-point edge. Notre Dame delivered with a win in the 400-yard freestyle relay to take the meet and improve to 2-0 on the season.
The Fighting Irish claimed victories in nine of 16 events, with senior Ted Brown (Kokomo, Ind./Western) and junior Jay Vanden Berg (Holland, Mich./Southfield Christian School) each posting two wins apiece. Brown notched a crucial win in the 200-yard IM, which was the second-to-last event of the meet. He also took the 200-yard free, while Vanden Berg won both the 1,000 free and 500 free.
Sophomore Jeff Wood (Fairport, N.Y./Fairport/Indiana) and freshman John Lytle (Clearfield, Pa./Clearfield Area) picked up wins in the 100-yard back and 100-yard free, respectively. They were also part of the winning 400-yard medley and 400-yard free relay teams. Joining them on the 400 medley unit were senior Tim Kegelman (Yorktown, Va./Tabb) and sophomore Sam Pendergast (Melbourne, Australia). Senior Louis Cavadini (South Bend, Ind./Riley) and freshman Andrew Hoffman (Ft. Wayne, Ind./Homestead) were the other two members of the 400 free relay unit that clinched the victory.
Diver Michael Bulfin (Ft. Lauderdale, Fla./St. Thomas Aquinas), a sophomore, registered a victory off of the three-meter board. Notre Dame’s win snapped an 18-meet losing streak to the Boilermakers and it marked the first win against Purdue since 1966.
For full results of Friday’s meet, log onto und.com.
The Irish will return to the pool on Friday, Nov. 10 when they host Michigan State followed by a date against Pittsburgh on Saturday, Nov. 11, which will also be held in the Rolfs Aquatic Center.
MEET RECAP:
400-Yard Medley Relay: The Irish opened with a victory as Jeff Wood, Sam Pendergast, Tim Kegelman and John Lytle teamed up to post a time of 3:23.19. Purdue came in second and third in the race.
1,000-Yard Free: Jay Vanden Berg collected his first victory of the night as he touched the wall in 9:29.61. Andrew Deters (9:35.82) and Chris Zeches (9:36.03) helped the Irish total five more points in the event by placing third and fourth, respectively. Notre Dame led 25-11 after two events.
200-Yard Free: The Irish took three of the top four spots for the second straight event. Ted Brown claimed first in 1:40.24, while Rob Seery placed third in 1:42.48 and Andrew Hoffman was fourth in 1:43.07.
100-Yard Back: Jeff Wood made it four consecutive victories for Notre Dame by clocking a time of 51.55. Alan Carter snagged another point for the Irish by placing fifth in 53.49. Notre Dame led 49-25 after two events.
100-Yard Breast: Aaron Koger claimed Purdue’s first win of the evening as he posted a mark of 57.02. Sam Pendergast took second for the Irish in 57.41 and Tim Kegelman was fifth in 58.69.
200-Yard Fly: The Boilermakers notched another first-place finish with Sam Wilcher coming in at 1:50.61. Notre Dame would occupy second and third place as Ross Moore and MacKenzie LeBlance clocked respective times of 1:51.01 and 1:53.34 to give the Irish a 61-51 advantage.
50-Yard Free: Purdue took first as Eddie Kenney touched the wall in 21.03, however the Irish would take three of the top five spots. Louis Cavadini placed second in 21.18, John Lytle was third in 21.49 and Ray Toomey was fifth in 21.75.
One-Meter Diving: The Boilermakers took their fourth straight event with Steve LoBue collecting a winning total of 321.60. Sam Stoner placed second for the Irish (296.25) and his teammate Michael Bulfin (289.20) was third. The Fighting Irish held a slim 76-74 edge after event number eight.
100-Yard Free: John Lytle got the Irish back in the win column as he clocked a time of 46.17. Ted Brown (46.90) and Andrew Hoffman (47.05) also collected points for Notre Dame by placing fourth and fifth, respectively.
200-Yard Back: Purdue’s Romain Maire took first with a time of 1:50.94. Jeff Wood came in second for the Irish (1:51.43) and Andrew MacKay (1:53.72) was fourth. The meet was deadlocked at 94-94 after 10 events.
200-Yard Breast: Jin-Soo Kim and Aaron Koger went 1-2 for the Boilermakers with times of 2:03.59 and 2:04.98. It marked the only time all evening that the Irish were shutout of the top two spots. Notre Dame did take third and fourth behind efforts from Daniel Rave (2:05.26) and Sam Pendergast (2:06.12)
500-Yard Free: Jay Vanden Berg snared his second win of the night by touching the wall in 4:38.05. MacKenzie LeBlanc took third in 4:38.78 and Andrew Deters was fifth for the Irish in 4:39.89. Notre Dame trailed 114-112 after the event.
100-Yard Fly: Sam Wilcher won his second race of the meet with a mark of 50.06. Notre Dame took the next three spots. Tim Kegelman (50.66) was third, followed by Louis Cavadini (50.69) and Ray Toomey (50.99).
Three-Meter Diving: Michael Bulfin delivered with a victory for the Irish with a point total of 315.00. Sam Stoner placed third (303.22) for Notre Dame, who led 133-131 after 14 events.
200-Yard IM: Ted Brown came up big for the Fighting Irish as he won his second race of the night with a time of 1:52.99. MacKenzie LeBlanc took another point for the Irish with his fifth-place result in a time of 1:56.82.
400-Yard Free Relay: With the meet on the line, the Irish quartet of John Lytle, Andrew Hoffman, Jeff Wood and Louis Cavadini took first by clocking a time of 3:03.83. The Notre Dame foursome of Rob Seery, Danny Lutkus, Ray Toomey and Ted Brown collected two more points by placing third in 3:09.77.