Oct. 19, 2007
NOTRE DAME, Ind. – In an early season battle between two top-25 programs, the University of Notre Dame men’s swimming and diving team dropped its first dual meet of the 2007-08 campaign to No. 15 Southern California at the Rolfs Aquatic Center on Friday.
The 22nd-ranked Irish earned 104 points, falling short of the Trojans’ total of 158 in the first-ever head-to-head matchup between the programs.
“The races were better than what the final score indicated,” said Irish head coach Tim Welsh. “We learned a lot about racing side-by-side, and that’s the fun part of our sport.
“There were good races all night, but they touched wall first more than we did. We’d always choose a win over a loss, although our younger swimmers gained some great experience tonight. I know this will help us get better.”
In fact, second-year swimmers won each of the five events in which Notre Dame claimed individual victories. Sophomore Andrew Deters (Claremont, Calif./Claremont) notched a pair of wins in the distance events, capturing first in the 500 Free (4:41.46) and 1,000 Free (9:36.41). The next closest finisher in the latter event was USC’s Kevin Little, who clocked in at 9:44.12.
Sophomores John Lytle (Clearfield, Pa./Clearfield Area) and Ross Moore (Champaign, Ill./Champaign) also earned top nods in their respective events. Lytle handled the competition in the 100 Free (45.50), and Moore left the 100 Fly field in his wake by posting a mark of 50.00. Lytle was also second in the 200 Free (1:39.49), and joined a trio of teammates for a second-place finish in the 400 Free Relay (3:08.56).
Moore was accompanied by Jeff Wood (Fairport, N.Y./Fairport), Sam Pendergast, (Melbourne, Australia/Warrnambool), and Andrew Hoffman (Ft. Wayne, Ind./Homestead) for a second-place finish in the 200 Medley Relay (1:33.00). Wood also took home a runner-up finish in the 100 Back (52.04), and freshman Michael Sullivan (Franklin, Mass./Bishop Feehan) completed the 200 Back (1:50.31) in the same spot.
–ND–