Feb. 14, 2007
EAST MEADOWS, N.Y.- The Notre Dame women’s swimming and diving team (8-1) had a strong start on the opening day of the BIG EAST Swimming & Diving Championships at Nassau County Aquatic Center in East Meadows, N.Y. The Irish after the first day of events are tied for the lead with West Virginia with 72 points each. The Irish are vying for their 11th consecutive BIG EAST Championship, which would set the conference record.
The Notre Dame 800-yard freestyle relay team of Christa Riggins (Phoenix, Ariz./Sunnyslope), Casey Wagner (Glenshaw, Pa./Shady Side Academy), Megan Farrell (Hopkinton, Mass./Hopkinton) and Katie Carroll (Toledo, Ohio/Notre Dame Academy) won their event in a school-record time of 7:15.36. The previous school-record of 7:16.95 was set at last years championships. This year’s mark is also an NCAA `B’ standard qualifying time. To compete in the NCAAs all `A’ standard are chosen and the rest of the field, up to 16, is filled in by the highest `B’ cuts. The 7:15.36 mark it is hoped will be a strong enough `B’ cut to qualify for the NCAA Championships to be competed at University of Minnesota from March 8-10.
In the second women’s event of the evening, Notre Dame’s 200-yard medley relay team notched a third-place finish in a season-best time of 1:42.91. The four Irish women on the team included Caroline Johnson (Springfield, Mo./Glendale), Julia Quinn (Evanston, Ill./Evanston), Jessica Stephens (Bloomsburg, Pa./Bloomsburg) and Riggins. The Irish finished behind the West Virginia team (Morgan Callaway, Kitti Veisz, Stephanie Shupe and Kayla Andrews) and the Rutgers squad (Cat Whetstone, Katie Kuczmarski, Kasey Keeses and Madison Kennedy) for 32 points.
The final three days of competition will have preliminary events beginning at 10:00 a.m. and finals at 6:00 p.m. Thursday’s action will feature the 500-yard free, 200-yard IM, 50-yard free, 200-yard free relay and the women’s one-meter diving.
For more information on the 2007 BIG EAST Swimming & Diving Championships, including results from each day’s action, log onto und.com and go to the right-hand column of the women’s swimming and diving page and click on `BIG EAST Championship Page’. Live results can be found at sportstiming.com.
Stay up-to-date on the Notre Dame’s women’s swimming and diving team by logging on to und.com or by calling the Notre Dame athletics hotline at (574) 631-3000.