Feb. 17, 2011
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The Notre Dame women’s swimming and diving team punched in a plethora of season- and lifetime-bests Thursday on the second of the four-day BIG EAST Conference Championships at Wright Natatorium. The Irish (217.5 pts.) are second in the standings behind host Louisville (328.5). Pittsburgh (192.5) and West Virginia (165) round out the top four.
Amy Prestinario went 23.03 in the 50 free as Lauren Parisi (10th – 23.35) and Delia Cronin (14th – 23.85) also earned points in the event.
To finish the evening, the 200 free relay tandem posted a second-place showing in 1:31.95.
“We put Amy in a position to lead, and that’s what she has done for us,” head coach Brian Barnes said. “She’s swimming some lifetime bests. She led off our relay tonight, and it was great to have a confident swimmer in a confident spot. Lauren Scott had a fine day in the 200 individual medley, and the meet has been going well for Lauren Sylvester who swam a good 500 free race.
“This team is in an unfamiliar spot, but this is not an insurmountable deficit to overcome. We certainly have the potential to come in and start firing tomorrow morning to make this a great meet.”
Friday’s preliminary session begins at 10:00 a.m. (ET). Live results and video will be available at UND.com.
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500 Free: Sylvester checked in with a 4:56.23 in the prelims, the 14th-best time of the morning session … Gracie Fredlake (4:58.19) also squeezed into the top 16 … Sylvester’s evening time of 4:52.08 went for 10th place and an NCAA B-cut.
200 Individual Medley: Finishing eighth in the finals was Scott, who posted a breakout time of 2:03.63 … Samantha Maxwell (2:04.53) and Emily Barton (2:05.03) scored points in the consolation round.
50 Free: Tying for third in 23.03 was Prestinario, who has continued to shine among the league’s sprinters … Parisi splashed through in 23.35 to take 10th overall.
200 Free Relay: The race was up for grabs after the first 50 yards, but Kelly Ryan put Notre Dame in the lead after the second leg with an effort 22.37, the fastest 50 yards of the race … however, Louisville inched ahead in the third segment and distanced itself enough to earn the win in 1:31.44.
–ND–