Nov. 17, 1999
NOTRE DAME, Ind. — The Notre Dame men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams had different results this past weekend. The men fell to defending BIG EAST champion Pittsburgh 201-99, leaving the team with a 0-3 start in 1999-2000. The 23rd-ranked women’s team, meanwhile, continued to impress defeating Miami University (223-77), Kenyon College (242-58) and Pittsburgh (198-102).
Men’s Swimming and Diving — The three-time defending BIG EAST champion University of Pittsburgh Panthers won 13 of 16 events to defeat the visiting University of Notre Dame Fighting Irish in men’s dual meet swimming and diving action.
The Irish got two wins in the swimming events, while senior Herb Huesman (Cincinnati, Ohio) won the meet-opening one-meter diving competition with a score of 182.55. Huesman was followed by freshman Andy Maggio (Cincinnati, Ohio), who finished second with a score of 178.40.
In the swimming events, senior captain Ray Fitzpatrick (Doylestown, Pa.) swam a season-best time of 1:42.04 to capture the 200 freestyle. Notre Dame’s third win came in the 200 butterfly when junior Ryan Verlin (Rye, N.Y.) recorded a season-best time of 1:53.26, beating Pittsburgh’s Adrian Figueroa, who finished in 1:53.47. The Irish also got second-place finishes from sophomore Jonathan Pierce (Newburgh, Ind.) in the 1000 freestyle (9:35.94), sophomore David Horak (Dumfries, Va.) in the 100 backstroke (52.89), junior Brian Skorney (Staten Island, N.Y.) in the 200 backstroke (1:58.93), junior Dan Szilier (Norristown, Pa.) in the 200 breaststroke (2:07.74), Verlin in the 100 butterfly (52.22), Maggio in three-meter diving (172.50) and the 400 freestyle relay team of Fitzpatrick, sophomore Mike Koss (Aurora, Colo.), Horak and junior James Scott-Browne (3:06.44).
The Notre Dame men’s swimming and diving team will be looking for its first win this Friday, November 19 against Western Ontario. The last meeting between the two schools took place two years ago on October 23, 1997, with the Irish winning eight of the 10 events. This Friday’s meet will be the 35th between the two schools, which may be oldest collegiate dual meet in existence between schools in the United States and Canada. Notre Dame has won 33 of the past 34 meetings.
Women’s Swimming and Diving — The 23rd-ranked Notre Dame women’s swimming and diving team picked up three dual meet wins this weekend, winning 12 of the 16 events. The Irish were led by juniors Carrie Nixon (Ouray, Colo.), Kristen Van Saun (Lawrence, Kan.), and freshman Amy Deger (Pittsburgh, Pa.). Nixon won both the 50 and 100 freestyle in season-best times of 23.50 and 51.48 respectively. Van Saun also logged a season-best time of 4:57.70 in the 500 freestyle and later won the 1650 freestyle, while Deger took first in the 100 butterfly and the 400 individual medley. Other first place finishers for the Irish included: the 400 medley relay team of Kelly Hecking (Rutherford, N.J.), Allison Lloyd (Fort Wayne, Ind.), Elizabeth Barger (Littleton, Colo.), and Nixon, Lindsay Moorhead (Carefree, Ariz.) in the 200 freestyle, Hecking in the 100 backstroke, Alison Newell (Parker, Colo.) in the 200 butterfly, Shannon Suddarth (Topeka, Kan.) in the 200 breaststroke, and the 400 freestyle relay team of Moorhead, Brooke Davey (Hopewell Junction, N.Y.), Nixon and Brenda Reilly (White Plains, N.Y.).
This coming weekend the women travel to Minnesota for the Minnesota Invitational on November 19-21. The meet will consist of 14 teams competing over three days with morning trials and evening finals. The morning trials will be swum in yards, while the finals will be swum in meters as the women prepare for the NCAA championships, which will be swum in a meters for the first time.
Minnesota won their own meet last year with a score of 691.5 points followed by Wisconsin, who had 538. The Irish placed third in the event with 473 points.
Irish Diving — Irish divers competed well last weekend. Herb Huesman took first place in the one-meter diving competition against Pittsburgh, while Heather Mattingly (Houston, Texas) placed second in both the one- and three-meter competitions against Miami (OH), Kenyon and Pittsburgh. While the men’s diving team will not compete this weekend, the women will travel to Minnesota Invitational.