Sophomore Daniel Rave set the school record in the 200-yard breaststroke by going 1:59.86 during the finals on Saturday evening.

West Virginia Edges Out Notre Dame, 765.5-761, To Take BIG EAST Title

Feb. 17, 2007

Results

EAST MEADOW, N.Y. – West Virginia captured four of six events on Saturday to overtake Notre Dame and win the 2007 BIG EAST Men’s Swimming and Diving Championship in the Nassau County Aquatic Center. The Mountaineers edged out the Irish, 765.5-761, denying Notre Dame its third straight conference title. Rounding out the top-five of the 11-team field were Louisville (427.5), Pittsburgh (357) and Cincinnati (298).

The Fighting Irish entered the fourth and final day of the meet with a 45.5-point advantage over West Virginia and that was trimmed to 3.5 points going into the final event, the 400-yard freestyle relay. The Mountaineers took the relay in a time of 2:56.21 to collect 40 team points. The Irish quartet of freshman John Lytle (Clearfield, Pa./Clearfield Area), and seniors Louis Cavadini (South Bend, Ind./Riley), Ted Brown (Kokomo, Ind./Western) and Tim Kegelman (Yorktown, Va./Tabb) garnered 32 points by placing third in a school-record time of 2:59.59.

Lytle also posted a school record in the 100-yard freestyle prelims by touching the wall in 44.76. He went 44.97 in the finals to place fourth. On Friday, he set the program’s 200 free record by breaking his old mark, which was attained on Wednesday.

Another school record was established on Saturday as sophomore Daniel Rave (Hannover, Germany) went 1:59.86 to place fifth in the 200-yard breaststroke. His time also was an NCAA consideration cut. Freshman MacKenzie LeBlanc (Plano, Texas/Plano East) also posted an NCAA `B’ cut as he did so in the 200-yard butterfly with a time of 1:47.54, which placed him fourth.

Juniors Jay Vanden Berg (Holland, Mich./Southfield Christian School) and Rob Seery (Garden City, N.Y./Garden City) both garnered all-BIG EAST honors in the 1,650-yard freestyle. Vanden Berg placed second with a time of 15:34.83, while Seery was third in a career-best time of 15:34.89. Freshman Andrew Deters (Claremont, Calif./Claremont) took fourth in the race with a time of 15:43.26.

Caiming Xie was named the BIG EAST Men’s Diving Coach of the Year for the second straight season. Caiming, who is in his 12th year at Notre Dame, helped sophomore Michael Bulfin (Ft. Lauderdale, Fla./St. Thomas Aquinas) capture two all-BIG EAST honors at this year’s meet, while junior Sam Stoner (Valparaiso, Ind./Valparaiso) earned one all-conference accolade.

For more information on the 2007 BIG EAST Swimming and Diving Championships, including results from each day’s action, log onto und.com and go to the right-hand column of the men’s swimming and diving page and click on `BIG EAST Championship Page’.

Stay up-to-date on the Notre Dame’s men’s swimming and diving team by logging on to und.com or by calling the Notre Dame athletics hotline at (574) 631-3000.

SATURDAY EVENING SESSION RECAP (all events are finals):

1,650-Yard Freestyle: West Virginia’s Justin Galbreath won with a time of 15:28.39. The Irish showed off their depth by taking the next three spots. Jay Vanden Berg placed second in 15:34.83, while Rob Seery was third in a career-best time of 15:34.89 and Andrew Deters took fourth in a time of 15:43.26. Justin Barber made it four Notre Dame swimmers in the top eight as he placed eighth in 15:54.43.

200-Yard Backstroke: Jeff Leath took the win for Pittsburgh by touching the wall in 1:45.89. Jeff Wood was the top finisher for the Irish as he placed seventh in a time of 1:49.31.

100-Yard Freestyle: Nick Delic captured the victory for the Mountaineers with a time of 44.03. Notre Dame’s John Lytle placed fourth in 44.97. Lytle clocked a school-record time of 44.76 during the morning’s preliminary session. Louis Cavadini placed eighth for the Irish in 45.48. His prelims time of 45.04 was a career-best mark.

200-Yard Breaststroke: Louisville’s Vali Preda captured the win in 1:57.02. The Irish’s Daniel Rave placed fifth in a school-record and NCAA consideration time of 1:59.86. His classmate Sam Pendergast finished eighth in 2:04.43.

200-Yard Butterfly: Pablo Marmolejo from West Virginia was first in a meet-record time of 1:44.94. The Irish occupied spots four through six. MacKenzie LeBlanc placed fourth with an NCAA consideration time of 1:47.54, while Ross Moore was fifth in 1:49.90 and Ted Brown took sixth in 1:50.15.

400-Yard Freestyle Relay: West Virginia locked up the team title by taking first in a time of 2:56.21. The Irish quartet of John Lytle, Louis Cavadini, Ted Brown and Tim Kegelman placed third to earn all-BIG EAST honors with a school-record time of 2:59.59.

2007 NOTRE DAME MEN'S ALL-BIG EAST
5 - John Lytle - (800 free relay, 200 free relay, 200 free, 400 medley relay, 400 free relay)4 - Ted Brown - (800 free relay, 500 free, 200 free, 400 free relay)4 - Louis Cavadini - (200 medley relay, 200 free relay, 400 medley relay, 400 free relay)3 - Jeff Wood - (800 free relay, 200 medley relay, 400 medley relay)2 - Andrew Hoffman - (800 free relay, 200 free relay)3 - Tim Kegelman - (200 medley relay, 200 free relay, 400 free relay)2 - Michael Bulfin - (1-meter diving, 3-meter diving)2 - Sam Pendergast - (200 medley relay, 400 medley relay)1 - Sam Stoner - (1-meter diving)1 - Jay Vanden Berg - (1,650 free)1 - Rob Seery - (1,650 free)
Caiming Xie - BIG EAST Men's Diving Coach of the Year
NOTRE DAME MEN'S UNIVERSITY RECORDS SET AT 2007 BIG EAST
800-Yard Freestyle Relay - 6:32.67 (old-6:35.47) (2-14-07)(John Lytle, Ted Brown, Andrew Hoffman, Jeff Wood)
200-Yard Medley Relay - 1:29.09 (old-1:30.04) (2-14-07)(Jeff Wood, Sam Pendergast, Tim Kegelman, Louis Cavadini)
200-Yard Freestyle - John Lytle - 1:38.35 (800 free relay) (old-1:38.36) (2-14-07); 1:38.06 (old-1:38.35) (2-16-07)
100-Yard Backstroke - Alan Carter - 50.05 (old-50.08) (2-16-07); Jeff Wood - 49.51 (old-50.05) (2-16-07)
100-Yard Freestyle - John Lytle - 44.76 (old-45.07) (2-16-07)
400-Yard Medley Relay - 3:16.90 (old-3:16.93) (2-16-07)(Jeff Wood, Sam Pendergast, Louis Cavadini, John Lytle)
200-Yard Breaststroke - Daniel Rave - 1:59.86 (old-2:00.09) (2-17-07)
400-Yard Freestyle Relay - 2:59.59 (old-3:00.02) (2-17-07)(John Lytle, Louis Cavadini, Ted Brown, Tim Kegelman)
MEN'S NCAA `B' CUTS AT 2007 BIG EAST
800-Yard Freestyle Relay - 6:32.67(John Lytle, Ted Brown, Andrew Hoffman, Jeff Wood)
200-Yard Medley Relay - 1:29.09(Jeff Wood, Sam Pendergast, Tim Kegelman, Louis Cavadini)
400-Yard Medley Relay - 3:16.90(Jeff Wood, Sam Pendergast, Louis Cavadini, John Lytle)
Ted Brown - 500 free - 4:26.13
Louis Cavadini - 100 fly - 48.28
Sam Pendergast - 100 breast - 55.05
Daniel Rave - 200 breast - 1:59.86
MacKenzie LeBlanc - 200 fly - 1:47.54