Notre Dame Fighting Irish - Official Athletics Website

Women's Swimming And Diving Finishes 18th At NCAA Championships

NOTRE DAME, Ind. – The Notre Dame women’s swimming and diving team posted its best performance ever at the NCAA championships, placing 18th (74.5 points) overall at the 2000 meet held in Indianapolis, Ind., March 16-18. The Irish also had all six participants finish in the top 16 either individually or as a member of a relay.

Notre Dame was led by Carrie Nixon (Ouray, Colo.), who garnered All-America honors in the 50-meter freestyle and honorable mention honors in four other events. Nixon recorded the school’s highest finish ever with her fourth place in the 50-meter freestyle, just hours after becoming the first Irish swimmer to ever win a preliminary race at the NCAA meet. The 6-foot-5 junior then went on to claim a ninth-place finish in the 100-meter freestyle and tied for 10th in the 100-meter butterfly. In 1999, Nixon was a three-time honorable mention All-American as a member of two relays and in the 50 freestyle.

Senior Shannon Suddarth (Topeka, Kan.) became the first Notre Dame swimmer to earn honorable mention All-America honors in each of her four seasons. Suddarth was a four-time honoree in 2000, including an 11th-place finish in both the 100 and 200-meter breaststroke events. For her career, Suddarth garnered All-America honors in the 100 breaststroke (eighth) as a sophomore in 1998 and also appeared in the consolation finals of the 200 breaststroke four straight times.

Notre Dame senior Alison Newell (Parker, Colo.) made a return trip to the NCAA championships for the first time since her freshman season in 1997. In 2000, Newell placed 13th in the 200-meter butterfly in the meet’s final day to earn honorable mention All-America status for the second time in her career.

The 200 and 400 medley relay squads of sophomore Kelly Hecking (Rutherford, N.J.), senior Elizabeth Barger (Littleton, Colo.), Suddarth and Nixon placed 14th and ninth respectively, garnering 24 team points. The ninth place was the highest ever by a Notre Dame relay, beating the 11th-place finish by the same 400 medley relay squad in 1999.

Sophomore diver Heather Mattingly (Houston, Texas) improved on her 1999 finishes in both one and three-meter diving with a pair of 15th-place finishes to become the first Notre Dame diver to earn honorable mention All-America status. Mattingly became the first Notre Dame diver to ever participate in the NCAA championships as a freshman last season, taking 18th in both events.

Final Team Scores

1. Georgia 490.5 7. USC 185 13. Nevada 104
2. Arizona 472 8. UCLA 163 14. Michigan 102.5
3. Stanford 397 9. Texas 155 15. UNC 86.5
4. California 311.5 9. Virginia 155 16. LSU 84
5. Auburn 207 11. Wisconsin 133 17. Miami 79
6. Northwest. 186.5 12. SMU 131 18. Notre Dame 74.5

2000 NCAA Women’s Swimming and Diving Championships
IUPUI Natatorium (Indianapolis, Ind.), March 16-18

Day One - Thursday, March 16 - Finals/Prelims.50 Freestyle (Preliminaries)                        One-Meter Diving (Prelims)1. Carrie Nixon, Notre Dame - 24.99                 1.Ashley Culpepper, LSU - 407.552. Catherine Fox, Stanford - 25.01                 15. Heather Mattingly, ND - 393.253. Courtney Allen, Northwestern - 25.044. Courtney Shealy, Georgia - 25.105. Colleen Lanne, Texas - 25.17
50 Freestyle - Championship Final1. Courtney Shely, Georgia 24.802. Courtney Allen, Northwestern 24.873. Catherine Fox, Stanford 24.974. Carrie Nixon, Notre Dame 25.095. Katrina Maistrellis, SMU 25.216. Kieko Price, UCLA 25.247. Jia Lin Sun, Nevada 25.288. Colleen Lanne, Texas 25.57
400 Medley Relay (Prelims.)                400 Medley Relay Con. Finals1. Stanford - 4:01.76 (*US Open Record)     9. Notre Dame         4:07.002. Georgia - 4:01.85                       10. Arizona State      4:07.403. Arizona - 4:02.68                       11. Michigan           4:07.884. California - 4:04.16                    12. Virginia           4:08.045. UCLA - 4:04.24                          13. North Carolina     4:08.896. Auburn - 4:04.32                        14. Texas              4:11.017. Northwestern - 4:04.35                  15. SMU                4:11.378. Southern California - 4:06.80           16. Nevada             4:12.929. Notre Dame - 4:07.9910. Michigan - 4:08.01
Day Two - Friday, March 17 - Finals/Prelims.200 Medley Relay - Consolation Final9.  Texas                   1:54.2310. Michigan                1:54.4911. Minnesota               1:54.5811. Southern California     1:54.5813. North Carolina          1:54.6014. Notre Dame              1:55.1515. Southern Methodist      1:55.5816. Florida                 1:56.05
100-Meter Butterfly - Consolation Final             100-Meter Butterfly - Preliminaries9. Mimi Bowen, Auburn                  1:00.64      28. Alison Newell, ND      1:01.9110. Summer Mack, North Carolina        1:01.06      30. Liz Barger, ND         1:01.9510. Carrie Nixon, Notre Dame           1:01.0612. Merritt Adams, Northwestern        1:01.2213. Maria Papadopolou, Arizona         1:01.2514. Waen Minpraphal, California        1:01.6115. Terri Jahinsky, Minnesota          1:01.7116. Koren Forster, Virginia            1:02.32
Day Two - Friday, March 17 - Finals/Preliminaries100-Meter Breaststroke -Consolation Final9. Lyndee Hovsepian, UCLA 1:09.3210. Sarah Chandler, SMU 1:09.5311. Shannon Suddarth, Notre Dame 1:09.7812. Jessamyn Miller, Arizona 1:09.8813. Kelsey Hegener, Minn. 1:09.9214. Jennifer Tasker, BYU 1:10.0915. Jamie Skinner, Georgia 1:10.3616. Julia Pomeroy, SMU 1:10.52
100-Meter Backstroke (Prelims)        Three-Meter Diving (Prelims)34. Kelly Hecking, ND   1:03.42       15. Heather Mattingly, ND     461.55
Day Three - Saturday, March 18 - Preliminaries200-Meter Backstroke (Preliminaries)             100-Meter Freestyle36.  Kelly Hecking, ND 2:16.93                   T9. Carrie Nixon, ND 55.34
Day Three - Saturday, March 18 - Finals 200 Breaststroke10. Shannon Suddarth, ND 2:29.5015. Alison Newell, ND (2:13.35)38. Elizabeth Barger, ND (2:16.98)
100-Meter Freestyle - Consolation Finals9. Carrie Nixon, Notre Dame            55.2010. Shannon Shakespeare, Michigan      55.3211. Gabrielle Rose, Stanford           55.3912. Emily Mastin, Arizona              55.4413. Jenny Vanker, Arizona              55.6414. Kelly Bolton, Texas                55.6715. Katina Maistrellis, SMU            56.0916. Sylvia Bereknyei, Stanford         56.20
200-Meter Breaststroke - Consolation Finals9. Lyndee Hovsepian, UCLA          2:28.3910. Elvira Fischer, Nebraska       2:28.5611. Shannon Suddarth, Notre Dame   2:28.8112. Hollie Bonwit, Ohio            2:28.9513. Kristin MacGregor, USC         2:30.1414. Ashley Roby, Georgia           2:30.2715. Jamie Skinner, Georgia         2:30.8416. Georgi Kinsela, Oakland        2:32.06
200-Meter Butterfly - Consolation Finals9. Lauren Stinnett, SMU            2:11.1310. Sarah Baham, Arizona St.       2:11.9511. Judy Koonstra, Brown           2:12.6012. Julia Voitovitsch, UCLA        2:12.6313. Alison Newell, Notre Dame      2:13.2414. Cara Lane, Virginia            2:13.2615. Michala Kwansy, USC            2:13.4916. Irene Schneider, Washington    2:16.54