Jan. 16, 2004
PITTSBURGH, Pa. – The University of Notre Dame men’s swimming and diving team (3-5) holds leads in two of three dual meets at the midway point after a strong day of competition. The Irish are ahead of Maryland 91-57 and have a 125-23 advantage against Villanova, but trail seven-time defending BIG EAST champion #17 Pittsburgh 94-54. The four teams competed in nine events on Friday afternoon in Trees Pool and will complete action with 10 more competitions on Saturday, beginning at 9 a.m. (EST).
The highlight of the opening day for the Irish was the 400-meter individual medley, in which Notre Dame swimmers took each of the top three spots. Junior David Moisan (Fisherville, Ky./Louisville Male H.S.) led the way with a time of 4:02.37. He was followed by sophomore University recordholder Jamie Lutkus (Granger, Ind./Penn H.S.) in 4:04.24 and freshman Ted Brown (Kokomo, Ind./Western H.S.) in 4:05.92.
Freshman Tim Kegelman (Yorktown, Va./Tabb H.S.) was also a winner for Notre Dame, topping the field in the 100 butterfly with a season-best mark of 49.19. It is the best time for an Irish swimmer in the event in 2003-04 and is the third-best ever, behind only a pair of marks by school recordholder Frank Krakowski (Erie, Pa./Cathedral Preparatory School) in the 2003 BIG EAST Championships.
Brown led a strong finish in the 1,650 freestyle. His season-best time of 15:55.79 was good enough for second place, while sophomore Patrick Davis (Clearwater, Fla./Jesuit H.S.) was fourth in 16:01.08 and freshman Chris Zeches (Tucson, Ariz./Salpointe Catholic H.S.) took fifth in 16:18.43.
In the 100 freestyle, Krakowski was third in 46.88, while senior co-captain Matt Obringer (Jacksonville, Fla./The Bolles School) finished immediately behind his teammate with a time of 46.92.
Sophomore Doug Bauman (Erie, Pa./Cathedral Preparatory School) posted a third-place finish in the 100-yard backstroke with a 51.41. His classmate, Steve Shomberger (Spotsylvania, Va./Courtland H.S.), was seventh in 52.62.
In the 100 breaststroke, sophomore Tyler Grenda (Hockessin, Del./Salesianum H.S.) was the top Irish finisher, in fourth place with a time of 58.07. Sophomore Tim Randolph (Crown Point, Ind./Merrillville H.S.) was right behind Grenda with a time of 58.30.
Notre Dame took third and sixth in both of the day-one relays. In the 200 medley relay, the Irish posted times of 1:33.65 and 1:37.15. Notre Dame finished in 1:24.34 and 1:27.07 in the 200 free relay.