Nov. 30, 2000
Notre Dame, Ind. – The Notre Dame women were in first place, while the Irish men were fourth after the first day of competition at the Notre Dame Invitational. The women tallied 374 points, just ahead of second- place challenger Dennison at 356.50. Harvard is currently third (269), while Michigan State is fourth at 266.50. The men were in fourth with 305 points. Denison leads the men’s competition with 372 points, followed by Michigan State (365) and Western Kentucky (321).
The women received a strong showing from junior Kelly Hecking and freshman Danielle Hulick. Hecking and Hulick were both part of the 400 medley relay team that won in a time of 3:52.71. The duo also competed on the 200 freestyle relay team that opened the meet with a second-place finish at 1:37.29. Western Kentucky took first in the 200 free relay race winning in 1:35.13. Hulick also added a fourth-place finish in the 50 freestyle.
Senior Kristen Van Saun also had a good night as she took second in the 500 freestyle. Van Saun touched in 4:58.42 and was just outdistanced by Tamara Carty of Denison. Carty swam a time of 4:58.31.
On the men’s side, the Irish received a second-place finish from senior Ryan Verlin in the 200-yard individual medley race. Verlin was outtouched by Arpad Sebe of Columbia University by .04 seconds. Junior Johnathan Pierce finished fourth in the 500 freestyle race with a time of 4:36.35. The Irish looked to be in good position heading into the final race of the evening, the 400 medley relay. Notre Dame swam the fastest time of the night, but was disqualified for a bad exchange, losing 60 points and its hold of second place in the team competition.
The Notre Dame Invitational continues Friday with preliminary heats at 10:00 a.m. and final heats at 6:30 p.m. at the Rolfs Aquatics Center.