Dec. 1, 2006
COLUMBUS, Ohio – The No. 16 Notre Dame men’s swimming and diving team resides in fourth place following the first day of the Ohio State Invitational in the McCorkle Aquatic Pavilion. The Irish have 161 points, while No. 7 Minnesota totaled 383 on the day to currently lead the 11-team field. Sophomore Jeff Wood (Fairport, N.Y./Fairport/Indiana) collected the top individual finish of the day for the Fighting Irish as he placed sixth in the 500-yard freestyle with a time of 4:31.44.
Six events were completed during the first day of the meet. Day two of the three-day event will begin at 10:00 a.m. (ET) on Saturday and will feature eight events. Rounding out the top three teams after the first day is No. 13 Ohio State with 237 points and South Carolina with 172 points.
Notre Dame’s only top-five finish of the day came from the 400-yard medley relay team of Wood, Sam Pendergast (Melbourne, Australia), Tim Kegelman (Yorktown, Va./Tabb) and John Lytle (Clearfield, Pa./Clearfield Area), who teamed to register a fifth-place showing in a time of 3:21.75.
The 200-yard freestyle relay quartet of Lytle, Louis Cavadini (South Bend, Ind./Riley), Andrew Hoffman (Ft. Wayne, Ind./Homestead) and Kegelman placed sixth in a time of 1:23.57 for the Irish, whose No. 16 ranking in the latest College Swim Coaches Association of America (CSCAA) dual meet rankings is the best mark in program history.
Live scoring and full results of the meet can be found at ohiostatebuckeyes.com.
FRIDAY RECAP (all distances in yards):
200 Free Relay: Notre Dame’s `A’ unit of John Lytle, Louis Cavadini, Andrew Hoffman and Tim Kegelman secured 26 team points with a sixth-place finish in a time of 1:23.57. The Irish `B’ team of Alan Carter, Ted Brown, Ray Toomey and Danny Lutkus was right behind in seventh with a mark of 1:24.23 to capture 24 additional points. Minnesota placed first in 1:19.91, which was an NCAA consideration time.
500 Free: Jeff Wood registered the top individual performance of the day for Notre Dame as he placed sixth in a time of 4:31.44 to notch 13 team points. Minnesota’s Ray Betuzzi captured the win by touching the wall in 4:23.38, an NCAA `B’ cut. Swimming in the consolation final for the Irish were Jay Vanden Berg (10th, 4:32.22), Brian Freeman (11th, 4:32.36), Chris Zeches (13th, 4:35.10) and MacKenzie LeBlanc (15th, 4:35.93). Ted Brown posted a time of 4:31.84 in the bonus final, which is not scored.
200 IM: Notre Dame’s Alan Carter placed eighth, resulting in 11 points, with a time of 1:52.50. He qualified fourth during the morning’s prelims in a time of 1:52.12. Andrew MacKay’s mark of 1:53.04 in the consolation final gave the Irish four points. South Carolina’s Dominique Lendjel took the event in 1:49.96.
50 Free: Louis Cavadini was the only Irish point scorer as he placed 16th by touching the wall in 21.40. John Lytle placed 18th (21.23), while Andrew Hoffman was 24th (21.67) for Notre Dame in the bonus final. Minnesota claimed another win as Ales Volcansek finished in an NCAA `B’ cut time of 19.89.
1-Meter Diving: Michael Bulfin was the only competitor in the finals for the Fighting Irish. The sophomore placed eighth, garnering 11 team points, by totaling 303.35 points. Purdue’s Steven Lobue won with 340.95 points.
400 Medley Relay: The Irish captured their only top-five finish of the evening as the quartet of Jeff Wood, Sam Pendergast, Tim Kegelman and John Lytle posted a time of 3:21.75 to place fifth and collect 28 points. Notre Dame also had a team place seventh with Andrew MacKay, Eric Swenson, Ray Toomey and Louis Cavadini finishing in 3:24.34 and earn 24 team points. The Golden Gophers notched the win in 3:13.79, which was another NCAA consideration mark.