Oct. 19, 2006
NOTRE DAME, Ind. – The Notre Dame men’s swimming and diving team will open the dual meet season ranked No. 17 according to the first College Swim Coaches Association of America (CSCAA) dual meet rankings, which were released today. It marks the highest ranking ever for the Fighting Irish program as they enter their 48th season of varsity competition.
Notre Dame made it into the rankings for the first time ever during the 2004-05 season as the Irish debuted at No. 21. Last season, the Fighting Irish climbed as high as No. 18 en route to capturing their second straight BIG EAST title.
Auburn, the four-time defending NCAA champion, tops the poll with seven first-place votes, while Stanford is second with one first-place nod. Rounding out the top five is Florida, Texas and Arizona.
The Irish kicked-off this year’s campaign with a victory at the Dennis Stark Relays on Oct. 6 and will begin dual meet competition on Saturday, Oct. 28 at Texas A&M. The Aggies are ranked just outside of the top-25 as they received 33 votes to place 28th on the list. Notre Dame defeated Texas A&M 132-111 last season in the Rolfs Aquatic Center.
Notre Dame has two teams on its 2006-07 schedule that are ranked in the CSCAA top-25. Northwestern is ranked eighth, while Purdue is 23rd. The Irish open the home portion of their dual meet slate when the Boilermakers come to town on Friday, Nov. 3. Notre Dame will host the Wildcats on Saturday, Jan. 20.
Twenty-four monogram winners return for Notre Dame this season, including 10 all-BIG EAST performers from last year’s team, which posted a 10-2 dual meet record. Notre Dame captured its second straight BIG EAST title by a 224.5-point margin over runner-up Pittsburgh and the rest of the 11-team field.
This year’s poll will be published nine times and the champions will be crowned on February 22, 2007. Pollsters representing eight conferences along with two at-large voters, have the task of ranking the top dual meet teams in the nation bi-weekly throughout the season. Additionally, the group of pollsters is completely different for the men’s and women’s rankings. This poll should not be confused with the results of the NCAA Division I Swimming & Diving championships that will take place in March.
For more information on the CSCAA rankings, log onto www.cscaa.org.
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