James McEldrew 2013-14 Swimming and Diving Roster

AS A SENIOR:Finished his career as a versatile swimmer, competing in mostly free and back events… had two first place wins against Michigan State… 200 back (1:51.48) and 400 IM (4:04.03… had four other top-five finishes in the 200 back… fastest time for 200 back was against Virgina Tech and Pittsburgh where he placed fifth (1:51.17)… also swam to ninth in the event at the Hawkeye Invitational (1:49.19)… also had his season best in 1650 free at the Hawkeye Invitational (16:06.94) where he touched the wall 16th… touched the wall seventh at the same invitational in 400 IM finals (3:59.00)… finished 1000 free in 9:40.35 twice, placing fourth against Purdue and swimming to eighth against Wisconsin.

AS A JUNIOR: Swam a wide variety of events for the Irish, primarily the 500 free and 200 back … came in fifth in sole outing in 200 free (1:46.28) against Cleveland State … touched the wall 12th in 500 free (4:27.85) at Hawkeye Invitational … finished seventh in 500 free (4:35.19) at Shamrock Invite … in tri-meet with Pittsburgh and Virginia Tech, came in sixth in 1,000 free (9:35.12) … was fourth in 1,000 free (9:43.62) in dual meet against Air Force … came in second in lone outing in 1,650 free against Michigan State and Virginia Tech, clocking a 16:09.19 time … finished 13th in 100 back (51.51) at Hawkeye Invitational, after placing 10th in preliminary heat (50.80) … set career record in 200 back (1:46.93) at Hawkeye Invitational … came in fourth in 200 back (1:49.17) at Shamrock Invite … highest finish of the season in 200 back came against Purdue, where he touched the wall in second place (1:50.54) … came in third several times in 200 back, clocking in at 1:49.36 against Louisville, 1:50.11 versus Wisconsin and 1:50.42 against Northwestern and Michigan … tried his hand a couple times in 400 IM, earning a second-place finish at Shamrock Invite with 3:59.03 mark … set career record at Hawkeye Invite in 400 IM (3:55.04), good for fourth place.

AS A SOPHOMORE: Clocked a season-best 400 IM time of 3:53.91 at the BIG EAST Championships, earning a sixth-place finish … garnered two top-eight finishes at the Northwestern Invitational in the 400 IM (4:04.38) and the 200 back (1:52.39) … at the Shamrock Invitational, participated in the 1,650 free, earning a sixth-place finish with a time of 4:04.30 … also swam the 200 back and 800 free relay in the same meet … brought home a runner-up finish against Louisville in the 1,000 free (9:28.88) … was the fastest swimmer in the 500 free against Pittsburgh with a time of 4:35.58 … BIG EAST Academic All-Star … earned a monogram.

AS A FRESHMAN: Distance freestyle and backstroke specialist for the Irish who set the top time in team history in the 1,000 free during his first season … set the new record in the 1,000 free (9:13.41) as a split of his 1,650 free swim at the BIG EAST Championships, where he would eventually finish fifth (15:28.19) … also recorded two eighth-place finishes at the same meet, setting season-best times in prelims in the 500 free (4:27.05) and the 200 back (1:47.68) … placed second in the 1,000 free (9:21.53) against league foe Louisville … placed first in the same event against Pittsburgh, turning in a time of 9:25.95 … took gold in the 1,650 free against Michigan State with a time of 15:44.39 … also competed in dual meets against Northwestern and a quad meet against Michigan, Oakland, and TCU … represented the Irish at the 2012 US Olympic Trials, competing in the 1,500 meter free (16:16.16, 82nd) and the 200 meter back (2:05.68, 75th) … earned a monogram.

PREP AND PERSONAL: 2012 U.S. Olympic Trials qualifier in 200 back and 1,500 free … All-American in the 500 free (4:31.36) as a junior … four-year letterwinner and two-time captain for Richard Shoulberg at Germantown Academy (Pa.) … twice named All-American and two-time team captain … three-time all-conference performer … qualified for three events at the Grand Prix Meet in 2010 … U.S. Nationals qualifier … member of the Community Service Organization … full name is James Joseph McEldrew … one of four children … son of Debbie and James McEldrew … sisters Kelly (Georgetown) and Caitlin (Oberlin) both ran track and cross country at the collegiate level … graduated from the College of Science, majoring in science-business.

McEldrew’s Career Bests