LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Louisville swept the men’s and women’s team titles at the BIG EAST Swimming & Diving Championships tonight at the Ralph R. Wright Natatorium on the University of Louisville campus. The Cardinal women ended Notre Dame’s streak of 14-straight BIG EAST crowns, the longest championship winning streak across all sports in conference history.
The final night of finals competition kicked off with the Senior Recognition Ceremony, where a trio of Syracuse swimmers received a standing ovation from the sold-out crowd. This was the final meet for the Orange as the program will be discontinued after the season.
The women’s 1,650-yard freestyle came down to the last 100-yards as Villanova’s Hayley Edwards held off West Virginia’s Kata Fodor for the win. Edwards touched in at 16:15.92, while Fodor came in at 16:17.00. The Wildcats’ also claimed third place as Roxanne Tammadge finished with a time of 16:24.44.
On the men’s side, Louisville claimed first and second in the men’s 1,650 freestyle as Riley Martin posted a 15:16.70 mark and Shane Lichtenberg finished in 15:24.20. The bronze medal went to Cincinnati’s Nathan Williams, who punched in at 15:30.37.
In the women’s 200-yard backstroke, ND’s Kimberly Holden edged Louisville’s Eszter Povazsay to take the conference title with a time of 1:55.18. Povazsay touched the wall at 1:55.75 with another Irish swimmer Kelly Ryan a close third with a time of 1:56.00.
The men’s 200 backstroke saw an exciting finish as Seton Hall’s Kevin Webster turned on the heat in the final stretch and edged WVU’s Jared Christie-Goldthorpe with a time of 1:43.93 to take the BIG EAST crown. Christie-Goldthorpe tapped in at 1:44.31, while the Cardinals’ Pedro Oliveira recorded a third-place time of 1:44.56.
Notre Dame’s Kelly Ryan held off UofL’s Aileen Cole in the women’s 100-yard freestyle, posting time of 49.73 and 49.95, respectively. The bronze went to ND’s Amy Prestinario, who touched in at 50.01.
A pair of Cardinals led the fleet for men’s 100 free, while the Irish claimed third place. UofL’s Brendon Andrews took the BIG EAST Championship title with a winning time of 43.45. His teammate Joao De Lucca snagged second at 43.76, while ND’s Frank Dyer tapped in at 44.11.
In the women’s 200-yard breaststroke, UofL’s Therese Bergstrom and VU’s Erin Malone were neck and neck after the final turn, but Bergstrom laid on the throttle, edging Malone 2:11.14 to 2:11.37. Notre Dame’s Samantha Maxwell finished third at 2:11.79.
Louisville’s Carlos Almeida led the pack in the men’s 200 breaststroke with a winning time of 1:54.98. Syracuse’s Kuba Kotynia earned the silver medal, coming in at 1:56.39. In his final race, Kotynia set a SU record. The Cardinals’ Kenneth Crapse finished third with a time of 1:57.17.
The women’s 200-yard butterfly saw WVU’s Amanda Nugent, who broke the BIG EAST Championship record in the prelims this morning, win the conference title with a mark of 1:57.00. Louisville’s Lorraine Thompson held off Villanova’s Hayley Edwards for a second-place finish of 1:58.47. Edwards touched in at 1:59.27.
Victory lane once again belonged to the Cardinal men as they collected their fourth individual win of the night in the 200 butterfly with Pedro Oliveira cruising in at 1:45.23. Second place went to Pitt’s Hermanus Kluever with a time of 1:46.72, followed by UofL’s Riley Martin at 1:47.45.
Notre Dame and Louisville swam side-by-side for the majority of the women’s 400-yard freestyle relay. In the final few strokes, ND’s Ryan tapped in just before UofL’s Grite Apanaviciute with times of 3:19.68 and 3:19.91, respectively. The winning Irish quartet consisted of Prestinario, Lauren Parisi, Lauren Scott and Ryan. Cincinnati took third with a time of 3:24.97.
In the women’s team standings, Louisville claimed its first BIG EAST Championship title in program history with 820.50 points. The Irish took second with 655.50 points, followed by West Virginia with 396. Villanova finished with 395.50 points, while Pitt rounded out the top five with 331.50.
The Championship concluded with the men’s 400 freestyle relay as the Cardinals took gold again with a BIG EAST Championship record setting time of 2:54.04. The Louisville foursome of Andrews, De Lucca, Albert Loyd and Alex Burtch beat the previous record of 2:54.08 set in 2009 by Notre Dame. Second place went to West Virginia at 2:57.77, while UConn took third at 2:59.92.
The Cardinal men defended their BIG EAST Championship title, picking up their second-straight league crown with 917 points. Notre Dame finished second overall with 713.50 points, while Pitt took third with 503. Fourth went to West Virginia, collecting 470 points, followed by Connecticut with 239.50.
The night wrapped up with the awards ceremony as Louisville’s Arthur Albiero took home the Men’s BIG EAST Swimming Coach of the Year and the Women’s BIG EAST Swimming Coach of the Year honors. The BIG EAST Women’s Most Outstanding Swimmer award came down to a tie between Mountaineers teammates Rachael Burnett and Nugent shared the honor. Seton Hall’s Kevin Webster was named the 2011 BIG EAST Men’s Most Outstanding Swimmer.
For complete results of the men’s and women’s the 1,650-yard freestyle, 200 backstroke, 100 freestyle, 200 breaststroke, 200 butterfly and 400 freestyle relay finals, please visit the BIG EAST Swimming & Diving Championship Central page and check out the results link.
The Louisville women hold a commanding lead going into the final day of the BIG EAST Championship with 623.50 points, followed by the Irish with 430.50. The Notre Dame men gained ground tonight in the team standings, sitting at 570.50 points compared to UofL’s 591.
2011 BIG EAST Men’s Most Outstanding Swimmer
Kevin Webster, Seton Hall, Sr.
2011 BIG EAST Women’s Most Outstanding Swimmer (tie)
Rachael Burnett, West Virginia, So.
Amanda Nugent, West Virginia, So.
2011 Men’s BIG EAST Swimming Coach of the Year
Arthur Albiero, Louisville
2011 Women’s BIG EAST Swimming Coach of the Year
Arthur Albiero, Louisville
Men’s Team Standings
Rank Team Score
1 Louisville 917
2 Notre Dame 713.50
3 Pittsburgh 503
4 West Virginia 470
5 Connecticut 239.50
6 Seton Hall 230
7 Cincinnati 167
8 Georgetown 153
9 Villanova 113
10 Providence 83
11 Syracuse 30
Women’s Team Standings
Rank Team Score
1 Louisville 820.50
2 Notre Dame 655.50
3 West Virginia 396
4 Villanova 395.50
5 Pittsburgh 331.50
6 Cincinnati 302
7 Rutgers 282
8 Connecticut 261
9 Seton Hall 101
10 Georgetown 90
11 Providence 54
Men’s 1,650-Yard Freestyle Final Results
Place Name Team Time Points
1 Riley Martin Louisville 15:16.70 20
2 Shane Lichtenberg Louisville 15:24.20 17
3 Nathan Williams Cincinnati 15:30.37 16
4 Paul Quincy Georgetown 15:31.03 15
5 Stephen Cunningham Cincinnati 15:52.57 14
6 Morne Boshoff Pittsburgh 15:36.22 13
7 Kevin Bandy Louisville 15:39.28 12
8 Michael Pryor Louisville 15:41.92 11
Women’s 1,650-Yard Freestyle Final Results
Place Name Team Time Points
1 Hayley Edwards Villanova 16:15.92 20
2 Kata Fodor West Virginia 16:17.00 17
3 Roxanne Tammadge Villanova 16:24.44 16
4 Chelsea Rolin Rutgers 16:34.17 15
5 Jordan Bowen Connecticut 16:35.68 14
6 Kelsey Herbst Pittsburgh 16:46.48 13
7 Astrid Armgarth Villanova 16:47.32 12
8 Grace Fredlake Notre Dame 16:47.32 11
Men’s 200-Yard Backstroke Final Results
Place Name Team Time Points
1 Kevin Webster Seton Hall 1:43.93 20
2 Jared Goldthorpe West Virginia 1:44.31 17
3 Pedro Oliveira Louisville 1:44.56 16
4 Petar Petrovic Notre Dame 1:45.75 15
5 Michael Sullivan Notre Dame 1:45.76 14
6 Juan Lopez Louisville 1:46.16 13
7 Christopher Wills Notre Dame 1:47.05 12
8 Bertie Nel Notre Dame 1:48.27 11
Women’s 200-Yard Backstroke Final Results
Place Name Team Time Points
1 Kimberly Holden Notre Dame 1:55.18 20
2 Eszter Povazsay Louisville 1:55.75 17
3 Kelly Ryan Notre Dame 1:56.00 16
4 Liz Hansson Cincinnati 1:58.63 15
5 Kimberly Fleming Connecticut 2:00.03 14
6 Joanna Budzis Pittsburgh 2:00.07 13
7 Rachael Gorrie West Virginia 2:01.15 12
8 Erin Frye Cincinnati 2:01.40 11
Men’s 100-Yard Freestyle Final Results
Place Name Team Time Points
1 Brendon Andrews Louisville 43.45 20
2 Joao DeLucca Louisville 43.76 17
3 Frank Dyer Notre Dame 44.11 16
4 Andrzej Dubiel Pittsburgh 44.31 15
5 Bradley Eichenseer West Virginia 44.49 14
6 Kevin Overholt Notre Dame 44.97 13
7 Albert Lloyd Louisville 45.04 12
8 Samuel Hoekstra Louisville 45.11 11
Women’s 100-Yard Freestyle Final Results
Place Name Team Time Points
1 Kelly Ryan Notre Dame 49.73 20
2 Aileen Cole Louisville 49.95 17
3 Amy Prestinario Notre Dame 50.01 16
4 Grite Apanaviciute Louisville 50.11 15
5 Kristen McMullan Pittsburgh 50.60 14
6 Natalie Elphick Villanova 50.73 13
7 Lauren Parisi Notre Dame 50.87 12
8 Lauren Scott Notre Dame 51.23 11
Men’s 200-Yard Breaststroke Final Results
Place Name Team Time Points
1 Carlos Almeida Louisville 1:54.98 20
2 Kuba Kotynia Syracuse 1:56.39 17
3 Kenneth Crapse Louisville 1:57.17 16
4 Michael Haefner Louisville 1:59.07 15
5 Benjamin Solari Pittsburgh 1:59.27 14
6 Richard Farquhar West Virginia 1:59.30 13
7 Kameron Chastain Louisville 1:59.90 12
8 Robert Power Pittsburgh 2:01.36 11
Women’s 200-Yard Breaststroke Final Results
Place Name Team Time Points
1 Therese Bergstrom Louisville 2:11.14 20
2 Erin Malone Villanova 2:11.37 17
3 Samantha Maxwell Notre Dame 2:11.79 16
4 Giselle Kohoyda Louisville 2:12.13 15
5 Fanny Lilliestrom Louisville 2:12.45 14
6 Lauren Stauder Notre Dame 2:14.63 13
7 Breanna McCann West Virginia 2:15.72 12
8 Josefine Wede Cincinnati 2:16.22 11
Men’s 200-Yard Butterfly Final Results
Place Name Team Time Points
1 Pedro Oliveira Louisville 1:45.23 20
2 Hermanus Kluever Pittsburgh 1:46.72 17
3 Riley Martin Louisville 1:47.45 16
4 Juan Lopez Louisville 1:48.01 15
5 William Bass Notre Dame 1:48.40 14
6 Victor Lopez-Cantera Georgetown 1:48.46 13
7 Peter Koppel Notre Dame 1:50.44 12
8 Richard Collins Louisville 1:50.48 11
Women’s 200-Yard Butterfly Final Results
Place Name Team Time Points
1 Amanda Nugent West Virginia 1:57.00 20
2 Lorraine Thompson Louisville 1:58.47 17
3 Hayley Edwards Villanova 1:59.27 16
4 Kathryn Casey Notre Dame 2:00.01 15
5 Sarah Dotzel Notre Dame 2:02.57 14
6 Rachael Burnett West Virginia 2:03.22 13
7 Jackie Sherrard Louisville 2:03.27 12
8 Sarah Andrews Louisville 2:04.95 11
Men’s 400-Yard Freestyle Relay Final Results
Place Team Time Points
1 Louisville 2:54.04 40
2 West Virginia 2:57.77 34
3 Connecticut 2:59.92 32
4 Pittsburgh 3:00.89 30
5 Georgetown 3:03.49 28
6 Cincinnati 3:04.21 26
7 Seton Hall 3:04.65 24
8 Villanova 3:06.82 22
9 Providence 3:11.64 18
-- Notre Dame DQ
Women’s 400-Yard Freestyle Relay Final Results
Place Team Time Points
1 Notre Dame 3:19.68 40
2 Louisville 3:19.91 34
3 Cincinnati 3:24.97 32
4 Villanova 3:25.04 30
5 Pittsburgh 3:25.12 28
6 West Virginia 3:25.31 26
7 Rutgers 3:26.22 24
8 Connecticut 3:28.42 22
9 Seton Hall 3:33.35 18
10 Providence 3:35.39 14
-- Georgetown DQ
