LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The field is set for six finals tonight at the men’s and women’s BIG EAST Swimming & Diving Championships on the second day of swimming action at the Ralph R. Wright Natatorium on the University of Louisville campus.
Notre Dame and Louisville each send a trio of athletes into the men’s 500-yard freestyle final tonight. Shane Lichtenberg, Riley Martin and Oliveira Pedro qualified for the Cardinals, while Michael Sullivan, Frank Dyer and Steven Brus will swim for the Irish. Seton Hall’s Kevin Webster and Cincinnati’s Stephen Cunningham also qualified for the final.
In the women’s 500 freestyle, West Virginia claimed the top three qualifying times with Rachael Burnett, Kata Fodor and Amanda Nugent, while Villanova put a pair in the final with Roxanne Tammadge and Hayley Edwards. Louisville’s Lindsey Laporte, Connecticut’s Jordan Bowen and Pittsburgh’s Kelsey Herbst also earned tickets into the 500 freestyle final.
The men’s 200-yard individual medley prelims saw four Cardinals, three Irish and one Panther advance into the final. Alex Burtch, Carlos Almeida, Michael Haefner and Albert Lloyd will represent Louisville. Notre Dame’s William Bass, Colin Babcock and Joseph Raycroft and Pitt’s Benjamin Solari round out the field of competitors.
Louisville’s Sarah Andrews and Stephanie Juncker qualified for the women’s 200-yard IM as did the Cincinnati pair of Samantha Wheeler and Josefine Wede. Also swimming are WVU’s Breanna McCann, Pitt’s Joanna Budzis, ND’s Lauren Scott and VU’s Erin Malone.
In the men’s 50-yard freestyle trials, the Mountaineers put the most in the finals with three, while UofL had a duo of swimmers advance. Tim Squires, Bradley Eichenseer and Taylor Camp qualified for West Virginia, while Brendon Andrews and Matthew Schlytter moved on for Louisville. Pitt’s Andrzej Dubiel, Notre Dame’s Kevin Overholt and UConn’s Kyungsoo Yoon collected passes to tonight’s 50 free final.
On the women’s side, the Cardinals had an impressive six swimmers qualify for the 50 freestyle final tonight. The UofL swimmers advancing are Aileen Cole, Nicole Landisch, Lacey Bobo, Mary Mittel, Kristina Brandenburg and Grite Apanaviciute. Also moving onto to the final are Cincinnati’s Liz Hansson and ND’s Amy Prestinario.
BIG EAST Championship swimming action continues tonight with the men’s and women’s finals of the 500-yard freestyle, 200 individual medley, 50-yard freestyle and 200-yard freestyle relay beginning at 6 p.m.
Men’s Team Standings
Rank Team Score
1 Notre Dame 191
2 Pittsburgh 157
3 Louisville 133
4 West Virginia 93
5 Connecticut 56
6 Georgetown 53
7 Seton Hall 51
8 Cincinnati 47
9 Villanova 36
10 Providence 29
Women’s Team Standings
Rank Team Score
1 Louisville 145
2 Notre Dame 132
3 Pittsburgh 111
4 Rutgers 101
5 Connecticut 86
6 Cincinnati 78
7 Villanova 64
8 West Virginia 62
9 Georgetown 38
10 Seton Hall 35
11 Providence 29
