LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The field is set for the finals tonight at the men’s and women’s BIG EAST Swimming & Diving Championships on the third day of swimming action at the Ralph R. Wright Natatorium on the University of Louisville campus. The prelims for the 400-yard individual medley, 100-yard butterfly, 200-yard freestyle, 100-yard breaststroke and 100-yard backstroke took place this morning.
West Virginia’s Rachael Burnett recorded the best qualifying time for the women’s 400-yard individual medley at 4:19.93. Louisville sent a pair into the finals as did Rutgers and Villanova. UofL’s Fanny Lilliestrom and Stephanie Juncker, RU’s Jacquelyn Ward and Taylor Zafir and VU’s Lindsey Hagens and Astrid Armgarth will compete with Julie Harrison of Pittsburgh for the 400 IM title.
The men’s 400 IM prelim saw a trifecta from both Notre Dame and Louisville qualify for the final. ND’s Michael Sullivan, Colin Babcock and Peter Koppel and the Cardinals’ Carlos Almeida, Michael Pryor and Shane Lichtenberg were sandwiched between Seton Hall’s Kevin Webster and West Virginia’s August Querciagrossa. Webster posted the top time, touching in at 3:52.03.
A quartet of Cardinal women advanced in the 100 butterfly. Louisville’s Lorraine Thompson finished first with a mark of 53.48 and will be joined by teammates Eszter Povazsay, Mary Mittel and Lacey Bobo. The Irish duo of Kathryn Casey and Kimberly Holden also move on, along with WVU’s Amanda Nugent and RU’s Taylor Curado.
On the men’s side, Richard Collins of Louisville finished first in the 100 butterfly trials with a time of 48.15. He will be joined by teammate Juan Lopez. The Mountaineers put a pair of swimmers into the final, Taylor Camp and Bradley Eichenseer. ND also picked up two slots courtesy of William Bass and Josh Nosal. Pitt’s David McLaren and Cincinnati’s Roberto Nevarez also advanced.
The Irish women had two qualify for the 200 freestyle final, including the top prelim finisher, Kelly Ryan who finished with a time of 1:47.24. She will be joined by teammate Lauren Sylvester. The Louisville trio of Breann McDowell, Lindsey Laporte and Sarah Andrews also advanced. West Virginia’s Kata Fodor, Villanova’s Natalie Elphick and UConn’s Jordan Bowen will square off against the two sets of teammates to vie for the women’s 200 free crown.
Joao De Lucca from UofL led the men’s 200 free trials, touching in at 1:37.72. He will be joined by teammate Alex Burtch, Notre Dame’s Frank Dyer, Steven Brus and Kevin Overholt, WVU’s Jared Christie-Goldthorpe, the Huskies’ Karim Zayed and the Panthers’ Jacob Van Roekel.
In the women’s 100 breaststroke prelims, Louisville’s Therese Bergstrom finished first at 1:00.37. She was followed by ND’s Samantha Maxwell and the Wildcats’ Erin Malone. Fellow Cardinals Giselle Kohoyda and Aileen Cole earned slots as did Pitt’s Laura Barnes, ND’s Lauren Stauder and Rutgers’ Trisha Averill.
The Cardinal men posted another top qualifying time as Kameron Chastain touched in at 53.47 in the men’s 100 breaststroke. Joining him in the final will be teammates Michael Haefner and Kenneth Crapse, ND’s Christopher Johnson, WVU’s George Farquhar, Syracuse’s Kuba Kotynia and a pair of Panthers, Benjamin Solari and Pierre-Antoine Meunier.
The Irish’s Kimberly Holden touched in first in the women’s 100 backstroke prelim at 53.79. Joining her is teammate Sarah Dotzel, the Bearcats’ Liz Hansson and UConn’s Kati Kyle, along with the Louisville foursome of Kristina Brandenburg, Povazsay, Thompson and Mittel.
On the men’s side, UofL’s Brendon Andrews posted the top time in the 100 back at 47.63. He will be joined in the final by teammate Collins. A pair of Panthers also advanced, Adam Maczewski and Andrzej Dubiel. Notre Dame put four in position to compete for the 100 back crown with Petar Petrovic, Thomas Van Volkenburg, Christopher Wills and Josh Nosal moving forward.
BIG EAST Championship swimming action continues tonight with the men’s and women’s finals of the 400-yard IM, 100-yard butterfly, 200-yard freestyle, 100-yard breaststroke, 100-yard backstroke and the 400-yard medley relay beginning at 6 p.m.
Men’s Team Standings
Rank Team Score
1 Louisville 346
2 Notre Dame 326.50
3 Pittsburgh 237
4 West Virginia 202
5 Connecticut 109.50
6 Seton Hall 93
7 Cincinnati 86
8 Georgetown 78
9 Villanova 58
10 Providence 43
Women’s Team Standings
Rank Team Score
1 Louisville 328.50
2 Notre Dame 217.50
3 Pittsburgh 192.50
4 West Virginia 165
5 Cincinnati 152
6 Rutgers 144
7 Villanova 139.50
8 Connecticut 126
9 Georgetown 65
10 Seton Hall 47
11 Providence 26
