LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The field is set for the final night of competition at the men’s and women’s BIG EAST Swimming & Diving Championships at the Ralph R. Wright Natatorium on the University of Louisville campus. The prelims for the 200-yard backstroke, 100-yard freestyle, 200-yard breaststroke and the 200-yard butterfly took place this morning.
The final day of BIG EAST Championship swimming action kicked off with the women’s 200-yard backstroke prelim. Notre Dame’s Kimberly Holden posted the best qualifying time with a 1:55.93 mark. She was followed by teammate Kelly Ryan and Louisville’s Eszter Povazsay, all with NCAA B-Cut times. Also earning passes into Saturday’s final were Cincinnati’s Liz Hansson and Erin Frye, Pittsburgh’s Joanna Budzis, Connecticut’s Kimberly Fleming and West Virginia’s Rachael Gorrie.
On the men’s side, WVU’s Jared Christie-Goldthorpe finished first with a time of 1:45.58. He will be joined in the final by UofL’s Pedro Oliveira and Juan Lopez, Seton Hall’s Kevin Webster and a quartet of Irish men. The ND foursome competing consists of Petar Petrovic, Michael Sullivan, Christopher Wills and Bertie Nel.
ND’s Ryan recorded the best time in the women’s 100-yard freestyle, touching in at 50.03. She led another Notre Dame foursome into the final, Amy Prestinario, Lauren Scott and Lauren Parisi. A pair of Cards also made the cut as Aileen Cole and Grite Apanaviciute qualified, while the Panthers’ Kristen McMullan and Villanova’s Natalie Elphick will challenge the two sets of teammates for the 100 freestyle title.
The men’s 100 free prelim saw four Cardinals advance as Brendon Andrews posted the top time at 43.63, leading the fleet of Joao De Lucca, Albert Lloyd and Samuel Hoekstra. Notre Dame’s Frank Dyer and Kevin Overholt also move on to Saturday evening’s final as did Pitt’s Andrzej Dubiel and West Virginia’s Bradley Eichenseer.
The Cardinals sent a trio into the women’s 200-yard breaststroke final as Therese Bergstrom, Giselle Kohoyda and Fanny Lilliestrom were the top three finishers in the prelims. Bergstrom led the flock with a qualifying-best time of 2:12.55. The Irish women continue to chase the Cards as Samantha Maxwell and Lauren Stauder advanced. Also receiving tickets to the 200 breaststroke final were VU’s Erin Malone, WVU’s Breanna McCann and the Bearcats’ Josefine Wede.
In the men’s 200 breaststroke, the Cards were dealt another four of a kind as Carlos Almeida, Kenneth Crapse, Michael Haefner and Kameron Chastain raised the stakes going into the final night. Almeida was the top qualifier, coming in at 1:56.77. Pittsburgh put a pair into the mix with Benjamin Solari and Robert Power. Syracuse’s Kuba Kotynia and West Virginia’s Richard Farquhar also advanced.
The women’s 200-yard butterfly prelim saw WVU’s Amanda Nugent touch in at 1:56.64, breaking the BIG EAST record of 1:57.72 set in 2009. She will be joined in the final by teammate Rachael Burnett and the Wildcats’ Hayley Edwards. ND sent a duo of Kathryn Casey and Sarah Dotzel into tonight’s action, while Louisville had a trifecta of Lorraine Thompson, Sarah Andrews and Jackie Sherrard qualify.
On the men’s side, UofL’s Oliveira tapped in at 1:45.79 to lead the 200 butterfly prelim. Three of his teammates will join him in the event’s Saturday night finale, including Riley Martin, Lopez and Richard Collins. The Irish twosome of William Bass and Peter Koppel also advanced as did Pitt’s Hermanus Kluever and Georgetown’s Victor Lopez-Cantera.
BIG EAST Championship swimming action concludes tonight with the men’s and women’s finals of the 1,650-yard freestyle, 200 backstroke, 100 freestyle, 200 breaststroke, 200 butterfly and 400 freestyle relay beginning at 6 p.m.
Men’s Team Standings
Rank Team Score
1 Louisville 591
2 Notre Dame 570.50
3 Pittsburgh 374
4 West Virginia 357
5 Connecticut 176.50
6 Seton Hall 153
7 Cincinnati 111
8 Georgetown 94
9 Villanova 85
10 Providence 65
11 Syracuse 13
Women’s Team Standings
Rank Team Score
1 Louisville 623.50
2 Notre Dame 430.50
3 West Virginia 277
4 Pittsburgh 258.50
5 Villanova 245.50
6 Rutgers 213
7 Cincinnati 212
8 Connecticut 186
9 Georgetown 84
10 Seton Hall 76
11 Providence 40
