Championship Central
Results
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PROVIDENCE, R.I. – The BIG EAST Swimming & Diving Championship kicked off tonight at the IU Natatorium in Indianapolis, Ind. Two records highlighted day one action as Notre Dame claimed the top spot in both men’s and women’s standings with 141 and 133 points respectively.
The Notre Dame women’s 800-yard freestyle relay claimed the first event of the evening with a time of 7:10.84. The Fighting Irish jumped out to an early lead when sophomore Emma Reaney swam the first leg in 1:45.88. Junior Kelly Ryan followed with the fastest split in the event in 1:45.75. Sophomore Suzanne Bessire and senior Jaime Malandra finished strong as Notre Dame took gold. Villanova placed second overall with a mark of 7:12.73 as Louisville took the third spot in 7:14.96.
In the men’s 800 free relay, Louisville set a BIG EAST record with a time of 6:22.33, beating the previous mark set by the Cardinals last season (6:22.70). The Cardinals were led by junior Joao De Lucca’s time of 1:33.06 in the second leg. They edged out Notre Dame who finished second in 6:23.40. Junior Frank Dyer gave the Fighting Irish an early lead with a time of 1:34.17. Notre Dame was a full nine seconds ahead of the third-place finisher, Pittsburgh (6:32.47).
Senior Nikolas Sachs of Louisville won the 1-meter dive with a finals score of 316.45. Sachs placed 16.40 points ahead of the reigning champion and second-place winner, sophomore Nicholas Nemetz of Notre Dame. The sophomore took second with a score 310.05 and senior Grant Fecteau of Connecticut took third with a score of 304.45.
Three-time defending champion, senior Jennifer Chiang of Notre Dame, reclaimed her title in the 3-meter dive and became the first BIG EAST diver to win a championship four times. Chiang barely edged out senior Hannah Gadd of Louisville for the gold, as they finished with final scores of 329.85 and 329.00 respectively. Sophomore Allison Casareto of Notre Dame placed third with 320.20 points.
In the 200 women’s medley relay, Notre Dame crossed the finish line in 1:38.74 to claim first-place. The Fighting Irish finished 32 seconds shy of a new BIG EAST record. Louisville holds the record, set in 2011, and finished in second-place on Wednesday evening with a mark of 1:39.34. Finishing third was Pittsburgh in 1:41.18.
The final event of the night featured another win for Notre Dame as the Fighting Irish claimed the 200 men’s medley with a time of 1:26.33. Claiming second place was Pittsburgh with a mark of 1:27.34 and Connecticut took third in 1:29.98.
The BIG EAST Championship resumes tomorrow, Feb. 28 beginning at 10 a.m. The prelims and consols for the women’s 3-meter dive as well as the prelims for the 500 free, 200 individual medley, 50 free and 200 free relay will take place in the morning session with the finals set for 6 p.m.
Men’s Team Standings
|
Rank
|
Team
|
Points
|
|
1
|
Notre Dame
|
133
|
|
2
|
Pittsburgh
|
95
|
|
3
|
Connecticut
|
92
|
|
4
|
Louisville
|
65
|
|
5
|
Cincinnati
|
58
|
|
6
|
Georgetown
|
56
|
|
7
|
Seton Hall
|
54
|
|
8
|
Villanova
|
50
|
|
9
|
Providence
|
42
|
Women’s Team Standings
|
Rank
|
Team
|
Points
|
|
1
|
Notre Dame
|
141
|
|
2
|
Louisville
|
107
|
|
3
|
Pittsburgh
|
75
|
|
4
|
Connecticut
|
71
|
|
5
|
Rutgers
|
70
|
|
6
|
Villanova
|
60
|
|
7
|
Cincinnati
|
54
|
|
8
|
Seton Hall
|
45
|
|
9
|
Georgetown
|
40
|
|
10
|
Providence
|
28
|
Women’s 800-Yard Freestyle Relay Final Results
|
1
|
Notre Dame
|
7:10.84
|
|
2
|
Villanova
|
7:12.73
|
|
3
|
Louisville
|
7:14.96
|
|
4
|
Pittsburgh
|
7:17.59
|
|
5
|
Connecticut
|
7:18.97
|
|
6
|
Cincinnati
|
7:21.25
|
|
7
|
Rutgers
|
7:21.29
|
|
8
|
Georgetown
|
7:34.81
|
Men’s 800-Yard Freestyle Relay Final Results
|
1
|
Louisville
|
6:22.33
|
|
2
|
Notre Dame
|
6:23.40
|
|
3
|
Pittsburgh
|
6:32.47
|
|
4
|
Cincinnati
|
6:37.86
|
|
5
|
Connecticut
|
6:40.33
|
|
6
|
Georgetown
|
6:42.38
|
|
7
|
Villanova
|
6:42.84
|
|
8
|
Seton Hall
|
6:53.61
|
Men’s 1-Meter Dive Final Results
|
Place
|
Name
|
School
|
Points
|
|
1
|
Nikolas Sachs
|
Louisville
|
316.45
|
|
2
|
Nicholas Nemetz
|
Notre Dame
|
310.05
|
|
3
|
Grant Fecteau
|
Connecticut
|
304.45
|
|
4
|
Michael Kreft
|
Notre Dame
|
300.35
|
|
5
|
Ted Wagner
|
Notre Dame
|
299.80
|
|
6
|
Ryan Koter
|
Notre Dame
|
298.10
|
|
7
|
John Brice
|
Connecticut
|
288.35
|
|
8
|
Erik Moore
|
Pittsburgh
|
258.45
|
Women’s 3-Meter Dive Final Results
|
Place
|
Name
|
School
|
Points
|
|
1
|
Jennifer Chiang
|
Notre Dame
|
329.85
|
|
2
|
Hannah Gadd
|
Louisville
|
329.00
|
|
3
|
Allison Casareto
|
Notre Dame
|
320.20
|
|
4
|
Danielle Cecco
|
Connecticut
|
311.10
|
|
5
|
Lindsey Streepey
|
Notre Dame
|
302.55
|
|
6
|
Lindsey Stephens
|
Louisville
|
284.20
|
|
7
|
Angelika Mcghee
|
Pittsburgh
|
259.60
|
|
8
|
Emma Gaboury
|
Notre Dame
|
251.70
|
Women’s 200-Yard Medley Relay Final Results
|
1
|
Notre Dame
|
1:38.74
|
|
2
|
Louisville
|
1:39.34
|
|
3
|
Pittsburgh
|
1:41.18
|
|
4
|
Rutgers
|
1:41.32
|
|
5
|
Cincinnati
|
1:41.77
|
|
6
|
Villanova
|
1:44.20
|
|
7
|
Connecticut
|
1:45.27
|
|
8
|
Seton Hall
|
1:45.48
|
Men’s 200-Yard Medley Relay Final Results
|
1
|
Notre Dame
|
1:26.33
|
|
2
|
Pittsburgh
|
1:27.34
|
|
3
|
Connecticut
|
1:29.98
|
|
4
|
Georgetown
|
1:31.82
|
|
5
|
Cincinnati
|
1:32.68
|
|
6
|
Villanova
|
1:33.74
|
|
7
|
Seton Hall
|
1:34.33
|
|
8
|
Providence
|
1:36.79
|
