University of Louisville
at BIG EAST Championship
Swimming and Diving Take Second in BIG EAST
February 21, 2009 | Swimming & Diving
Feb. 21, 2009
Four days of strategizing, 40 events, 25 new records and neck and neck racing came down to the final relay of the meet and .32 of a second as the University of Louisville men's team fell 773 to Notre Dame's 782.5. Pitt was third at 442.5. The Cardinal women finished as runner-up, behind the Irish 828 to 581. Pitt was third at 492.5.
U of L head coach Arthur Albiero was named BIG EAST Coach of the Year.
"I would trade my award for the team win in a second," said Albiero. "I am so, so proud because we fought with all we had. When things looked bleak, we found a new level of competitive spirit. I am so proud to be associated with this group. The women battled adversity and fought tooth and nail. This is a tough group of ladies. The win and the record in the final relay for them was a great way to end the meet."
In the grueling 1650, U of L's Amanda Henleben jumped out to an early lead, but was caught by eventual winner Lindsay Largo at about the 700 yard mark. Henleben shaved seven seconds off her qualifying time to post a time of 16:32.26. Melissa Steele finished 13th with a time of 17:05.92. For the men, sophomore Shane Lichtenberg was sixth (15:45.06) and Riley Martin (15.45.34) was tenth in the A-finals.
In the 3-meter diving, Kayla Purkiser was ninth with a score of 261.90, after being edged out of the finals by one point.
In the 200-back, Pedro Oliveira swam with swagger and led wire to wire, posting a time of of 1:44.86, an NCAA B-cut. Peyton Bobo made up ground in the final 50 and lunged for the wall to finish fourth in the consols with a time of 1:$9.69. For the women, Raine Thompson won the consols with a time of 1:59.26 and Alana Berrocal was eighth in that race with a time of 2:03.31.
In the 100-free, Whitney Campbell posted a time of 49.51 for third. Liz Halet was fourth in 50.10, Anna Dishuck was fifth in 50.26 and Sarah Andrews cruised in seventh with a time of 50.73. For the men, Brendon Andrews was third with an 2008 NCAA-qualifying time of 43.46. Carlos Van Isschot was sixth, posting a time of 44.29. In the consols, Chase Grimes was third with t time of 44.76. Alex Sweet was fourth, going 44.86.
In the 200-breast, Carlos Almeida set a new BIG EAST record with a swim of 1:55.21 for first. Vali Preda was third, going 1:56.95. In the consols, Luke Wakefield was third, with a time of 2:02.08, almost two seconds faster than his qualifying mark. Sergiu Daghid (2:03.82) held on for fifth. For the women, Therese Bergstrom (2:12.62) was second behind a monstrous swim by winner Samantha Maxwell of Notre Dame who shaved two seconds off her qualifying time and shattered her own record. Fanny Lilliestrom also scored in the A-final with a time of 2:19.11.
In the 200-fly, Pedro Oliveira claimed the top spot with a time of 1:43.51. Adam Madarassy was in hot pursuit just getting out-touched at 1:43.58. Freshman Doug Dietrich was fifth 1:46.61. In the consols, Rafal Kuchta won the heat in 1:46.61. Riley Martin overcame a ripped suit and frantic redressing to finish sixth with a time of 1:50.16. For the women, Jenny Schimenti (2:06.21) was sixth in the consols.
There was a three point difference for first place going into the 400-free relay. Freshman Brendon Andrews led off, touching third and handed off to Kris Findorff, who made up the deficit for senior Adam Madarassy who blasted off the blocks in the third leg. Carlos Van Isschot anchored, dueling with Andrew Hoffman down the stretch before being out-touched by .32 of a second. The women set a new BIG EAST benchmark, going 3:18.16.
Women's Scores 1 Notre Dame, University of ND 828 2 Louisville, University of LOU 581 3 Pittsburgh, University of PITT 492.5 4 Rutgers, State Univ od New Jer RUT 380 5 West Virginia University WVU 377 6 Connecticut, University of CONN 279.5Men's Scores 1 Notre Dame, University of ND 782.5 2 Louisville, University of LOU 773 3 Pittsburgh, University of PITT 442.5 4 West Virginia University WVU 405 5 Cincinnati, University of CINC 357.5 6 Connecticut, University of CONN 287
Players Mentioned
