University of Louisville
Men's NCAA Championships
Men's Swimming Finishes 11th in NCAAs
March 30, 2013 | Swimming & Diving
March 30, 2013
The University of Louisville vaulted into 11th place with a strong final showing at the NCAA Men's Swimming and Diving Championship at the Indiana University Natatorium on the campus of IUPUI in Indianapolis.
Joao De Lucca picked up his second All-American honor and the 400-relay team finished fourth in the final event to boost the Cards to their second highest finish in school history.
"I am so proud of this group of guys. They have battled with great poise to represent the University of Louisville at the highest level," said U of L head coach Arthur Albiero. "We are building something special."
As a team, U of L finished in 11th, the highest placing team in the BIG EAST and just ahead of North Carolina State the highest placing ACC team .
In the A-finals of the 100-freestyle, Joao De Lucca finished third with a time of 42.27. The winner, Vlad Morozov set a new NCAA record, turning in a 40.76.
In the 100-freestyle, Caryle Blondell finished sixth in the B-final with a time of 43.31.
In the final event of the meet, the 400-free relay, the Cardinals went into the race seeded fifth and improved to fourth with a time of 2:50.98, almost a full second off their qualifying time. Caryle Blondell swam the leadoff leg and turned in a 42.94 handing over to Joao De Lucca in fifth place. Joao De Lucca made up three spots with a split of 41.69 to hand over to Alex Burtch in second place. Alex Burtch went 43.55 and Samuel Hoekstra anchored in 42.80. Meanwhile the winning USC foursome's anchor, Vlad Morozov, put up a 40.28, the fastest relay split in NCAA history.
"Finishing fourth in this 400-free relay is a phenomenal achievement," said Albiero.
