Irish win 2 meets, qualify swimmers for Big East
By COLLEEN McCARTHY
Sports Writer
After winning back-to-back meets, the Notre Dame men's swimming team is well-prepared for the intense competition and strenuous schedule of the upcoming Big East Championship.
"We've had four meets in nine days and we've won them all," said head coach Tim Welsh, "which is a real tribute to the team's ability to reenergize and respond well.
"I hope this has us well-prepared to go into the Big East Championship," Welsh continued. "One of the reasons we try to schedule back-to-back meets on Fridays and Saturdays at the end of the season is to prepare for the three days of consecutive competition at Big East."
The team's first objective going into the weekend's meets against Cleveland State and St. Bonaventure University was to win both meets. The second goal was to post qualifying times for the Big East Championship.
The Irish crossed off both objectives.
The team won beat Cleveland State 136-102 and posted seven individual wins in events. The swimmers topped St. Bonaventure 137.5-100.5 to finish the dual meet season 7-2.
"We were pleased we were able to fill out our entries for Big East," Welsh said, "and we set two pool records in the meet at St. Bonaventure."
The meets provided a chance for Welsh to gauge the team's progress going into the Big East Championship.
"We are a better team going into the Big East Championship than we were two weeks ago," said Welsh. "What's really exciting even more than the individual performances is the team's performance. We're racing faster in getting ready for the championships and doing even better in both our long and short distance events. Also important is that we've been able to win on the road which is a sign of a competitive toughness."
Swimmers who made qualifying times for Big East over the weekend include sophomore John Hudson in the 200 backstroke, senior Brian Skorney in the 200 backstroke and Michael Flanagan in the 1,650 freestyle.
The Irish diving contingent of Herb Huesman, Andy Maggio, Joe Miller and Tony Xie closed out the season undefeated in the dual meet season in both the one- and three-meter events.
"Our divers had another marvelous performance," said Welsh. "What is really great is that all four divers have contributed at least one win, so it is not just one person carrying the divers."
All four divers qualified for the Big East Championship, which has left Welsh optimistic for the Big East weekend.
"I hope that the divers can continue the success they've had so far this season," Welsh said, "so that they contribute points to our overall total at Big East."
All Sports Stories for Monday, February 5, 2001
