Mens Swimming: Swimmers look to Big East Tourney after loss
By LISA REIJULA
Sports Writer
In one of the fastest and competitive meets of the season, the Notre Dame men's swimming and diving team was edged by Oakland University, 151-149 on Saturday. The Irish finished the dual meet season with a record of 6-8.
"Obviously it stinks to lose, but it was a test to see where we were," said junior Matt Obringer. "We're partially resting for the Big East meet and we had some season-best times."
Notre Dame had the momentum to start, as the 200-meter medley team of Doug Bauman, Jason Fitzpatrick, Frank Krakowski and Tim Randolph took first.
In the 1,000-meter race, Patrick Davis notched a victory, while teammate Matt Bertke was second.
Other event winners for the Irish included Bauman in the 100 backstroke (50.75) and Jason Fitzpatrick in the 100 breaststroke (57.63).
Oakland answered back with victories in the 200-meter freestyle, 200-meter butterfly and the 50-meter freestyle to end the first half of the meet.
The Irish divers gave their team the lead again, as Joe Miller, Andy Maggio and Tong Xie swept the top three places in the one-meter event.
However, Oakland soon took control of the meet. The Grizzlies grabbed victories in the 100 freestyle, 200 backstroke, 200 breaststroke and 500 free to catch up to the Irish.
The Irish stayed even with wins by Krakowski in the 100-meter butterfly (50.08) and Maggio in the three-meter diving competition (313.80).
The turning point of the afternoon was the 400 IM, as the Grizzlies finished one-two-three and gained crucial points. The 16 point gain pushed the Irish into a corner going into the final event.
In the 400 freestyle relay, Oakland overtook the Irish on the last leg, winning the race and the meet. However, Notre Dame's team of Randolph, Krakowski, Fitzpatrick, and Matt Obringer posted their fastest time of the season (3:06.31).
The Irish are optimistic even after the close loss.
"Overall the results were pretty positive," said Obringer. "It was definitely a good sign of our progress and hopefully a sign of good things to come."
The Irish will compete next in the Big East Championship on Feb. 20-22 in Uniondale, N.Y.
All Sports Stories for Monday, February 10, 2003
