Seniors lead Irish from seventh to second in four years
By COLLEEN McCARTHY
Byline Title
UNIONDALE, N.Y.
The seniors on the Notre Dame men's swimming team have seen the program make vast improvements since they were freshmen.
This weekend's second place overall finish for the team at the Big East conference championships was especially meaningful for the seniors who have been at the heart of the team's ascent to becoming a force in Big East men's swimming and diving.
During the 1996-1997 season when they were freshmen, second place was unimaginable after finishing in seventh place.
But things started to improve.
"This program has made tremendous strides since we've been here," said Tony Fonseca, who swims mainly breaststroke events.
Through a strenuous training regimen and a commitment to being the best, the team made the jump to finish fourth place in the Big East in 1998 and second in 1999.
Head coach Tim Welsh credits the seniors for their leadership in making the repeat second place Big East performance this year possible.
"The senior class has been our catalyst here as they have been all year," Welsh said. "We were here this weekend as a team finishing in second place largely through their vision, dream and commitment to swimming hard and training hard."
Another way to measure the team's improvement is through the number of NCAA qualifying times the team has garnered. In 1998, the team had two qualifiers and improved from three qualifiers in 1999 to a record four this year.
"The senior class has led this team from zero considerations as freshmen to a total of four as a team," Welsh said. "Now that's a sign of improvement."
Among the seven seniors on the team, Welsh singled out captain Ray Fitzpatrick as being key to the team's success. Fitzpatrick holds six University records and was a stand-out at this year's Big East meet with a first place finish in the 200-yard freestyle and fifth in the 50-yard freestyle. He has seen marked improvement in his times since freshman year, after breaking his own University records in both the 200- and 50-freestyle this weekend.
"Ray has been the cornerstone person on this team for all four years," Welsh said. "It is an amazing goal to get faster every year, but he's done it."
Co-captain Sean Casey, who finished 13th in the 400-yard individual medley at the Big East Championship, has also contributed to the team's ascent and was named one of the team's most improved swimmers in 1998-1999.
Finishing strong at the Big East Championship this year was important, said Casey.
"We have a lot of pride and have worked hard," Casey said. "We were pleased with our performance this weekend and stepped up when we needed to. When it got down to it, there was no way we were going to let anyone pass us on the last day."
Fonseca agreed.
"We trained too hard to let teams come back and beat us," said Fonseca. "Swimming at Notre Dame for four years has been the best experience of my life and this win only added to that."
Rob Fetter, who swam on the team's 1999 Big East champion 400-yard freestyle relay team, whose win secured the team's second place finish, shared his teammate's sentiments.
"This whole experience has been amazing," said Fetter. "To go from seventh place our freshman year to defending second place our senior year is unbelievable."
Team stand-out Ryan Verlin, a junior, said the team will definitely feel the loss of the seven seniors who have led the team this year.
"We will have a challenge next year," said Verlin. "We will lose a lot of great swimmers with the graduating class. But I think the underclassmen will step it up next year so we can retain our place in the Big East if not even move up to first place."
All Sports Stories for Monday, February 21, 2000
