Irish set four meet records at Invite
By COLLEEN MCCARTHY
Sports Writer
The Notre Dame men's swimming team finished its season on a high note, rewriting the record books of the two-day Shamrock Classic meet this weekend.
Breaking four meet records, the Irish finished strong in individual events, showcasing the talent and depth of everyone on the team from the underclassmen to the outgoing seniors.
"This meet was a lot of fun for us," said Tim Welsh, men's head swimming coach. "The guys swam really well and it was nice for us to finish the season racing as a team, in our own pool. It was a little emotional too because for the seniors, this is it. They will never race again in this pool."
Team captain and senior Ray Fitzpatrick turned in three individual victories in the 200-yard butterfly and the 200-yard individual medley, breaking his own meet record with a time of 1:54.57.
"Once again, Ray continued to demonstrate his great versatility, especially with his win in the 200-yard butterfly which isn't an event he usually swims," said Welsh.
Other upperclassmen cruising to individual titles included senior Dan Szilier in the 200-yard breaststroke and junior Greg Juszli in the 100-yard backstroke. Junior Ryan Verlin broke a meet record and captured first place in the 100-yard butterfly.
Among the underclassmen, sophomore Michael Koss turned in a strong performance in the 100-yard breaststroke, taking first place in the event. However, freshman Jason Colettis turned in the performance of the weekend. Not a member of the team's Big East travelling team, Colettis won the 200-yard backstroke and set a meet record with a time of 1:51.44, breaking the record of teammate Brian Skorney of 1:53.23. Colettis was also a member of the 400-medley relay team that included Koss, senior Rob Fetter and freshman Jason Fitzpatrick that took first place along with setting a meet record.
"If you are measuring how well we swam this weekend, Jason Colettis probably had the swim of the weekend," said Welsh. "With this meet, we say it is the last meet of this year but the first meet of next year. It sets the tone for next season.
"By setting a University record and swimming well in this meet, Jason established himself as a competitor and shows we have great things to look forward to from him next weekend. There was plenty of great swimming going on. Our underclassmen have really improved."
Although some teams use this meet as a last chance to qualify for the NCAA Championships in March, the Irish did not earn additional considerations.
"We always hope someone will qualify, but it is hard to do at a meet that comes right after the conference championships," said Welsh. "These guys have raced five days out of the last 10. That makes it extra hard to qualify because by the tenth day, you are worn down."
Overall, Welsh was pleased by the weekend's results.
"We demonstrated the unity, spirit and energy that have been with us all season," said Welsh. "This weekend was just a great way to end the season."
All Sports Stories for Monday, February 28, 2000
