Big East Conference Championships, Day Two

LOUISVILLE, Kentucky, February 17. AFTER the second day of action at the BIG EAST Swimming Championship, Louisville tops both the men’s and women’s team leader boards at the Ralph R. Wright Natatorium on the University of Louisville campus.

Day two finals action kicked off with the women’s 500-yard freestyle. West Virginia’s Rachael Burnett took home her second consecutive BIG EAST crown in the 500 free with a time of 4:43.04. She set the meet record in 2010 with a 4:41.65 mark. Second-place honors went to teammate Kata Fodor with a mark of 4:43.51, while Villanova’s Roxanne Tammadge followed at 4:44.40.

On the men’s side, the top three finishers in the 500 freestyle all beat the previous meet record of 4:22.05 set by Notre Dame’s MacKenzie LeBlanc in 2008. The Irish men held on to the BIG EAST Championship record as Frank Dyer touched in at 4:19.08. He was followed by Seton Hall’s Kevin Webster and Louisville’s Shane Lichtenberg, finishing at 4:20.16 and 4:21.21, respectively.

In the women’s 200-yard individual medley, UofL’s Sarah Andrews claimed the BIG EAST Championship title with a time of 2:00.26, edging WVU’s Breanna McCann’s 2:01.46. Third-place went to Joanna Budzis, who finished at 2:01.83.

Louisville’s Carlos Almeida took home top honors in the men’s 200 IM with a time of 1:46.21. He set the meet record of 1:45.26 in 2009. UofL’s Alex Burtch and ND’s William Bass tapped in at 1:47.42 for a second-place tie.

Cincinnati’s Liz Hansson held off the band of six Cardinals to win the women’s 50-yard freestyle, posting a time of 22.93. Louisville’s Aileen Cole recorded a second-place time of 22.95. In the second tie of the evening, UofL’s Nicole Landisch shared third with the Irish’s Amy Prestinario, finishing in 23.03.

The Cardinals continued their winning ways as Brendon Andrews put up a winning time of 19.83 in the men’s 50 free. For the Mountaineers, Tim Squires came in second at 20.05, while Pitt’s Andrzej Dubiel followed at 20.09.

The session ended with the men’s and women’s 200-yard freestyle relays. The women’s side saw Louisville edge Notre Dame, posting times of 1:31.44 and 1:31.98, respectively. The Cardinals extended their overall team lead to 328.50 points, followed by the Irish’s 217.50. UofL’s winning relay team consisted of Cole, Landisch, Lacey Bobo and Grite Apanaviciute. The Panthers claimed third, coming in at 1:33.65.

The Cardinal men collected their third victory of the night, leaping into first place with 346 points. UofL’s Samuel Hoekstra, Matthew Schlytter, Kameron Chastain and Burtch touched the wall in 1:19.69. The Mountaineers finished second at 1:20.12, while the Panthers took third with a time of 1:20.50.

For complete results of men’s and women’s 500 freestyle, 200 IM, 50 freestyle and 200 freestyle relay, please visit the BIG EAST Swimming & Diving Championship Central page and check out the results link.

BIG EAST Championship swimming action continues tomorrow with the men’s and women’s 400-yard IM, 100-yard butterfly, 200-yard freestyle, 100-yard breaststroke, 100-yard backstroke and the 400-yard medley relay. The prelims start at 10 a.m. with the finals beginning at 6 p.m.

The above article is a press release submitted to Swimming World Magazine. It has been posted in its entirety without editing. Swimming World offers all outlets the chance to reach our audience by contacting us at Newsmaster@swimmingworldmagazine.com. However, Swimming World reserves the right to choose what material is posted.

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