Louisville Women; Notre Dame Men Capture Team Titles at Big East Champs

INDIANAPOLIS, Indiana, March 2. The Big East Championships came to a close as the IU Natatorium warmed up in anticipation of hosting the men's and women's NCAA Division I Championships. The Louisville women and Notre Dame men captured team titles in the Big East Championships at the venerable IU Nat.

Villanova's Hayley Edwards posted a meet-record time of 16:14.98 to win the women's 1650-yard freestyle event. That time cleared Maddy Crippen's 2002 record of 16:15.07. Pittsburgh's Kelsey Herbst took second in 16:20.78, while Villanova's Roxanne Tammadge touched third in 16:29.79. Louisville's Bryan Draganosky took down a meet record of his own with a 15:04.45 in the men's 1650-yard free. That performance bested the 15:09.31 set by Syracuse's Jay Craft way back in 1993. Georgetown's Paul Quincy finished second in 15:16.90, while Notre Dame's John Nappi earned third in 15:21.63.

Notre Dame went 1-2 in the women's 200-yard back with Kelly Ryan (1:53.86) and Kim Holden (1:54.33) each clearing the meet record. Rutgers' Kelly Harrigan previously held the record with a 1:54.76 in 2006. Louisville's Eszter Povazsay earned third in 1:56.27. Louisville's Juan Lopez took home the men's 200-yard back title in 1:44.64, while teammate Evan Noble placed second in 1:44.71. Connecticut's William Franz finished third in 1:45.78.

Louisville dominated the women's 100-yard free with a 1-2-3 finish. Kelsi Worrell charged to the win in 49.02, while Breann McDowell (49.42) and Kristina Brandenburg (49.65) earned second and third. Louisville's Joao De Lucca then clocked an NCAA A cut time of 42.43 to win the men's 100-yard free. Teammates Caryle Blondell (43.48) and Samuel Hoekstra (43.89) gave the Cardinals a second straight 1-2-3 finish.

Notre Dame's Emma Reaney kept up her amazing meet, dominating the women's 200-yard breaststroke event with an NCAA A cut time of 2:08.24. Villanova's Erin Malone (2:11.25) and Louisville's Gisselle Kohoyda (2:12.10) placed second and third behind her. Notre Dame's Zach Stephens topped the men's 200-yard breast with a 1:55.21, while Louisville's Addison Bray placed second in 1:55.74. Notre Dame's Cameron Miller earned third in 1:56.24.

Louisville's Tanja Kylliainen claimed the women's 200-yard fly title in 1:55.75. Notre Dame's Bridget Casey (1:57.49) and Louisville's Devon Bibault (1:58.00) touched second and third to round out the top three. Notre Dame's Jon Williamson (1:43.94) and William Bass (1:45.27) went 1-2 in the men's 200-yard fly, while Pitt's Jon Lierley claimed third in 1:47.16.

During the diving break, Louisville's Sean Piner won the men's platform with 302.55 points. Notre Dame's Ted Wagner took second with 258.90 points, while Louisville's Nikolas Sachs finished third with 256.65 points. Rutgers' Nicole Scott won the women's tower title with 273.25 points. Louisville's Hannah Gadd earned second with 238.95 points, while Notre Dame's Lindsey Streepey finished third with 228.40 points.

Louisville's Kelsi Worrell (49.28), Kristina Brandenburg (48.93), Grite Apanaviciute (49.66) and Breann McDowell (49.02) finished the night for the women with a 3:16.89 to win the 400-yard free relay. That swim cleared the NCAA A cut. Notre Dame's Emma Reaney, Kelly Ryan, Cat Galletti and Kim Holden touched second in 3:19.37, while Villanova's Sara Jurek, Natalie Elphick, Katrin Heider and Kaisla Kollanus wound up third in 3:22.46.

Louisville's Caryle Blondell (43.22), Joao De Lucca (42.19), Alex Burtch (43.53) and Sam Hoekstra (43.44) downed the meet record in the men's 400-yard free relay with a 2:52.38. That time clipped the 2:52.58 set by Louisville last year, and cleared the NCAA A cut. Notre Dame's Frank Dyer, Zach Stephens, John McGinley and William Bass took second in 2:54.43, while Pitt's David Sweeney, Kourosh Ahani, Hussein Medhat-Mohamed and Alexander Rodenkirk took third in 2:57.57.

Women's Team Scores
Louisville 895
Notre Dame 772
Pittsburgh 443
Villanova 415
Rutgers 410.5
Cincinnati 289.5
Connecticut 267
Seton Hall 115
Georgetown 114
Providence 74

Men's Team Scores
Notre Dame 991
Louisville 851.5
Pittsburgh 573.5
Connecticut 436
Cincinnati 259
Georgetown 203
Seton Hall 151
Villanova 143
Providence 97

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