Meet Records Galore at Big East Championships; Emma Reaney Shines

INDIANAPOLIS, Indiana, March 1. THE third night of the Big East Championships proved to be speedy as meet records fell with regularity this evening at the historic IU Natatorium in Indianapolis.

Louisville's Tanja Kylliainen dominated the women's 400-yard IM to open the evening. She surged to a meet record time of 4:07.29, cutting more than three seconds from her previous mark of 4:10.40 set last year. She also sparked a 1-2-3 for the Cardinals as Abigail Chin (4:13.24) and Victoria Mitchell (4:16.76) rounded out the podium. Louisville freshman Nolan Tesone followed up with a winning time of 3:48.90 in the men's 400 IM, giving the Cardinals a distance medley sweep. Connecticut's Wiliam Franz earned second in 3:49.76, while Notre Dame's Matthew DeBlasio touched third in 3:50.95.

Louisville kept on rolling. After super frosh Kelsi Worrell demolished the meet record with a 51.55 in prelims in the women's 100-yard fly, she matched that effort for the win in finals. Not only is that an NCAA A cut, it also obliterated the 53.10 set by fellow Cardinal Lorraine Thompson in 2011. Notre Dame's Kim Holden placed second in 52.57, under the former meet record, while Louisville's Mary Mittel claimed third in 54.61 in what proved to be a big event for the Cardinals with a 1-3-4-7 finish.

Pittsburgh's Kourosh Ahani ended the Louisville win streak at three events with a 46.74 in the men's 10-yard fly. Notre Dame's William Bass (47.38) and Jon Williamson (47.93) finished second and third in the event. Louisville marched right back up to the top of the podium in the women's 200-yard free when Breann McDowell won in 1:46.77. Pitt's Danielle des Tombe (1:48.54) and Kelsey Herbst (1:48.74) battled for second in a close swim. Connecticut's Jordan Bowen just missed the top three with a 1:48.86.

The second meet record of the night fell in the men's 200-yard free as Louisville's Joao De Lucca threw down an NCAA A cut time of 1:33.11 to win. That swim clipped his previous meet mark of 1:33.44 from 2012. Notre Dame's Frank Dyer touched second in 1:34.70, while Louisville's Alex Burtch took third in 1:36.39.

The meet records kept falling as Notre Dame's Emma Reaney blazed to a stunning 58.84 in the 100-yard breast. First, she turned in a 59.20 in prelims to beat Irish swimmer Samantha Maxwell's 2010 record of 59.64. Reaney's best time entering today had been a 59.38 from the Ohio State Invitational in November of last year. Her time tonight shot her to 13th in the all-time rankings. Villanova's Erin Malone finished a distant second in 1:00.77, while Notre Dame's Christen McDonough placed third in 1:01.18.

Notre Dame dominated the men's 100-yard breast with a 1-2-3 including a meet-record 52.95 from Chris Johnson. Johnson bettered the 2008 record of 53.07 set by West Virginia's Kevin Donohue. Zach Stephens (53.17) and Cameron Miller (53.53) took second and third for the Irish.

Notre Dame's Kim Holden (53.34) and Kelly Ryan (53.53) finished first and second in the women's 100-yard back, while Louisville's Kristina Brandenburg earned third in 53.95. Pitt's Adam Maczewski followed with a 47.09 to win the men's 100-yard back. Louisville's Aaron Young (48.75) and Notre Dame's Bogac Ayhan (48.80) picked up second and third.

Pitt's Aaron Snyder topped the men's three-meter diving finale with 338.30 points, while Notre Dame's Michael Kreft just took second with 338.20 points. Connecticut's John Brice rounded out the top three with 328.35 points.

Notre Dame's Kelly Ryan (53.51), Emma Reaney (58.15), Kim Holden (52.48) and Cat Galletti (50.72) captured the women's 400-yard medley relay in 3:34.86, clearing the NCAA qualifying standard in the event. Louisville's Kristina Brandenburg, Gisselle Kohoyda, Kelsi Worrell and Breann McDowell finished second in 3:36.39. Rutgers' Joanna Wu, Greta Leberfinger, Brittany Guinee and Mary Moser placed third in 3:40.52.

Louisville's Aaron Young (48.18), Addison Bray (53.44), Albert Lloyd (48.07) and Joao De Lucca (41.93) topped the men's 400-yard medley relay in 3:11.62. Notre Dame's Bogac Ayhan, Chris Johnson, Wiliam Bass and Zach Stephens took second in 3:12.98. Pitt's Adam Maczewski, Connor O'Prey, Kourosh Ahani and David Sweeney finished third in 3:15.15.

Women's Team Scores
Louisville 592
Notre Dame 538
Pittsburgh 298
Rutgers 281.5
Villanova 263
Cincinnati 197.5
Connecticut 185
Georgetown 92
Seton Hall 90
Providence 60

Men's Team Scores
Notre Dame 703
Louisville 522
Pittsburgh 379.5
Connecticut 301.5
Cincinnati 177
Georgetown 146
Seton Hall 118
Villanova 110
Providence 79

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