Notre Dame Teams Top Dennis Stark Relays

NOTRE DAME, Indiana, October 5.IN the 43rd edition of the Dennis Stark Relays, the University of Notre Dame men and women's swimming and diving teams bested four others to come out on top.

On the mens side, with a score of 242, Notre Dame cruised past runner-up Ball State (158), Oakland (156), Valparaiso (118), and Marquette (50), and at one point touched the wall ahead of the pack in seven-straight events.

The opening meet, previously known as the Notre Dame Relays, was renamed in 2004 to honor former Notre Dame head swim¬ming coach Dennis Stark, who is a dedicated servant to the University and community.

"I thought our depth was good, our spirit was good, and that we swam aggressively tonight," said Irish head coach Tim Welsh. "It was a nice way to start off the season for us."

Ten of the meet's 13 events went the way of the Irish, as the squad managed to shatter three meet records. Sophomore John Lytle (Clearfield, Pa./Clearfield Area), sophomore Andrew Hoffman (Ft. Wayne, Ind./Homestead), junior Danny Lutkus (Granger, Ind./Penn), and senior Rob Seery (Garden City, N.Y./Garden City) teamed for a first-place finish in the 300 Free Relay (2:16.83) for a new meet all-time best.

In besting the competition in the 1-meter diving relay (600.75) and 3-meter synchronized event (251.50), senior Sam Stoner (Valparaiso, Ind./Valparaiso) and junior Michael Bulfin (Ft. Lauderdale, Fla./St. Thomas Aquinas) eclipsed the event's previous top scores to etch their names in the records books.

The tandem of sophomore Andrew Deters (Claremont, Calif./Claremont) and freshman Steven Brus (Davenport, Iowa/Davenport Noth) controlled the 1,000 Free Relay from beginning to end. Deters lead the opening half with a time of 4:41.76, aided by a small surge in the last length. The second half of the race was highlighted by Brus lapping the remaining members of the field, while finishing his portion of the race in 4:44.62 for a combined time of 9:26.38, more than 35 seconds ahead of runner-up Valparaiso.

Freshman Michael Sullivan (Franklin, Mass./Bishop Feehan) joined sophomore MacKenzie LeBlanc (Plano, Texas / Plano East), Seery, and Deters in winning the 800 Free Relay (7:00.57). Senior Eric Swenson (Scotch Plains, N.J./St. Joseph) and junior Daniel Rave (Hannover, Germany) were each part of a pair of winning squads that claimed gold by leading the 400 Breast Relay (3:57.13) and 400 Medley Relay (3:38.17) quartets to victory lane.

The Notre Dame women's swimming and diving team scored 226 of 822 points, taking first place by 60 points. Five teams from nearby universities joined the women in the waters of Notre Dame. The Irish engaged in many close races with Illinois State and Ball State University swimmers and consequently, the two latter teams finished in a tie for second with 166 points. Oakland University finished 4th (142), Valparaiso University placed 5th (104), and Marquette University was 6th (18).

The 300-yard free relay began as a close race between Notre Dame and Oakland. Going into the final lap of the race, the two anchor swimmers were even. After the turn, Notre Dame's Miller was slightly ahead with an explosion of speed from the Irish swimmer marking the final lap. The two swimmers from Oakland and Illinois State were powerless and unable to maintain the pace, resulting in a two body-length victory for Notre Dame.

The water's of the Rolfs Aquatic Center shimmered with the reflection of Irish swimmers as they propelled through the depths during the 400-yard backstroke relay. After completing the first lap in second place, freshman Lauren Parisi (Hauppauge, N.Y./Hauppauge) finished her lead-off leg out in front of the pack. By the time Meg Reynolds (Alpharetta, Ga./Wesleyan) exited and senior and team captain Katie Guida (Alexandria, Va./Georgetown Visitation Prep) entered the water, the Irish had gained a two body-length lead over Valparaiso. They continued to expand this lead through the end of the race. Freshman Amywren Miller (Grosse Pointe Woods, Mich./The Peddie School) finished for the Irish more than 5.5 seconds ahead of second place Oakland.

The combined efforts of Irish swimmers Lexie Shue (Newport Beach, Calif./Corona Del Mar) and Lauren Sylvester (Philadelphia, Pa./Germantown Academy) produced another victory for Notre Dame in the 1,000-yard free relay. The two women proved themselves unstoppable to the rest of the field. Shue gained the lead with her opening split, with the lead growing as Sylvester came in to the finish. The two athletes combined for a total time of 10:02.78 and won the contest by almost 25 seconds.

The arms of Irish backstroker Maggie Behrens (Munster, Ind./Munster) sliced the waves and powered Notre Dame to an early lead in the 200-yard medley relay. Each subsequent member steadily expanded this lead to give the Irish a first place finish with a time of 1:49.00. This time was three seconds ahead of the runner-up Ball State relay squad.

Notre Dame finished the Dennis Stark Relays with a tremendous display during the final event–the 400-yard free relay. Illinois State led off during the beginning of the race, but by the time the first swimmers had exited the water, Notre Dame was in a three-way tie for second place. During the third leg, Valparaiso took the lead, however, the gap started to fade as Notre Dame's Christa Riggins (Phoenix, Ariz./Sunnyslope) charged through the waves and chased down the leader. By the time Riggins finished, Notre Dame had a slight lead. After Miller entered the water, the Irish broke away in a record-breaking finish of 3:31.01, over than 2 seconds faster than the previous record.

Special thanks to Notre Dame for contributing this report.

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