Betty Brey, a member of the 1956 U.S. Olympic swimming team, died Saturday of a heart attack in Florida at age 84, a few hours before her son took the court to coach the Notre Dame Irish in the NCAA basketball tournament.<\/p>\n
Mike Brey\u2019s Irish beat Butler 67-64 to earn a place in the NCAA Sweet 16 Saturday night, a game that will forever remain a tribute to his mother.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was a really special night,\u201d Mike Brey said in a post-game press conference. \u201cI think she was definitely with us down the stretch.”<\/p>\n
Brey added that his mother always was his best motivator and would give her son pep talks before big games. It\u2019s unclear if Betty Brey offered any final words of encouragement before the game against Butler, but the late surge by Notre Dame in the fourth quarter helped the Irish get into the Sweet 16 for the first time in 12 years.<\/p>\n
Betty Brey made the 1956 Olympic team in the 400 freestyle relay and competed in the prelims of that event in Melbourne. She won relay gold at the 1951 and 1955 Pan American Games, silver in the 200 free at the 1951 Games and silver in the 100 fly at the 1955 Games.<\/p>\n
According to various media reports, Brey held a world record in the 100 butterfly, but official records do not list her name among previous world record holders. Betty Brey stayed in the sport for a stint as head coach at George Washington University. Mike Brey was a swimmer for a brief period, but said he skipped out on swim practice once at age 9 to attend a basketball camp, and the rest is history.<\/p>\n
Mike Brey traveled to Florida Sunday to be with family. Notre Dame\u2019s next game in the NCAA tournament is Thursday against Wichita State.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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