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Pittsburgh Men And Notre Dame Women Crowned Big East Champions

Feb 18, 2001

Hempstead, N.Y. - The University of Pittsburgh men and the Notre Dame women each captured its fifth consecutive BIG EAST Championship tonight at the 2001 BIG EAST swimming and diving championships, being held at the Goodwill Games Swimming Center.

The Panthers won the men's competition with 647 points, while St. John's finished second with 428 points. Virginia Tech took third place (417), Notre Dame placed fourth (385.5) and Rutgers rounded out the top five with 385 points.

The Fighting Irish secured the women's competition with 672.5 points and Virginia Tech is the runner-up with 482 points. Rutgers finished in third (450.50), Villanova placed fourth (406) and Miami rounds out the top five for the women (391.5).

On the men's side, Eric Limkemann, a freshman from Pittsburgh, took the 1650-yd freestyle title with an NCAA 'B' time of 15:19.08. Josko Vucetic of Syracuse won the 200-yd backstroke for the second consecutive year, finishing in an NCAA 'B' time of 1:44.43. Pittsburgh's Mike Grube grabbed another crown with a 43.94 in the 100-yd freestyle. Pittsburgh took its third men's title of the night when freshman Randy Gertenbach finished the 200-yd breaststroke in an NCAA 'B' time of 2:01.41. Djordje Filipovic of Syracuse is now a three-time 200-yd butterfly champion, winning tonight's race in a BIG EAST record time of 1:45.70. All three top finishers in the 200 fly swam NCAA 'B' qualifying marks. In the final event of the night, the 400-yd freestyle relay, the team from Pittsburgh broke the BIG EAST record (2:58.69) with a 2:56.56.

In the women's competition, Erin McIntyre of Rutgers won the 1650-yd freestyle championship in a time of 16:30.36. The top seven finishers in the 1650 all finished in NCAA 'B' qualifying times. Kelly Hecking of Notre Dame won her second title of the Championships when she defended her 200-yd backstroke title with an NCAA 'B' time of 1:58.70. Villanova swimmer Kristen Olson took the 100-yd freestyle crown with an NCAA 'B' time of 50.21. 2000 Olympian Maddy Crippen of Villanova captured another BIG EAST title when she posted a 2:14.33 in the 200-yd breaststroke. Notre Dame swept the top three spots of the 200-yd freestyle with freshman Lisa D'Olier placing first in an NCAA 'B' time of 2:01.17. The women from Virginia Tech won the 400-yd freestyle relay in an NCAA 'B' time of 3:23.28.