Swim Teams Finish Strong at Notre Dame
12/3/2000 12:00:00 AM | Swimming and Diving
Dec. 3, 2000
SOUTH BEND, Ind. - A consistent effort paid off this weekend as the Michigan State swimming and diving teams completed the three day Notre Dame Invitational. The men's team finished first out of eight teams, scoring 1,451 points. The women's team placed third out of ten teams with 1,147.5 points, behind Notre Dame in first and Denison in second place.
The Spartan men closed the weekend with several first-place finishes. On Saturday the 400 freestyle relay team of John Munley (Kalamazoo, Mich.), Rick Nichols (Mercersberg, Penn.), Joel Hageman (Fort Wayne, Ind.), and Scott Shafer (Centerville, Va.) took first with a time of 3:02.39. Other first-place finishes for the weekend include Lars Neubauer in the 100 breaststroke (56.83), and the 800 free relay team of Joe Brennan (Poway, Calif.), Nichols, Shafer, and Munley. John Munley was a critical swimmer for the Spartans this weekend placing first in both the 200 free (1:38.09) and the 500 free (4:28.44), with both times breaking Notre Dame pool records. In men's diving, Nick Visscher (Holland, Mich.) placed fourth in the three meter.
The women's team held several strong finishes as well. Ildiko Szekely (Budapest, Hungary) took first in the 200 butterfly with a time of 2:04.63 on Saturday. Szelkely placed second in the in the 400 individual medley with a time of 4:26.94. Junior Carly Weiden (Kentwood, Mich.) provided a first-place finish in the one and three meter dives.
Head coach Jim Lutz stated that he felt the team "is moving in the right direction. The swimmers stepped up and put in a positive effort...A number of swimmers made cuts for nationals this weekend. The divers did well also. Everybody on the team contributed."
The MSU swimming and diving teams are back in action this weekend at home against Ball State on Saturday at 1 p.m.
MEN1. MSU 1,4042. Notre Dame 1,3463. W. Kentucky 1,2074. Denison 1,1765. Columbia 9466. Illinois- Chicago 3737. Air Force 888. Wisconsin- Milwaukee 64WOMEN1. Notre Dame 1,4042. Denison 1,245.53. MSU 1,1474. Harvard 1,0885. W. Kentucky 9906. N. Michigan 5917. Illinois- Chicago 4648. Wisconsin- Milwaukee 1299. Air Force 8310. Columbia 73