Upcoming Event: Men's Swimming & Diving at SMU Invitational on November 21, 2025 at All Day
All Day
Men's Swimming & Diving
at SMU Invitational
The University of Utah Athletics
Utah Swimming & Diving Heads to Notre Dame
11/9/2010 12:00 AM | Men's Swimming & Diving
Nov. 9, 2010
Complete Release in PDF Format 
THIS WEEK
The University of Utah swimming and diving team will compete against Notre Dame at the Rolfs Aquatic Center in South Bend, Ind., on Friday, Nov. 12 at 5 p.m. ET.
LAST WEEK
Nelson Foo, Kwan Ling Yu, and Natalie Edge all earned Mountain West Conference Athlete of the Week honors for their performances in Utah's first home meet of the season against Denver on Oct. 29.
Foo swept the boards in first, scoring 364.95 and 326.10 in the 1-meter and the 3-meter dives, respectively. Yu also won both diving boards for the women's side with scores of 265.35 and 276.90. As for Edge, she won 100 free (51.38) as well as in the 200 free (1:53.95) and also swam in the winning 400 medley relay against the Pioneers (3.48.91). This is the second time both Foo and Yu have been awarded the honor, and the first time for Edge.
LAST MEETING
The Utah Utes have not raced against Notre Dame since the Notre Dame Invitational in 2005. The men's team finished in second place with 1,366 points and the women's team finished third with 1,467 points. Both of the Notre Dame men's and women's teams finished first. Wyoming, Truman State, and North Dakota also competed at the Notre Dame Invitational.
QUOTING HEAD COACH Greg Winslow
"Notre Dame is going to be the best competition we have faced so far this season. Obviously, it will be a lot of fun to go up against a storied program. We're looking forward to the challenge. It will be a good opportunity to see what kind of team we really have. I really like where we are at this point in the season, so I think we have a chance."
"With Long Beach and three days of swimming next week, this weekend will be a real test on how well we can rebound after that kind of competition."
"It will be Parent's Weekend at Notre Dame, so this meet should have a wild and crazy atmosphere because there will be a lot of fans there. I have quite a few kids from the Midwest, so their families will get to see them race for the first time as Utah Utes."
SCOUTING THE OPPOSITION
Notre Dame head coach Tim Welsh is now in his 26th season coaching the Fighting Irish men's team. He has led them to 13 consecutive top-four finishes in the Big East Conference, including winning the conference title in 2008, 2009, and finished as the runner-up in 2010.
Senior Michael Sullivan clocked NCAA B-cut times in the 500 free and 400 IM at the Big East Championships last season. Steven Brus also recorded two NCAA B-cut times in the 200 and 500 free at the championships. Other Fighting Irish men competing against the Utes include P.J. Koppel and Joseph Raycroft in breast and IM events, Joshua Nosal and Thomas Van Volkenburg in freestyle events, Peter Petrovic in back, Bill Bass in the IM, and Christopher Johnson in breast.
On the diving side for the Fighting Irish, Wesley Villaflor, Nathan Geary, and Eric Lex are considered to be one of Notre Dame's "deepest classes off the board in recent memory." Villaflor was named the Big East's Most Outstanding Male Diver in 2010 after winning the 1-meter and 3-meter dives at the championships.
The Notre Dame women's team is led by head coach Brian Barnes, who has directed the Fighting Irish to two conference titles since taking over the helm in 2008.
Considered to be two of the top distance swimmers in the Big East, Lauren Sylvester and Gracie Fredlake will present a test for the Utes in the distance swimming events. Both Amywren Miller and Samantha Maxwell earned all-American status last season for their performances in the breast and free events, respectively. Maxwell went on to be named the Big East Swimmer of the Year. Other Fighting Irish swimmers competing against the Utes will include Kellyn Kuhlke in the butterfly events, Amy Prestinario in the free, and Kim Holden, who holds school records in backstroke and butterfly events.
Jenny Chiang, the Big East 3-meter champ, and Heidi Grossman will be the Fighting Irish competitors on the diving boards.
-UU-
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