Printer-Friendly Format     E-mail this article     USC handed Notre Dame a 158-104 loss when the Irish opened dual meet action Friday at the Rolfs Aquatic Center.

Three Irish sophomores garner individual wins against No. 15 Southern California.

Oct. 19, 2007

Complete Results

NOTRE DAME, Ind. - In an early season battle between two top-25 programs, the University of Notre Dame men's swimming and diving team dropped its first dual meet of the 2007-08 campaign to No. 15 Southern California at the Rolfs Aquatic Center on Friday.

The 22nd-ranked Irish earned 104 points, falling short of the Trojans' total of 158 in the first-ever head-to-head matchup between the programs.

"The races were better than what the final score indicated," said Irish head coach Tim Welsh. "We learned a lot about racing side-by-side, and that's the fun part of our sport.

"There were good races all night, but they touched wall first more than we did. We'd always choose a win over a loss, although our younger swimmers gained some great experience tonight. I know this will help us get better."

In fact, second-year swimmers won each of the five events in which Notre Dame claimed individual victories. Sophomore Andrew Deters (Claremont, Calif./Claremont) notched a pair of wins in the distance events, capturing first in the 500 Free (4:41.46) and 1,000 Free (9:36.41). The next closest finisher in the latter event was USC's Kevin Little, who clocked in at 9:44.12.

Sophomores John Lytle (Clearfield, Pa./Clearfield Area) and Ross Moore (Champaign, Ill./Champaign) also earned top nods in their respective events. Lytle handled the competition in the 100 Free (45.50), and Moore left the 100 Fly field in his wake by posting a mark of 50.00. Lytle was also second in the 200 Free (1:39.49), and joined a trio of teammates for a second-place finish in the 400 Free Relay (3:08.56).

Moore was accompanied by Jeff Wood (Fairport, N.Y./Fairport), Sam Pendergast, (Melbourne, Australia/Warrnambool), and Andrew Hoffman (Ft. Wayne, Ind./Homestead) for a second-place finish in the 200 Medley Relay (1:33.00). Wood also took home a runner-up finish in the 100 Back (52.04), and freshman Michael Sullivan (Franklin, Mass./Bishop Feehan) completed the 200 Back (1:50.31) in the same spot.