Pitt
Notre Dame
Women's Swimming and Diving Stuns No. 23 Notre Dame
11/9/2007 12:00:00 AM | Swimming & Diving
Nov. 9, 2007
PITTSBURGH--Faced with a must win situation, Pitt's 200 free relay team touched the wall first by nearly two seconds to lead the women's swimming and diving team to a 150-148 victory over No. 23 Notre Dame this evening at Trees Pool.
In their first-ever dual-meet win over the Irish, Pitt trailed Notre Dame as they headed into the final event of the meet. With every member of the 200 free swimming under a 24.00 split, the Panthers took the race with a time of 1:34.78.
Junior Stacie Safritt (Cranberry, Pa./Seneca Valley) led off the relay and jumped out to an early lead with a 23.48 split. Freshman Kristen McMullan (West Chester, Pa./Henderson) and sophomore Megan Sculley (Sinking Springs, Pa./Wilson/William and Mary) then maintained the lead, as senior Kelly O'Hara (Voorhees, N.J./Timber Creek) anchored the race with a 23.66 split.
Pitt's B team of sophomore Sara Sullivan (Longmont, Colo./Longmont), seniors Colleen Sullivan (Alexandria, Va./Bishop Ireton) and Brittany Stevens (Peachtree City, Ga./Starr's Mill/Florida State) and junior Agnes Mago (Kecskemet, Hungary/Bolyai Janos/Radford) combined for a second-place finish at the 1:36.68 mark.
Safritt was instrumental all day as she led the Panthers with two individual first-place finishes. She claimed a victory in 50 free (23.53) and 100 free (51.28), while O'Hara chipped in points with a third-place finish in the 50 free.
Safritt would later finish second in the 200 free, while Mago placed third in that event. Later in the meet, Mago finished second in the 500 free (5:00.73) and third in the 200 IM (2:07.66).
Stevens was another multi-event winner for Pitt, as she claimed first-place finishes in the 100 (56.59) and 200 fly (2:05.53).
Swimming events opened with a Notre Dame disqualification in the 400 medley relay. Pitt's team of sophomore Ryann Kishbaugh (Danville, Pa./Danville Area), junior Ruth Seiffert (Boothwyn, Pa./Garnet Valley), Stevens and Sculley won the event with a time of 3:53.17.
The meet was tied after the 22nd event at 112, where freshman Cookie McIntyre (York, Pa./West York Area) touched the wall at 2:22.64 for second in the 200 breast. Seiffert then added points with a third-place finish in the same event.
Sophomore Margo Ekstrom (Erie, Pa./McDowell) led the divers with a top finish on the 1M board with a score of 162.80.
Pitt resumes action on Dec. 1 in the two-day Big Al Princeton swim meet and two-day Rutgers Diving Invitational.
Players Mentioned
