Tristen Ulett Locks Up Likely NCAA Invite at Notre Dame Last Chance Meet

2024 Notre Dame Last Chance Meet

• March 1-2, 2024
• Rolf’s Athletic Center, Notre Dame, Indiana
• Short Course Yards (25 yards)
• Results on Meet Mobile: “Notre Dame Last Chance”

Tristen Ulett of Louisville appears to have locked up a fourth-straight NCAA appearance at the Notre Dame Last Chance Meet. After time trialing the 100 fly on day one and improving her season best to 52.04 (38th), she had two more chances to rise the rankings.

In the morning she clocked 52.00, which would tie for 36th, but at night she dropped over half-a-second to post a 51.48. That moves her up to a much safer 19th, considering the women’s meet cutline has been drawn at 39 for the past two years.

Summer Cardwell, a Cardinal freshman, hit a best time in the prelims of the 200 free (1:44.46). She then added a little in finals (1:44.54), though both times were under her previous best of 1:44.95. That slots her in at a precarious 39th this season.

Looking at some of the other day two results of the Notre Dame Last Chance Meet, you might get a little deja vu.

Denis Loktev and Dalton Lowe were back in action after time trialing their best events on Friday, and they both tied their times at some point during the day.

Lowe, a Louisville senior, hit a season best of 45.30 in the 100 fly last night and matched that time exactly during this morning’s prelims. He was a little more relaxed going out this morning (20.92 versus 20.66) but had a much stronger back half (24.38 versus 24.64). That time currently ties him for 22nd. In finals, he added a bit of time to touch in 45.37, showing some good consistency but not improving on his national rank.

Loktev, a junior, matched his time trials performance of 1:32.92 in the 200 free while swimming in finals. Compared to last night he really attacked the front half of his swim, but paid for it coming home (21.04/23.30/24.08/24.50). He still sits at 34th, and will likely be on the outside looking in once the cutlines are drawn.

Other Notable Swims and Near-Misses:

• After time trialing last night (1:54.54), Tyler Christianson (Notre Dame) swam the prelims of the 200 breast (1:54.63) and appeared to be setting up for one last crack at improving his season best in finals (1:53.47). However, he ended up scratching finals.
• Kayden Lancaster (Louisville) swam the prelims and finals of the 200 free, but appears to have been going for a 100 free split as both of his final times were over 2:00. In the morning, he hit 44.38 to drop one-hundredth of a second from his best time, and then improved to a 43.95 in finals. While it won’t earn him an NCAA invite, it is still an impressive improvement curve for the freshman who hadn’t broken 45-seconds prior to college.