March 28, 2008

FEDERAL WAY, Wash. - Junior diver Michael Bulfin made history on Friday by becoming the first member of the University of Notre Dame swimming and diving team to earn points at the NCAA Championships. The Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., native notched a pair of points in the final round of the 3-meter competition to secure a top-20 finish in the 2008 NCAA Swimming and Diving Championships held at the Weyerhaeuser King County Aquatic Center.

Bulfin finished 28th in the 1-meter with a count of 264.25 during Thursday's preliminary rounds. He followed that with a stellar 319.55 and a 16th-place finish in the 3-meter event during the prelims on Friday to move into the final heat. It was there that he moved up one spot to 15th with a score of 332.40 in the final round of the 3-meter to earn the first points for Notre Dame at the NCAAs in program history.

Bulfin is the first member of the Irish program to earn multiple trips to the NCAA Championships after previously competing at the national meet in 2006.

Diver Bob Ebel (1975) and swimmer Tim Kegelman (2005) are the only other Irish student-athletes to take part in the NCAAs.

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