Aug. 15, 2000

Notre Dame junior swimmer Jonathan Pierce (Newburgh, Ind.) finished 60th in 16:19.73 at the 2000 U.S. Olympic Swimming Team Trials in Indianapolis, Ind. on Tuesday. Pierce was the third competitor from the Irish men's swimming team to compete in the trials.

Pierce will return to action for the Irish in 2000-2001 to defend his 1,650-yard freestyle title he won at the 2000 BIG EAST Championship. He holds three Notre Dame freestyle records (the 500, 1,000 and 1,650-yard events). Pierce was the first Notre Dame swimmer to win an individual BIG EAST title as a freshman in 1999.

Senior Dan Szilier (Norristown, Pa.) and Ryan Verlin (Rye, N.Y.) also qualified for a spot at the 2000 trials. Szilier took 74th in the 200-meter butterfly preliminaries and Verlin finished 29th in the 200-meter breaststroke preliminaries.