Valparaiso opened its 2003-04 swimming and diving season on Friday evening at the Dennis Stark Relays held in Notre Dame, Ind. and the men came away with a third place finish.

Notre Dame won the competition with 200 points, followed by Wisconsin-Milwaukee with 156. The Crusaders tallied 124 points on the evening, while Marquette finished fourth with 102 points.

Valpo's 800 freestyle relay earned a second place finish for the Brown and Gold on the evening. The team of Keith Aumend (Lake Worth, Fla.), Dan Johnson (Palatine, Ill./Fremd H.S.), Bob Pedersen (Urbana, Ill./Urbana H.S.), and Colin Simpson (Rockford, Ill./Auburn H.S.) touched the wall in a time of 7:30.23, trailing just Notre Dame.

The Crusaders 200 medley relay also finished runner-up as Travers Smith (Huntley, Ill./Huntley H.S.), Jeff Ewers (Huntertown, Ind./Carroll H.S.), Pedersen, and Sean Conrin (Buffalo Grove, Ill./Buffalo Grove H.S.) turned in a time of 1:42.18. Wisconsin-Milwaukee won the event by 2.18 seconds over the Brown and Gold.

Valparaiso will open its dual meet portion of its schedule on Friday, October 24 when IUPUI visits the Athletics-Recreation Center. The meet is slated to begin at 5 p.m.