Fighting Irish Swimmers Top Pittsburgh, Fall to Virginia Tech at Notre Dame Tri-Meet

Photo Credit: Notre Dame Athletics

SOUTH BEND – The Notre Dame swimming and diving teams picked up dual meet wins over Pittsburgh and fell to Virginia Tech as the two-day Notre Dame tri-meet came to a close this afternoon.

Notre Dame Men’s Press Release

The University of Notre Dame men’s swimming and diving team gained valuable experience in their meet with Virginia Tech and Pittsburgh this weekend. The Irish finished behind defending ACC Champion Virginia Tech, 201-169, but outswam Pittsburgh, 286-84.

“I thought we raced very well again, and did a few more fundamental things right,” Irish head coach Matt Tallman says. “It was still a relatively close meet despite Virginia Tech widening the margin in score between yesterday and today.”

In Saturday morning’s first event, The A-team finished second and the B-team third in the 400 medley relay. Bogac Ayhan, Zachary Stephens, Jonathan Williamson and Matthew Buerger touched the wall in 3:19.19, while Robert Whitacre, Cameron Miller, Patrick Olson and Kevin Bradley weren’t far behind with their 3:23.53 showing.

“From the freshman class in particular, Rob Whitacre is coming back from injury and he’s playing a huge role for us. This was the first week he could swim a 200 backstroke and his backstroke is coming along – he’s swimming faster at this point in the year than he did previously in high school,” Tallman says of his underclassmen superstars.

Whitacre also placed seventh in the 100 back (51.34) on Saturday, after taking third in the 200 back race Friday night (1:49.91).

Saturday didn’t just feature top times from the swimmers however, as savvy-veteran Nick Nemetz won the men’s 1-meter diving competition. Nemetz – a former BIG EAST Diver of the Year – took first with his 322.15 score. Ted Wagner finished third with a 304.45 showing, while sophomore Joe Coumos rounded out the top five with his 285.00 score. Nemetz finished fourth in Friday’s 3-meter event (323.35) while Coumos was fifth in the standings with his 319.10 mark.

Back on the starting blocks, freshman Benjamin Jany continued to impress with his third-place showing in the 500 free (4:35.69). Rounding out the top-10 across two heats were John Nappi (sixth, 4:38.33), Kevin Hughes (eighth, 4:42.80) and Brennan Jacobsen (10th, 4:45.59).

In the 200 IM, Stephens defended his title from the Purdue meet (Nov. 1), out-touching Virginia Tech’s Owen Burns at the wall to clinch the first-place victory (1:49.75). Olson claimed fifth with his 1:52.15 showing, while sophomore Tom Anderson was eighth (1:54.50) and junior Matthew Buerger came in ninth (1:55.36).

In the 50 free, New York state record holder Justin Plaschka turned heads as he came in first. His 20.67 showing was .48 of a second off from the NCAA B-cut mark.

Fellow freestylers Joseph Krause and Michael Hudspith came in seventh and 10th respectively, while freshmen Gabe Ostler and Harlin Bessire swam for exhibition times.

In the 200 fly, Williamson was two seconds away from earning an NCAA B-cut time with his 1:49.75 time. Williamson claimed second, behind Virginia Tech’s Morgan Latimer’s 1:47.90 B-cut, while Bradley finished fourth (1:52.38) and Broderick Kelley touched in sixth (1:53.70).

“We have a lot of guys fighting for a chance to travel to Atlanta in February,” Tallman muses. “As a coaching staff, we really like to see that early in the season.”

In addition to Whitacre’s seventh-place showing in 100 back, Ayhan, Plaschka and Buerger finished second through fourth (50.04, 50.59 and 50.62 respectively).

Stephens missed getting his own B-cut by a mere .20 of a second in the 200 breast. The senior earned another first place finish with his 2:00.59 time, while classmates Andrew Jensen, Olson and Miller finished fourth (2:05.76), sixth (2:06.00) and seventh (2:06.29).

Freestyle continued to be an Irish strongsuit, with Trent Jackson finishing third behind a pair of Hokies swimmers in the 200 race (1:41.70). Hudspith, Kevin Hughes and Jany claimed fifth through seventh as well.

The Irish finished the meet the same way they started – in first place in a freestyle relay. The A-team lineup of Stephens, Buerger, Plaschka and Hughes touched the wall in 3:01.34, while the B-team squad (Krause, Bradley, Jackson, Hudspith) came in fourth (3:07.23).

The Irish are next in action Friday, Nov. 14 as they travel to East Lansing, Michigan, to face Michigan State.

Notre Dame Women’s Press Release

Five victories highlighted day two of a double dual meet against Atlantic Coast Conference foes Pittsburgh and Virginia Tech at Rolfs Aquatic Center, as the Irish finished the weekend with wins in 10 out of 20 events. Notre Dame bested the Panthers, 230-140, but fell to the Hokies, 198-172, in a battle that was close from beginning to end.

Leading the charge for the Irish throughout the weekend were senior Emma Reaney and sophomore Catherine Mulquin. The duo claimed seven of the eight individual victories for the Irish and also swam a leg on both relay wins.

“This weekend was great because it was the first time we got to go through the entire meet schedule that we will swim at conference,” said Mulquin. “I think it was really good for us to get in those swims that we haven’t done yet in addition to continuing to practice the ones we have been.”

The Irish opened the meet in style, as the foursome of Catherine Mulquin, Emma Reaney, Courtney Whyte and Catherine Galletti claimed first in the 400 medley relay (3:43.29) to complete the sweep of both medley relay events this weekend.

Reaney added to her weekend haul with two individual victories on day two. The Lawrence, Kansas native touched the pad first in the 200 IM, posting a time of 2:01.60 to miss an NCAA B cut by just .01 seconds. Later in the day, she won the 200 breast in an NCAA B cut time of 2:12.13, beating the second-place foe by over 2.5 seconds. Elsewhere on the weekend, Reaney won the 100 breast title Friday and swam a leg on both of the winning medley relay events and the second place 200 and 400 free relay squads.

Meanwhile, Mulquin added to her impressive meet by claiming the 50 free crown in 23.51 and the 100 back title in 55.48. On the weekend, she won both sprint free events, the 100 back and swam a leg on both of the winning medley relays as well as a leg on the runner up 200 and 400 free relays.

“It feels really good to not be a one event person,” said Mulquin. “I think my free is really coming along in training and it’s really nice to see it in meets.”

“Catherine is an emerging star, it’s really clear,” said interim head coach Tim Welsh. “She races well, she’s a very competitive athlete and she knows how to give herself to a race in the same way Emma (Reaney) does. She’s earned her success. She works hard every day. She prepares well. I’m glad she’s on our side.”

Joining Mulquin on the figurative podium in the 100 back was Galletti, who finished second in 56.99.

On the 3-meter board, the Irish placed second, third and fourth, as Lindsey Streepey (308.20), Emma Gaboury (304.80) and Allison Casareto (300.10) capped off their outstanding weekend.

In the 200 fly, the Irish finished second and third, as senior Bridget Casey and Whyte, recorded times of 2:02.60 and 2:03.40, respectively.

Notre Dame closed out the meet with a runner-up finish in the 400 free relay, as Reaney, sophomore Elizabeth House, Whyte and Mulquin stopped the watch in 3:27.41.

The Irish (3-5) close out the home portion of its fall schedule at 5 p.m. next Friday when they welcome in Big Ten opponent Illinois to Rolfs Aquatic Center. Fans can follow the meet through the live stats link on UND.com or by downloading the Meet Mobile app.

Virginia Tech Press Release

The Virginia Tech swimming & diving teams picked up wins against Notre Dame and Pittsburgh with top performances from Klaudia Nazieblo, Morgan Latimer and Jake Ores.

The Tech women won by a score of 198-172 over Notre Dame, and they won by a score of 252.50-117.50 over Pittsburgh. With the wins, their record improves to 6-1 this season. The 12th-ranked men also earned victories, topping Notre Dame, 201-169, and Pittsburgh, 287-83. Their record improves to 5-1.

“We were very pleased with our team’s desire, knowing how hard we have been training,” head coach Ned Skinner said. “There was a lot of spirited competition and we were happy to come away with hard-fought wins. Our leadership continues to set a positive tone and we should be able to build on this over the next few weeks as we prepare for our fall invite.”

The H2Okie women came into today’s portion of the dual meet with a comfortable lead and wasted no time improving their score. In the first event of the day, the 400 medley relay, Tech finished second and fourth. In the next event, the 500 freestyle, Tech again finished second and fourth. Jessica Hespeler finishes second, and Gabrielle Bishop took fourth.
Tech picked up its first win of the day in the 200 butterfly when Nazieblo won with a time of 2:00.11.

In the last individual race of the meet, Hespeler won the 200 free in 1:50.48. Tech added to the closeout victory with a win in the 400 free relay, where they finished first and third. Margaret Parcell, Adriana Grabski, Bishop and Hespeler swam with a winning time of 3:25.50.

In the 3-meter diving event, Ashley Buchter earned the win with a score of 316.50 and Kelli Stockton and Emma Villareal finished fifth and sixth, respectively.

The men’s squad for Virginia Tech also began the day with a solid lead on both teams, and they kept up the top-notch swimming from start to finish. In the first event of the day – the 400 medley relay – Collin Higgins, Brandon Fiala, Morgan Latimer and Owen Burns picked up a victory, clocking in at 3:16.21.

Jake Ores continued the success, winning the 500 freestyle with a time of 4:30.41 – Ores’ second victory of the meet.

Though the Tech men failed to pick up a win in the 200 IM, they earned significant team points by finishing second, third and fourth behind Burns, Brandon Fiala and Bureau , respectively.

Morgan Latimer continued his success in the butterfly events, winning his second race of the meet by completing the 200 butterfly in an NCAA B-cut time of 1:47.90. Collin Higgins also earned his second win of the meet when he won the 100 back in 48.83.

In the 200 freestyle, Bureau took second behind Owen Burns, who touched the wall in 1:38.50, and Tech’s 400 free relay team finished second to close out the meet.

Off the boards, Tech finished second and fourth in the 1-meter diving event. Jared Butts scored 322.15 and Logan Stevens scored 304.45.

Next on the slate for the H2Okies is the H2Okie fall invitational on Nov. 20-22 at the Christiansburg Aquatic Center.

For updates on Virginia Tech swimming & diving, follow the Hokies on Twitter.

Pittsburgh Press Release

On Saturday, Nov. 8, the Pitt men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams concluded a two-day dual meet at Notre Dame’s Rolf Aquatics Center with the Irish and Virginia Tech.

Pitt suffered defeats to both teams on both the men’s and women’s sides. The Panthers women fell to Notre Dame 230-140 and to Virginia Tech 252.5-117.5. The Pitt men were outscored by the host Irish 286-84 and fell by a similar margin to the Hokies, 287-83. Virginia Tech’s men’s team was ranked 18th in the latest CSCAA poll.

A number of Panthers swimmers had strong performances highlighted by eight different competitors that earned top three finishes throughout the weekend.

Freshman Amanda Richey continued her dominance since arriving on the collegiate scene. She was responsible for claiming both of Pitt’s wins in the two-day event, capturing first place in the 1,650-yd free and 500-yd free. Racing the 1,650 free for the first time at Pitt, Richey outraced the field with a NCAA “B” cut time of 16:30.13 on the opening night. She then recorded a season-best 4:51.50 in the 500. Richey also took second in the 200-yd free in 1:52.29.

Fellow distance swimmer, junior Kaleigh Ritter was close behind Richey, finishing second in the 1,650 free and third in the 500 free with times of 16:49.01 and 4:55.00, respectively. Ritter’s time in the 500 free was her best of the short season.

Sophomore Kinga Cichowska joined Richey as the only other Panthers swimmer to swim to three top-three finishes on the weekend. First, Cichowska placed third in the 100-yd breast in 1:03.33 in her only individual event of the opening night. On the second day of competition, Cichowska took third in the 200-yd IM with a time of 2:06.83 and closed out her weekend with another third place showing in the 200-yd breast in 2:16.78. Her time in the 200 breast topped her former season-best time by 0.03 seconds.

In addition to the distance freestyle races, the Pitt women also had strong showings in the shortest distances as well. Sophomore Danyel Johnson was second in the 50-yd free in 23.63 seconds, only 0.12 seconds behind first, while senior Dani des Tombe grabbed third in the 100-yd free with a time of 51.96 seconds.

Cichowska and des Tombe made up half of Pitt season-best 400-yd medley relay team along with juniors Blair Wegescheide and Mackenzie Meixner. The quartet finished third with a time of 3:51.62. des Tombe also paired up with junior Alex Iwanicki, sophomore Melissa Pocsai and freshman Emily Murphy for a season-fastest time of 3:29.95 in the 400 free relay.

Pitt’s men featured a trio of top-three finishers, led by senior Kourosh Ahani’s second place effort in the 100-yd butterfly. Ahani has continued to show is consistency in the race and posted a time of 49.16 seconds to show why he is one of the best in the Atlantic Coast Conference.

Racing in the 400-yd IM for just the second time this year, school record holder sophomore Zach Lierley completed the distance in 3:59.83 for third place. Junior David Sweeney gave the Panthers a solid showing across the board in the 50 free with his third place swim in 21.06 seconds.

In diving, freshman Meme Sharp and sophomore Anthony Galante were Pitt’s two best performers of the weekend. Sharp placed fourth with 274.75 points in the 3-meter dive and was the Panthers’ top competitor in the 1-meter dive with 266.05 points. Galante was Pitt’s best diver at both the 1-meter and 3-meter heights, with scores of 280.80 and 311.60, respectively.

Pitt comes back home for the first time in nearly a month when it hosts the Pitt Invitational two weekends from now. The three-day meet runs November 22-24 and will feature nine teams, including ACC foe Clemson.

Results: Pittsburgh, Virginia Tech vs. Notre Dame

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