Host Notre Dame Sweeps Dennis Stark Relays

NOTRE DAME, Indiana, October 13. THE Notre Dame men's swimming and diving squad won seven of the 12 events on Friday night at the Rolfs Aquatic Center, as the Irish slipped past Oakland to claim the team title at the 48th annual Dennis Stark Relays.

The Irish won five of the 10 swimming events and both diving events to secure victory. They were followed by Oakland (190), Cleveland State (144) and IUPUI (118).

Notre Dame hits the road in two weeks for a pair of road dual meets, as they first battle Oakland on Friday, Oct. 26, before taking on Michigan State on Saturday, Oct. 27.

EVENT-BY-EVENT RESULTS

200 Free Relay: The team of Frank Dyer, Kevin Overholt, John McGinley and Chris Johnson bested Oakland by almost three seconds in the men's opening race of the afternoon. The foursome finished in 1:22.69, with Overholt's 20.40 split proving to be the fastest of the race.

400 Medley Relay: Notre Dame took second in the 400 medley relay behind Oakland. The Irish finished in 3:25.54 as Grizzlies touched the pad in 3:23.96. Notre Dame had the lead through two swimmers, but Oakland had two strong swims from Alex Aceino and Grant Harding to take the victory.

800 Free Relay: The Irish touched the pad second in the 800 free relay behind first place Oakland. The Grizzlies finished in 6:52.98, while Notre Dame was right behind in 6:54.17.

400 IM Relay: The 400 IM relay team of Bill Bass, Matthew DeBlasio, Zach Stephens and Patrick Olson got the Irish back on the winning track as they finished in 3:29.76.

300 Fly Relay: Notre Dame finished second in the 300 fly relay behind Oakland. The Irish touched the wall in 2:32.40, with the Grizzlies slipping just ahead in 2:31.84.

300 Back Relay: Bogac Ayhan was neck-and-neck with Oakland's Anders Jensen after the first leg … Oakland's Tobias Hansen pulled away in the second leg and Harding touched the pad first for Oakland in 2:30.61 … the Irish finished in second in 2:33.89.

300 Breast Relay: The Irish trio of Johnson, Stephens and Cameron Miller took home the victory in 2:50.38, shattering the meet record set by Oakland in 2011 … Johnson gave the Irish the led after his lead-off leg … Stephens extended the Irish lead and Miller distanced himself from the field, giving Notre Dame a nearly nine second victory.

1,000 Free Relay: Oakland's Amr El Sayed took the lead after his 500 yards in 4:41.50 and Jorden Merrilees held onto the lead as Oakland took gold in the event in 9:21.64 … the Notre Dame duo of Kevin Hughes and Jimmy McEldrew finished in second in 9:25.39.

200 Medley Relay: In one of the closest races of the night, Johnson caught Oakland's Matyas Keresztes on the final lap to give the Irish the victory in 1:32.45, just eight one-hundredths of a second ahead of Oakland.

400 Free Relay: In the final race of the evening the Irish led throughout … Overholt gave the Irish the lead after his first leg of 46.51 … Colin Babcock, Stephens and McGinley held the lead for Notre Dame as they took first place in a Dennis Stark Relays record 3:03.53.

1M Diving Relay: Nick Nemetz slipped past three Irish teammates to claim the 1M diving relay title. Nemetz scored 310.82 points, which put him ahead of teammates Michael Kreft (309.90), Ryan Koter (282.80) and John Andrade (275.15).

3M Diving Relay: In the men's synchronized diving relay Nemetz and Kreft took top honors with a score of 255.95.

The Notre Dame women's swimming and diving team kicked off the 2012-13 season in style on Friday night at Rolfs Aquatic Center as the Irish blew past the field to claim the team title at the 48th Dennis Stark Relays.

The Irish scored 220 points to outdistance second place Oakland (140) and Cleveland State (140) by 80 points. Notre Dame won nine of the 10 swimming events and both diving events. Illinois State (138) and IUPUI (90) rounded out the field.

Notre Dame returns to action in two weeks when it heads to Auburn, Ala., and a dual-meet showdown with the Tigers on Friday, Oct. 26. Last year a nationally-ranked Auburn squad defeated the Irish at Rolfs, 167-125.

EVENT-BY-EVENT RESULTS

200 Free Relay: The Irish squad of Catherine Galletti, Lauren Scott, Genevieve Heidkamp and Christen McDonough picked up 20 points with a first place finish in the 200 free relay, finishing in a time of 1:35.34. Galletti opened up with a time of 23.47 to get the Irish off on the right foot.

400 Medley Relay: The team of Kelly Ryan, Emma Reaney, Kim Holden and Suzanne Bessire rolled past the field in the 400 medley relay. Their time of 3:45.38 was over 10 seconds faster than second place Oakland.

800 Free Relay: The Irish team of Genevieve Bradford, Bridget Casey, Courtney Whyte and Erin Foley won the 800 free relay in 7:42.44 to earn 20 more points for Notre Dame. The time was just over five seconds faster than second place Oakland.

400 IM Relay: Reaney, Scott, Bessire and Lauren Stauder won the 400 IM relay by just under a second and a half (4:00.02).

300 Fly Relay: Galletti, Sarah Dotzel and Scott claimed victory by just under a second a half over Cleveland State. The Irish touched the wall in 2:51.84, while the Vikings finished in 2:53.18.

300 Back Relay: Holden, Anna Grainger and Gracie Fredlake won the 300 back relay with a time of 2:52.24, almost two seconds faster than second place Oakland. Holden got the Irish off to a good start with a 55.62 opening leg.

300 Breast Relay: Reaney, Stauder and Sydney Golic won the 300 breast relay as they finished in 3:19.32. Reaney set the stage with a time of 1:03.77 for the first 100 meters. The threesome finished just over two seconds faster than second place Illinois State.

1,000 Free Relay: Erin Foley and Casey teamed up to take the 1,000 free relay crown as the pair won by over nine seconds (10:12.76).

200 Medley Relay: Holden, Stauder, Galletti and Ryan won the 200 medley relay with a time of 1:45.76. The time was three and a half seconds faster than second place Cleveland State. Ryan closed out the race with an impressive 23.37 split. Galletti swam the fly for the third leg and went 25.25.

400 Yard Freestyle Relay: The Irish failed to complete the meet sweep as the squad's top team was disqualified for a false start. Holden, McDonough, Dotzel and Casey exhibitioned the event and finished in 3:35.68, which would have put them in third place for the event.

1M Diving Relay: Freshman Emma Gaboury won the 1M diving relay with a score of 292.18. Teammates Jenny Chiang (290.05) and Allison Casareto (276.35) were exhibitioned, but would have finished second and third, respectively.

3M Diving Relay: In the synchronized 3M diving relay, Gaboury teamed with Oakland's Tricia Grant as the duo outdistanced the field by scoring 236.75. Chiang and Casareto (217.30) were exhibitioned, but would have finished second.

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