Nov. 18, 2017
COLUMBUS, Ohio – It was much of the same for the University of Notre Dame men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams on day two of the Ohio State Fall Open Invitational on Saturday. Following an impressive opening day in the water on Friday, the Irish tacked up some 22 NCAA B-cut times on the second day of competition to position themselves headed toward a competitive final wave of heats at the McCorkle Aquatic Pavilion.
The No. 18 Notre Dame women’s team sits in third place after two days at 440 points, only 37 points behind meet leader and No. 17 Kentucky (477 points). The No. 13 Notre Dame men’s team also will carry third place into Sunday with 479.50 points, within striking distance of host and No. 16 Ohio State for the runner-up slot (520.50 points).
The third and final day of the Ohio State Fall Open Invitational is set to begin with preliminary rounds at 10 a.m. (ET) on Sunday. Finals heats are scheduled for Sunday afternoon.
Coach Litzinger Said
“We had an excellent day two in this championship format. Our women will be battling for the team title tomorrow with NC State and Kentucky, and our men are in a great spot working hard for second.”
“Our medley relays were very good tonight, as was our team energy. The good news is we are competing very well, the better news is that we have much more to give as we point toward February and the ACC Championships.”
Top Irish Performances
Women’s 200 Medley Relay Finals – The Notre Dame ‘A’ entry of Carly Quast, Meaghan O’Donnell, Cailey Grunhard and Abbie Dolan posted a top season time of 1:38.43 to place second.
Men’s 200 Medley Relay Finals – The Notre Dame ‘A’ entry of Rob Whitacre, Steven Shek, Justin Plaschka and Daniel Speers finished in third place with a time of 1:26.67, nearing toward an NCAA provisional time in the event.
Women’s 100 Butterfly Finals – Erin Sheehan placed third in the event ‘A’ final with a season-best time of 53.47 for an NCAA B-cut. Nicole Smith (fifth, 53.82), Cailey Grunhard (sixth, 54.13) and Rachel Wittmer (eighth, 54.31) added NCAA B-cut times in the ‘A’ final, with Grunhard (53.49) and Wittmer (53.76) posting faster times in prelims. Sofia Revilak chipped in a B-cut time of her own by touching in at 53.97 in the ‘B’ final.
Men’s 100 Butterfly Finals – Justin Plaschka led the way for Notre Dame in fifth place, scoring a time of 46.92. Plaschka’s prelim time of 46.84 was the fastest for Notre Dame this season and an NCAA B-cut. Aaron Schultz finished seventh with a time of 47.55 after notching a B-cut swim of 47.43 in prelims. Matt Grauslys placed eighth with an NCAA B-cut effort of 47.59.
Women’s 400 IM Finals – Paige Kaplan was the top Notre Dame finisher in 24th place, posting a time of 4:21.45.
Men’s 400 IM Finals – Nick Milikich led Notre Dame by placing 15th, touching the wall in 3:54.98 for an Irish competitive best time this season while narrowly missing an NCAA B-cut.
Women’s 200 Freestyle Finals – Reigning ACC Women’s Swimmer of the Week Abbie Dolan notched a time of 1:45.90 in the event final to finish as runner-up and earn an NCAA B-cut. Dolan’s time was the fastest competitive readout by any Notre Dame women’s swimmer in the distance this season.
Men’s 200 Freestyle Finals – Sadler McKeen paced Notre Dame in the ‘A’ final with a seventh-place finish in 1:37.44, after claiming an NCAA B-cut earlier in the day with his prelim swim (1:37.36). Zach Yeadon placed 11th overall with the fastest Irish swim in the distance this season, clocking in at 1:36.69 for an NCAA B-cut.
Women’s 100 Breaststroke Finals – Meaghan O’Donnell placed seventh in 1:01.70 to guide the Notre Dame finishers, adding an NCAA B-cut of 1:01.27 during her prelim swim.
Men’s 100 Breaststroke Finals – Steven Shek led Notre Dame in fourth place, touching the wall in 54.53. Shek previously swam an NCAA B-cut time of 54.26 in his prelim heat. Ben Gorski placed fifth with a time of 54.54, notching an NCAA B-cut of 54.47 with his prelim swim. Jack Russell finished 14th overall and added an additional Notre Dame B-cut in 55.38.
Women’s 100 Backstroke Finals – Carly Quast scored a third-place finish in 52.27 to both lead all Irish entries and earn an NCAA B-cut. Quast’s time was the second-fastest by a Notre Dame women’s swimmer in program history. Alice Treuth finished eighth in 53.85, with her prelim swim of 52.94 garnering an NCAA B-cut. Sofia Revilak swam to an 11th-place result with a B-cut readout of 53.62.
Men’s 100 Backstroke Finals – Rob Whitacre finished fourth with a finals time of 47.46, adding an NCAA B-cut during prelims with a Notre Dame season-best 46.94. Jack Montesi finished sixth with a B-cut swim of 48.10, while Will Cumberland (48.40) and Matt Grauslys (48.46) achieved B-cuts of their own during prelims.
Women’s 800 Free Relay – The Notre Dame ‘A’ entry of Abbie Dolan, Skylar Fore, Lindsay Stone and Kyra Sarazen swam the fastest time of the season for Notre Dame in competition, placing third at 7:14.02.
Men’s 800 Free Relay – The Notre Dame ‘A’ entry of Zach Yeadon, Sadler McKeen, Aaron Schultz and Tabahn Afrik swam the fastest competitive 800 free for the Irish this season, placing seventh in 6:33.88.
Women’s 1-Meter Diving Finals – Kelly Straub scored 279.30 points to place fourth in the event final.
Men’s 3-Meter Diving Finals – Joe Coumos scored 373.65 points off the 3-meter board to earn runner-up honors.
–ND–