Jan. 13, 2018
by Tony Jones
IOWA CITY, Iowa – Strong Friday performances for the University of Notre Dame men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams carried into the scoring portion of Saturday’s tri-dual meet at the Campus Recreation and Wellness Center. The No. 20 Irish men’s team defeated host Iowa 187-113, while the No. 22 Notre Dame women’s squad swept Iowa 217-80 and Illinois 213-84.
The Notre Dame men’s (6-2) and women’s (8-1) teams travel next to Florida State, and will face off with the Seminoles in an ACC dual meet on Jan. 19-20 in Tallahassee, Florida.
Coach Litzinger Said
“I am incredibly proud of our teams as we came off training camp and also competing on the road. Our women’s depth really showed today. We stress competing as a team, and today everything from diving to our relays carried the day. Abbie Dolan, Lindsay Stone and Alice Treuth were multiple winners on the women’s side, and Erin Isola and Kelly Straub excelled on the boards. It will be nice to see an ACC team in Florida State (next weekend) and we are looking forward to more championship-level competition.”
“As anticipated Iowa gave our men all we could handle in terms of head-to-head racing. We jumped out to a big lead early in the medley, placing first through third in the 1000, and Zach Yeadon doubled to come back and win the 200 free. That was a bit too much for Iowa to overcome. Zach, Rob Whitacre and Justin Plaschka were all multiple winners, and the desire of our men to race really shows through. Having our depth take a step forward this weekend was a big factor in the win. Joe Coumos took the 1-meter, Steven Shek and Garrett Clarke handled the breaststroke, Matt Grauslys took the 200 fly and Will Cumberland racked up a win in the 200 IM. It was truly fun to watch these men compete. Florida State will present its own set of challenges as we will be on the road heading into an ACC rival meet.”
Top Irish Performances
Women’s 1000 Freestyle – Lindsay Stone paced the field for Notre Dame in the distance swim, clocking in at 9:59.80. Reilly Lanigan placed fourth in 10:21.69 for fourth place, while Ellie Berdusco placed fifth with a time of 10:23.38.
Men’s 1000 Freestyle – Zach Yeadon continued his phenomenal freshman season as an anchor of Irish distance events, posting a winning readout of 9:13.61. Richard Mannix claimed runner-up honors in 9:29.20, while Sadler McKeen capped the Notre Dame podium sweep in third with a time of 9:31.94.
Women’s 200 Freestyle – Abbie Dolan paced three Notre Dame finishers in the top three with a victorious swim of 1:48.28. Lauren Heller finished second with a time of 1:49.97, and Skylar Fore placed third in 1:50.11.
Men’s 200 Freestyle – Zach Yeadon won his second solo event of the day by taking the top spot in the 200 free following a time of 1:38.72. Tabahn Afrik was second with a time of 1:39.84, and Benjamin Jany checked in fourth by touching the wall in 1:41.15.
Women’s 100 Backstroke – Alice Treuth claimed the race win with a time of 55.11, narrowly missing an NCAA B-cut. Carly Quast placed second with a time of 56.05, while Sofia Revilak was fifth in 56.44.
Men’s 100 Backstroke – Rob Whitacre captured the event win by clocking a 48.82 to finish just above an NCAA B-cut. William Cumberland placed third with a time of 50.22, and Jack Montesi was fifth after touching in at 50.68.
Women’s 100 Breaststroke – Meaghan O’Donnell paced the field with a time of 1:03.05 to take first place. Sherri McIntee was runner-up with a time of 1:04.77, and Alyssa Storino placed fifth with a time of 1:05.57.
Men’s 100 Breaststroke – Steven Shek led the way in the field with a winning time of 56.74. Garrett Clarke (57.21) and Rex Riley (57.25) took third and fourth place, respectively.
Women’s 200 Butterfly – Nicole Smith secured the race win following a time of 2:02.33. Rachel Wittmer placed second in 2:04.06, while Katie Rentz was in third place with a time of 2:04.18.
Men’s 200 Butterfly – Matt Grauslys finished as the event winner with a time of 1:48.44, just above an NCAA B-cut. Brendan Santana placed third with a time of 1:51.41, while Aaron Schultz claimed fifth place in 1:51.57.
Women’s 50 Freestyle – Abbie Dolan and Katie Smith tied for first place, logging identical times of 23.20 for the victory. Kelly Jacob finished third with a time of 23.39.
Men’s 50 Freestyle – Justin Plaschka outswam the field with a winning time of 20.16, good enough for both first place and an NCAA B-cut. Daniel Speers finished fifth in 20.98.
Women’s 100 Freestyle – Skylar Fore reached the wall in 50.25 to claim a sprint victory for the Irish. Lauren Heller was runner-up in 50.86, and Carly Quast placed third in 51.35.
Men’s 100 Freestyle – Tabahn Afrik was event runner-up after logging a time of 44.67, just off an NCAA B-cut.
Women’s 200 Backstroke – Alice Treuth took home the win with a time of 1:57.74, good for an NCAA B-cut and a win of nearly four full seconds. Kyra Sarazen was runner-up with a time of 2:01.24, while Claire DeSelm finished fourth in 2:07.17.
Men’s 200 Backstroke – Rob Whitacre won his second individual race of the day, posting a time of 1:45.93 for an NCAA B-cut. William Cumberland finished fourth with a time of 1:49.88.
Women’s 200 Breaststroke – Meaghan O’Donnell placed second in the field after logging a time of 2:18.12. Sherri McIntee finished third with a time of 2:20.50, and Alyssa Storino was fifth in 2:21.89.
Men’s 200 Breaststroke – Garrett Clarke swam a winning heat of 2:03.54 to pace the field. Steven Shek finished second with a time of 2:05.25, while Rex Riley was fourth with a time of 2:05.83.
Women’s 500 Freestyle – Lindsay Stone secured the distance sweep with a near eight-second win in 4:52.99.
Men’s 500 Freestyle – Zach Yeadon notched a six-second win of his own in the 500 free, touching the wall in 4:26.19. Richard Mannix was the event runner-up with a time of 4:32.23, and Benjamin Jany placed fifth in 4:36.45.
Women’s 100 Butterfly – Abbie Dolan got the best of a race to the wall, clocking in at 55.23 for the event win.
Men’s 100 Butterfly – Justin Plaschka added to his solid day with a tightly contested victory in a time of 48.90. Teammate Matt Grauslys battled Plaschka to the wall as runner-up with a time of 48.91, with Brendan Santana in fourth with a time of 49.36.
Women’s 200 IM – Nicole Smith captured runner-up honors with a time of 2:06.43.
Men’s 200 IM – William Cumberland notched a winning time of 1:51.61 to lead all competitors. Aaron Schultz claimed fourth in 1:55.50, and Nick Milikich took fifth place with a time of 1:55.91.
Women’s 400 Freestyle Relay – The Notre Dame ‘A’ entry of Sofia Revilak, Carly Quast, Rachel Wittmer and Abbie Dolan claimed a near eight-second win with a time of 3:22.73.
Men’s 400 Freestyle Relay – The Notre Dame ‘A’ entry of Justin Plaschka, Tabahn Afrik, Rob Whitacre and Daniel Fujan took second place with a time of 2:59.07. The Irish ‘B’ lineup of Matt Grauslys, Daniel Speers, Jack Montesi and Steven Shek finished fourth in 3:07.34.
Women’s 3-Meter Diving – Erin Isola claimed victory by scoring 307.20 points, a season-high score for Notre Dame. Claire Andrews finished second with 287.25 points, and Kelly Straub placed fourth with 267.40 points.
Men’s 1-Meter Diving – Joe Coumos set a season best with 414.15 points to win off the 1-meter board. David Waszak placed fifth with 265.50 points
–ND–
Tony Jones, athletics communications assistant director at the University of Notre Dame, has been part of the Fighting Irish athletics communications team since 2012 and coordinates all media efforts for the Notre Dame softball, men’s soccer and swimming and diving programs. A native of Jamestown, New York, Jones is a 2011 graduate of St. Bonaventure University, and prior to arriving at Notre Dame held positions at the University of Louisiana Monroe and with the National Football League’s Buffalo Bills.