Jan. 19, 2018
by Tony Jones
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – A fast Friday start carried the University of Notre Dame men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams out of the blocks to kick off an Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) dual meet at Florida State. Wins in 11 out of 20 total events on the opening evening of competition lifted the No. 22 Irish men to a 97-89 lead over No. 20 Florida State, while the No. 22 Notre Dame women held a 112-74 edge over the No. 25 Seminoles after one session at the Morcom Aquatics Center.
Freshman Zach Yeadon finished day one as a double-winner for Notre Dame, notching an NCAA B-cut with a winning swim of 1:37.83 in the 200 freestyle to go along with a triumphant effort of 9:05.07 in the 1000 freestyle. Sophomore Abbie Dolan added wins in the 200 freestyle (1:48.20) and as a member of the women’s 400 freestyle relay (3:21.00), while junior Alice Treuth fashioned an NCAA B-cut time of 54.30 in a victorious 100 backstroke swim and junior Meaghan O’Donnell earned an NCAA B-cut of 1:02.23 in the 100 breaststroke to pace the Irish. Senior Joe Coumos chipped in a season-high 383.78 points in the 3-meter dive to deliver crucial first-place points toward the Notre Dame men’s squad’s cause.
The second and final day of the ACC dual meet between Notre Dame and Florida State is set to commence on Saturday at 2 p.m. at the Morcom Aquatics Center.
Coach Litzinger Said
“Our women are excelling and our depth is playing a factor in this meet. Finishing 1-2 in the 1000 free, 1-2-3 in the 200 free, 1-2-3 in the 200 fly and 1-2 in the 400 free relay have made the difference thus far. Alice Treuth and Rachel Wittmer also picked up nice wins in the 100 backstroke and 100 IM to round out the session. I am proud of the way our women are competing.”
“The men’s meet is exactly what it looked like on paper. FSU has the advantage in the relays and sprints, we have the upper hand in the distance and strokes. Hats off to Zach Yeadon for winning back-to-back events in the 1000 and 200 freestyle. Zach is a truly a team guy and that double takes a special athlete. Joe Coumos took his specialty off the 3-meter board along with Rob Whitacre in the 100 backstroke and Matt Grauslys in the 200 butterfly. We took five events and FSU took five tonight, the difference was the 1-2-3 finish in the 200 butterfly and 100 freestyle.”
“We have a great event schedule tomorrow and need to take advantage of it if we are to win out.”
Top Irish Performances
Women’s 200 Medley Relay – The Notre Dame entry of Carly Quast, Meaghan O’Donnell, Cailey Grunhard and Sofia Revilak logged a runner-up time of 1:42.14. The Irish ‘B’ lineup of Alice Treuth, Sherri McIntee, Nicole Smith and Katie Smith placed fourth in 1:44.20.
Men’s 200 Medley Relay – The top Notre Dame lineup of Rob Whitacre, Steven Shek, Justin Plaschka and Tabahn Afrik claimed second place with a time of 1:28.98. The Irish entry of Jack Montesi, Garrett Clarke, Brendan Santana and Daniel Speers took third with a time of 1:30.77.
Women’s 1000 Freestyle – Lindsay Stone continued her steady season in distance competition, taking a nine-second victory with a time of 9:54.26. Teammate Molly Treble was event runner-up with a time of 10:03.43, with Reilly Lanigan in fourth place after touching in at 10:17.46.
Men’s 1000 Freestyle – Zach Yeadon stormed to victory with a convincing heat triumph in 9:05.07. Teammates Sadler McKeen (9:18.40) and Richard Mannix (9:24.47) completed the Notre Dame podium sweep in the event in second and third place, respectively.
Women’s 200 Freestyle – Abbie Dolan narrowly missed an NCAA B-cut on her way to a race win in 1:48.20, pacing a top-three Notre Dame sweep. Lauren Heller placed second with a time of 1:49.42 and Kyra Sarazen third with a time of 1:49.47.
Men’s 200 Freestyle – Zach Yeadon won his second event of the day, cruising to the wall with an NCAA B-cut effort of 1:37.83 for the race triumph. Ben Jany claimed third place with a time of 1:39.77, with Tabahn Afrik in fifth at 1:40.40.
Women’s 100 Backstroke – Alice Treuth took home the race win with a time of 54:30, good for an NCAA B-cut. Carly Quast added a fourth-place finish for Notre Dame with a time of 55.75.
Men’s 100 Backstroke – Rob Whitacre outpointed the competition with a winning time of 48.65 to just miss an NCAA B-cut. Jack Montesi was third with a time of 49.41, and William Cumberland fifth at 49.96.
Women’s 100 Breaststroke – Meaghan O’Donnell led all Notre Dame finishers as event runner-up with a time of 1:02.23, posting an NCAA B-cut in the process. Sherri McIntee finished third with a time of 1:03.99, and Alyssa Storino was fourth with a time of 1:04.40.
Men’s 100 Breaststroke – Steven Shek was the first Irish swimmer to the wall, clocking a time of 56.19 for second place. Garett Clarke finished fifth with a time of 57.10.
Women’s 200 Butterfly – Nicole Smith earned a convincing win for Notre Dame with her time of 1:59.78, just above an NCAA B-cut. Katie Rentz was runner-up in 2:02.08, while Erin Sheehan placed third with a time of 2:04.55.
Men’s 200 Butterfly – Matt Grauslys brought home first-place points for the Irish with a time of 1:48.25. Aaron Schultz (1:50.07) and Brendan Santana (1:50.42) were the next two to the wall in second and third place, respectively.
Women’s 50 Freestyle – Lauren Heller took second-place honors with a time of 23.49 to pace Notre Dame. Kelly Jacob finished fourth with a time of 23.58, and Katie Smith was fifth with a time of 23.68.
Men’s 50 Freestyle – Justin Plaschka was race runner-up with a time of 20.20, just a .01 of a second above the NCAA B-cut benchmark.
Women’s 100 IM – Rachel Wittmer finished first with a time of 56.72 for the event win. Meaghan O’Donnell finished second with a time of 57.09.
Men’s 200 IM – Rob Whitacre narrowly missed the top spot with a runner-up swim of 50.68. Nick Milikich finished fourth in 51.61, while William Cumberland was fifth with a time of 51.70.
Women’s 400 Freestyle Relay – The Notre Dame ‘A’ entry of Abbie Dolan, Skylar Fore, Carly Quast and Sofia Revilak scored a win with a time of 3:21.00. The Irish lineup of Lauren Heller, Rachel Wittmer, Erin Sheehan and Kyra Sarazen scored a second-place finish in 3:23.24.
Men’s 400 Freestyle Relay – Notre Dame’s Justin Plaschka, Tabahn Afrik, Daniel Speers and Aaron Schultz finished second with a time of 3:00.21. The Irish entry of Daniel Fujan, Matt Grauslys, Jack Montesi and Sadler McKeen claimed fourth place with a time of 3:05.70.
Women’s 1-Meter Diving – Claire Andrews was the top Notre Dame finisher after scoring 262.35 points to place third. Kate McCahan took fourth place with 253.50 points, and Erin Isola finished fifth with 236.48 points.
Men’s 3-Meter Diving – Joe Coumos scored a season-high 383.78 points to take the win off the 3-meter board for the Irish. David Waszak finished fourth with 286.43 points, and Peter Myers placed fifth with 279.15 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.