Jan. 26, 2018
by Tony Jones
NOTRE DAME, Ind. – A total of 10 event wins, three pool records and a showcase of depth carried the University of Notre Dame men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams to the front of the pack after day one of the Shamrock Invitational on Friday at the Rolfs Aquatic Center.
The No. 22 Irish men scored 659.50 points to take a day one lead over No. 18 Ohio State (643.50 points), Wisconsin (430.50 points), No. RV Iowa (430.50 points) and Missouri State (271 points). The No. 22 Irish women pace the field with 664.50 points after the opening day of racing, out ahead of Akron (553.50 points), No. 13 Ohio State (532.50 points), No. 18 Wisconsin (448.50 points) and Iowa (273 points).
The final session of the 2018 Shamrock Invitational is set to tentatively begin at 11:30 a.m. on Saturday at the Rolfs Aquatic Center. Notre Dame will recognize its 12-member senior class prior to resumption of the meet.
Coach Litzinger Said
“Great effort by both of our groups today. Back-to-back sessions at this time of the year is tough on everyone, and I thought we handled it well. The competition is great and all teams are rising to the occasion. I was very pleased with the performances of Joe Coumos, who tied the pool record in the 1-meter board, and our men’s 200 medley relay and women’s 800 free relay that both set pool records.”
“Tomorrow we will finish it up and honor our senior athletes. We are all looking forward to more great racing on Saturday.”
Top Irish Performances
Women’s 200 Freestyle Relay – The Notre Dame ‘A’ entry of Rachel Wittmer, Carly Quast, Abbie Dolan and Sofia Revilak scored first-place points with the fastest Irish time of the season at 1:30.15, just off the Rolfs Aquatic Center pool record. The Irish lineup of Katie Smith, Kelly Jacob, Lauren Heller and Skylar Fore scored fourth place with a time of 1:31.27.
Men’s 200 Freestyle Relay -The Notre Dame ‘A’ entry of Justin Plaschka, Daniel Speers, Tabahn Afrik and Aaron Schultz finished first with a time of 1:19.40. The Irish ‘B’ lineup of Daniel Fujan, Rob Whitacre, Brendan Santana and Benjamin Gorski finished in third place with a time of 1:21.46.
Women’s 500 Freestyle – Lindsay Stone brought home second place for Notre Dame after touching the wall at 4:49.07. Molly Treble placed sixth with a time of 4:53.20, while Alice Treuth added a time of 4:56.72 for 11th place.
Men’s 500 Freestyle – Zach Yeadon raced to the front of the pack with a time of 4:22.85, good for an NCAA B-cut and event victory. Benjamin Jany claimed a share of sixth place with a time of 4:31.24. Sadler McKeen notched a 10th-place finish in 4:33.30, with teammate Richard Mannix not far behind in 12th in 4:33.61.
Women’s 200 IM – Erin Sheehan led all Notre Dame competitors with a time of 2:03.02 for fourth place. Nicole Smith placed 10th with a time of 2:04.17, while Meaghan O’Donnell (2:04.40) and Kyra Sarazen (2:06.78) placed 11th and 16th, respectively.
Men’s 200 IM – Rob Whitacre brought home a Notre Dame win with a time of 1:48.90, registering as an NCAA B-cut. Aaron Schultz placed third with a time of 1:50.82, with William Cumberland just behind in fourth place at 1:51.04. Joe Turk (13th, 1:53.14), Nick Milikich (14th, 1:53.17) and Matt Grauslys (16th, 1:53.43) added point-scoring swims for the Irish.
Women’s 50 Freestyle – Abbie Dolan paced all Notre Dame finishers with a runner-up time of 22.66 for an NCAA B-cut. Katie Smith placed fifth with a time of 23.00, while Rachel Wittmer was sixth in 23.13. Carly Quast claimed a share of seventh with a time of 23.17, and Skylar Fore was ninth with a time of 23.21. Lauren Heller (11th, 23.24), Kelly Jacob (14th, 23.42) and Cailey Grunhard (15th, 23.46) added point-scoring swims.
Men’s 50 Freestyle – Justin Plaschka took down a Notre Dame victory with a time of 20.22. Daniel Speers was event runner-up with a time of 20.28. Tabahn Afrik claimed eighth place in 20.55 to round out Irish point scorers.
Women’s 400 Medley Relay – The Notre Dame ‘A’ entry of Alice Treuth, Meaghan O’Donnell, Erin Sheehan and Abbie Dolan scored the event win with a time of 3:37.42. The Irish lineup of Carly Quast, Sherri McIntee, Cailey Grunhard and Skylar Fore placed third with a time of 3:38.85.
Men’s 400 Medley Relay – The Notre Dame lineup of Rob Whitacre, Steven Shek, Justin Plaschka and Tabahn Afrik cruised to victory with a time of 3:13.94. The Irish entry of Jack Montesi, Garrett Clarke, Matt Grauslys and Aaron Schultz placed second with a time of 3:14.98.
Women’s 200 Medley Relay – Notre Dame’s Carly Quast, Meaghan O’Donnell, Cailey Grunhard and Sofia Revilak were event runner-up in 1:39.43. The ‘B’ Irish entry of Kyra Sarazen, Alyssa Storino, Erin Sheehan and Rachel Wittmer placed sixth with a time of 1:41.65.
Men’s 200 Medley Relay – Notre Dame paced the field led by Rob Whitacre, Steven Shek, Justin Plaschka and Daniel Speers with a Rolfs Aquatic Center record time of 1:27.40. The Irish lineup of Jack Montesi, Garett Clarke, Brendan Santana and Tabahn Afrik finished fourth in 1:28.61.
Women’s 100 Butterfly – Cailey Grunhard led all Notre Dame competitors to the wall with a time of 53.86, good for third place and an NCAA B-cut. Erin Sheehan was fourth with a time of 54.54, while Rachel Wittmer placed sixth in 54.90. Nicole Smith finished seventh in 55.04, Sofia Revilak tied for 10th with a time of 55.88 and Katie Rentz claimed 15th place with a time of 56.43.
Men’s 100 Butterfly – Justin Plaschka took runner-up honors with an NCAA B-cut time of 47.73 for the Irish. Matt Grauslys checked in fourth with a time of 48.70, with Jack Montesi in ninth after a time of 49.02. David Stewart (10th, 49.60) and Brendan Santana (16th, 50.62) both logged point-scoring swims for Notre Dame.
Women’s 400 IM – Paige Kaplan was the top point scorer for Notre Dame, finishing 13th with a time of 4:30.64. Reilly Lanigan posted a 14th-place finish in 4:32.72.
Men’s 400 IM – Zach Yeadon finished just above an NCAA B-cut with a time 3:55.08, placing second in the event field. Joe Turk finished sixth with a time of 4:00.84, while Richard Mannix placed eighth in 4:01.49. Nick Milikich added to the Notre Dame scoring with a 15th-place finish in 4:05.82.
Women’s 200 Freestyle – Abbie Dolan raced to a runner-up finish with a time of 1:47.24, adding an NCAA B-cut in the process. Lauren Heller took third place with a time of 1:48.77. Kyra Sarazen finished sixth in 1:49.51, while Skylar Fore placed with eighth with a time of 1:50.83. Lindsay Stone (12th, 1:51.65) and Sammy Steigerwald (tied for 15th, 1:52.37) chipped in point-scoring efforts for Notre Dame.
Men’s 200 Freestyle – Sadler McKeen edged out the competition by .01 of a second to take the event victory with a time of 1:38.35. Tabahn Afrik touched the wall in fourth place with a time of 1:39.47. Benjamin Jany placed ninth in 1:40.42 for Notre Dame.
Women’s 100 Breaststroke – Meghan O’Donnell led Notre Dame finishers in the event with a time of 1:02.67 for third place. Sherri McIntee posted a time of 1:03.80 to finish in seventh. Alyssa Storino added a point-scoring swim for the Irish in 15th place at 1:05.89.
Men’s 100 Breaststroke – Steven Shek notched the top Irish time by touching in at 56.22 for eighth place. Garrett Clarke followed in 10th with a time of 56.41 to round out Irish scorers.
Women’s 100 Backstroke – Carly Quast raced to a runner-up finish overall with an NCAA B-cut time of 54.77 for Notre Dame. Teammate Alice Treuth chipped in an NCAA B-cut of her own in 54.84. Cailey Grunhard (14th, 57.06) and Claire DeSelm (15th, 57.29) also scored for the Irish.
Men’s 100 Backstroke – Rob Whitacre was the event runner-up with a time of 48.83 for Notre Dame. Jack Montesi finished third with a time of 48.87. William Cumberland checked in eighth in 49.79, and Matt Grauslys posted a 12th-place result with a time of 50.65.
Women’s 800 Freestyle Relay – The Notre Dame entry of Abbie Dolan, Kyra Sarazen, Skylar Fore and Lauren Heller set a Rolfs Aquatics Center record in 7:12.35 to take the event win. The Irish lineup of Carly Quast, Lindsay Stone, Molly Treble and Rachel Wittmer scored a fourth-place finish in 7:23.96.
Men’s 800 Freestyle Relay – The Notre Dame ‘A’ entry of Zach Yeadon, Tabahn Afrik, Sadler McKeen and Aaron Schultz finished in second place with a time of 6:31.80. The Irish ‘B’ lineup of Benjamin Jany, Rob Whitacre, Richard Mannix and Jack Montesi took fourth in 6:36.69.
Women’s 3-Meter Diving – Erin Isola was runner-up with a season-high score of 306 points. Claire Andrews placed fourth with 278.25 points, while Kelly Straub (13th, 250.60 points) and Kate McCahan (16th, 232.60 points) also scored for the Irish.
Men’s 1-Meter Diving – Joe Coumos broke the 400-point plateau for the second straight meet off the 1-meter board, taking the win and equaling the Rolfs Aquatic Center record with a score of 408.55 points. David Waszak scored 270.70 points to finish 14th, while Peter Myers placed 15th with 266.55 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.