Nov. 5, 2016
PITTSBURGH — The Notre Dame swimming and diving program concluded a successful weekend at Trees Pool in Pittsburgh and will come home with a sweep for the women and a split for the men against ACC rivals Pittsburgh and Virginia Tech. The women beat Virginia Tech 190-163 and defeated Pittsburgh 244-109. The men beat Pittsburgh 238-115 and fell to Virginia Tech 203-150.
“It was a tremendous two days of swimming and diving,” head coach Mike Litzinger said. “Our women were in a heated battle with Virginia Tech and bore down to grind out a win. I am very excited and proud of how our team has changed their mindset and desire to compete at a very high level.”
While Litzinger’s men’s team was edged by Virginia Tech, he was happy about his squad’s effort.
“Our men took on a very tough Virginia Tech team, and while we had the edge last evening, it was Virginia Tech’s day today,” Litzinger said. “Credit to them and their staff. Our guys made a few errors early today. We made a great effort to rebound but fell short. The thing about swimming and diving is while you can lose the meet, your performances can stand out. We had some excellent ones this weekend, and we will continue to get better.”
Swims of the Day
Women’s 50 Freestyle and Women’s 200 Medley Relay
Fighting Irish women placed first and second in the women’s 50 freestyle. Katie Smith clocked in at 22.98 and Abbie Dolan tapped in at 23.43.
The Irish also placed first and second in the women’s 200 medley relay. The first place team of Catherine Mulquin (25.88), Meaghan O’Donnell (28.54), Sofia Revilak (24.43) and Katie Smith (22.68) clocked in at 1:41.53. Coming right behind with a time of 1:43.45 was Alice Treuth (26.42), Danielle Margheret (28.61), Erin Sheehan (25.14) and Kelly Jacob (23.28).
Other Notable Swims
Men’s 50 Yard Freestyle
Notre Dame placed second and third in the men’s 50 freestyle. Justin Plaschka timed in at 20.42 and Tabahn Afrik tapped in at 20.51.
Other Events
Women’s 1-meter Diving
Claire Andrews earned third place with a score of 157. Annie Crea placed sixth with a score of 245.60.
Men’s 3-meter Diving
Joe Coumos came in fourth with a score of 328.10 and his teammate Pete Myers came in sixth with at 312.40.
Men 200 Yard Medley Relay
A pair of Notre Dame teams took second and third in the event, with Robby Whitacre (22.86), Trent Jackson (25.64), Justin Plaschka (21.19) and Tabahn Afrik (19.74) taking silver, followed by Jack Montesi (23.38), Rex Riley (25.61), Matt Grauslys (21.60) and Reed Fujan (20.43) in third.
Women 500 Yard Freestyle
Alice Treuth placed fourth with time of 4:56.99 and teammate Riley Lanigan came in fifth clocking in at 4:57.08. Molly Treble snared seventh with time of 5:01.03.
Men 500 Yard Freestyle
Richard Mannix earned a fourth-place finish with a time of 4:30.54.
Women 200 Yard IM
Kyra Sarazen placed third in 2:03.84 and teammate Katie Miller tapped in at 2:04.07, good for fifth in the event.
Men 200 Yard IM
Nick Milikich snatched fifth in 1:52.89 and teammate Aidan Sweeney came a close seventh at 1:53.82.
Men 50 Yard Freestyle
Notre Dame placed second and third in the event with Justin Plaschka swimming in at 20.42
and Tabahn Afrik clocking a 20.51.
Women 200 Yard Butterfly
Katie Rentz timed in at 2:01.77, good for second, while Nikki Smith came in third at 2:02.02. Right behind Smith in fourth place was Sofia Revilak at 2:02.30.
Men 200 Yard Butterfly
Matt Grauslys earned second with a time of 1:46.86. Aaron Schultz came in at 1:50.74, good for fourth.
Women 100 Yard Backstroke
Catherine Mulquin grabbed second place with time of 54.94 and Alice Treuth came in third at 55.17.
Men 100 Yard Backstroke
Robby Whitacre earned second in the event timing in at 48.91.
Women 200 Yard Breaststroke
Meaghan O’Donnell placed second, timing in at 2:14.88, while teammate Sherri McIntee clocked in a 2:16.03 for third place. Danielle Margharet earned fifth place tapping in at 2:18.45.
Men 200 Yard Breaststroke
Trent Jackson placed second with time of 2:01.30. Rex Riley followed in (2:05.47) and Steven Shek was sixth (2:06.23).
Women 200 Yard Freestyle
The Irish earned first, third and fourth in the event. Abbie Dolan snared gold in 1:47.31, while Lauren Heller took third in 1:50.14. Kyra Sarazen snatched fourth place, clocking in at 1:50.41.
Men 200 Yard Freestyle
Reed Fujan took second (1:38.31) and teammate Tabahn Afrik came in fourth (1:40.11).
Women 400 Yard Freestyle Relay
The Irish snared two podium finishes as Abbie Dolan, Lauren Heller, Katie Smith and Catherine Mulquin snared first palce (3:23.48) and Sofia Revilak, Erin Sheehan, Kelly Jacon and Reilly Lanigan clutched third (3:26.86).
Men 400 Yard Freestyle Relay
The men also picked up first and third in the relay as Tabahn Afrik, Justin Plaschka, Reed Fujan and Aaron Schultz sped in for the win and Dan Fujan, Trent Jackson, Soren Holm and Robby Whitacre came in two spots behind.
The Irish will be back in competition November 17-19 when they head south for the Greensboro Invitational in Greensboro, South Carolina.
–ND–