For the first time in his Irish tenure, new swimming head coach Chris Lindauer got a look at his Notre Dame men’s and women’s teams in Saturday’s 2022 Intrasquad Meet. It was assistant coach Kameron Chastain who led his Gold Team to victory with 435 points. Green Team coach Josh Stanfield’s squad was second with 382 points, and Kelsi Worrell and the Blue Team posted 350 points.
“I loved the energy of our team today,” Lindauer said. “It was great to see the competition between the three teams and watch them learn and grow together. Although we were separate, it was evident we thrived together as a cohesive group on a mission to answer the burning question…why not Notre Dame?!”
While the meet was filled with atypical events like the 150 butterfly and 100 IM, a few of the typical stars stood out as they always do.
On the women’s side, juniors Kallie Chelsvig and Megan Deuel had big mornings. Cheslvig won the 150 backstroke (1:26.58) while Deuel won the 100 (55.37) and 150 butterfly (1:27.93).
Sophomore and distance specialist Sophia Karras won both distance freestyle events with a 3:59.28 performance in the 400 freestyle and a time of 8:06.98 in the 800 freestyle.
Like Karras, senior Jack Hoagland swept the two distance events among the men, posting a 7:25.88 in the 400 and a 3:32.72 in the 800. Hoagland was second in the 150 butterfly, finishing behind Notre Dame’s butterfly star Cason Wilburn. The senior also won the 100 butterfly (48.00) and the 100 IM (50.88).
School record holder and sophomore Chris Guiliano continued his dominance in the sprint freestyle events, winning both the 50 and 100 with times of 20.16 and 44.61, respectively.
In the newcomer category, Gretchen Lueking stood out for the women, taking first place in both the 150 (1:21.30) and 100 (51.87) freestyle events and notching a second place finish in 100 IM (58.46). Rookie Grace Brenneman added a 50 freestyle victory with a time of 23.63.
On the men’s team, Tommy Janton was second in the 100 backstroke (48.60) and won the 150 backstroke (1:16.76). Tate Bacon (1:11.25) edged out a win in the 150 freestyle, narrowly beating Louisville transfer and ACC champion Colton Paulson (1:11.83).
The meet started and ended with relays: a women’s and men’s 200 medley to begin and a mixed 200 freestyle relay to close it out. In the women’s 200 medley relay, the Green Team’s Jess Geriane, Mary Codevilla, Renee Gillilan and Coleen Gillilan emerged victorious.
It was the Gold Team who took home the gold in the final two relays. In the men’s 200 medley it was Kaden Smesko, Micheal Flynn, Chris Guiliano and Paulson. For the mixed 200 freestyle, Guiliano, Paulson, Chelsvig and Brenneman notched the win.
The dive team was also back in action on Saturday, as third-year head coach Mark Bradshaw’s group continued to show improvement after around a month of training.
“This was really about a chance to get the competitive juices going and getting back into a routine,” Bradshaw said. “I certainly look forward to seeing what we can do in our first real meet of the season.”
Notre Dame formally opens its year on the road on Oct. 21-22, as the Irish head east to face Pittsburgh and Penn State at Pittsburgh. The team will be at home again on Nov. 11 against Louisville.