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Irish Fall to Indiana and Kentucky

The Notre Dame Swimming and Diving team (M-12, W-16) fell to Kentucky (M-RV, W-18) and Indiana (M-6, W-9) at the first road meet of the season Wednesday. The Irish earned impressive individual victories over the two highly-ranked squads, including consistent veteran junior Zach Yeadon and freshman Coleen Gillilan, as well as multiple top-three finishes. 

“We swam against an IU team that won a B1G championship one year ago and a UK team that, like us, is on the rise,” Notre Dame head coach Mike Litzinger shared. “While the time [10 a.m.] was a bit unconventional, the competition is the same, and it took us awhile to adjust.”

Final Scores  |  Results

Men

  • Kentucky – 176, Notre Dame – 124
  • Indiana – 219, Notre Dame – 81

Women

  • Kentucky – 184.5, Notre Dame – 115.5
  • Indiana – 172, Notre Dame – 128

The Irish held their own in the opening event, the women’s 200 Medley Relay, with the Notre Dame team of Carly Quast, Coleen Gillilan, Cailey Grunhard and Rachel Wittmer claiming a third-place finish (1:42.92). Lindsay Stone placed second in the women’s 100 freestyle (10:05.51), while Zach Yeadon claimed his second win of the season in the 1000 free (9:01.58). Yeadon later won the 500 free, with a 4:23.73 time.

Freshman Gillilan earned a win in the 100 Fly (53.11) by more than 1.5 seconds, cruising to a nearly three-second win in the 200 IM (1:58.57) and earning NCAA B-cut times in both.  Gillilan also placed third in the 100 breast (1:01.97). 

“Coleen has been very consistent in the practice pool, and that helps translates to performance. But, what makes her special is her competitiveness,” Litzinger said. “She likes to win. That is something that is built-in for her.”

Junior Cailey Grunhard also reached the top three in the women’s 100 Fly, placing third with a 54.99 time. Abbie Dolan posted two second-place finishes in the 200 free (1:47.67) and 100 free (50.25). Bailey Stewart touched the wall second in the women’s 100 back (55.24) and third in the women’s 200 back (1:57.55), while Luciana Thomas placed third in the women’s 200 Fly (2:02.69). 

Both Notre Dame 400 Free Relays placed third in their heats, with the men touching the wall with a time of 2:58.85 and the women in 3:26.75. 

The Notre Dame divers continued their success this week, with sophomore Austin Flaute placing second in the men’s 1-meter (151.70) and third in the men’s 3-meter competition (172.85). On the women’s side, senior Erin Isola earned a second-place finish in the women’s 3-meter (164.55), trailed by Irish teammate junior Kelly Straub (160.20). 

“We have a very strong diving program, and these women have made it so,” Litzinger expressed. “Like the rest of us, they ran into two teams that were very tough.”

CSCAA preseason rankings, announced today, place the Notre Dame Men at 12th in the nation, with the Women at 16th. Up next, the Irish will return home to prepare for their next road meet at Purdue on October 25. 

“Rankings are nice, as it shows how your peers perceive you,” Litzinger explained “However, our concern is how we perform at the end of the ACC and NCAA championships. It’s early in the season, and there is much more work ahead of us.”