Feb. 26, 2015
ATLANTA, Ga. – The University of Notre Dame men’s swimming team finished day two of the ACC Championships in eighth place, fueled by several strong swims in the 500 free and 200 IM races.
“The guys swam well today,” Irish head coach Matt Tallman said. “Trent (Jackson) swam a personal best in the 500 free; he swam it a lot smarter and was a lot stronger. John (Nappi) and Matt (DeBlasio) gave it everything they had, and we got some important points for our team from them. In the 200 IM, Zach had a great swim considering our ultimate goals for the season, and our other guys earned valuable points for us in their swims tonight too.”
Seven swimmers donned blue and gold caps for the Irish in the 500 free, with sophomore Tom Andersen finishing atop the pack (4:24.56) in the morning prelims. He advanced to the B final, where he finished in 14th (4:24.87). Other top finishers included sophomore Trent Jackson (18th, 4:23.37) and seniors John Nappi (23rd, 4:25.93) and Matt DeBlasio (24th, 4:28.25), who all swam in the evening C final.
Jackson’s final time also earned him an NCAA B-cut qualifier, while Joseph Petrone (4:26.79) finished in 25th, Jonathan Williamson (4:28.83) came in 35th and Benjamin Jany (4:31.38) came in 38th for Notre Dame.
In the 200 IM, standout Zachary Stephens advanced into the B final with his 1:46.91 prelim time. Reed Fujan (1:47.63) and Cameron Miller (1:48.09) swam in the C final for the Irish, coming in 23rd (1:48.40) and 24th (1:49.03) respectively. Stephens finished 10th (1:45.62), with all three swimmers earning NCAA B-cuts.
Other preliminary swimmers for the Irish included Rob Whitacre (35th, 1:50.19), Patrick Olson (39th, 1:50.72) and Andrew Jensen (44th, 1:52.23).
In the 50 free, Notre Dame had one entrant, freshman Justin Plaschka. Against a well-stacked field, Plaschka touched the wall in 20.12, earning his first career NCAA B cut.
“With Justin, we wanted to see what his best time could be and what points he could earn for us,” Tallman said on the strategy of just having one horse in the race. “Unfortunately, he finished in the first alternate place in that race, but he did get a personal best leading off the relay tonight. He’s in a good place.”
In the 200 free relay, the lineup of Plaschka, Stephens, Jackson and sophomore Kevin Bradley finished in ninth (1:19.61). They earned 40 points for the Irish, helping them finish the day in eighth place.
The Irish start day three on Friday morning with the preliminaries for the 400 IM, 100 fly, 200 free, 100 breast and 100 back. “Tomorrow, we need to have the best session of the meet,” states Tallman matter-of-factly. “The 400 IM is an important race for our team, so we hope the guys wake up ready to go and come out firing.”
Live stats will be available here,with the team Twitter account posting event-by-event finishes as well. In the evening, final heats will be streamed live on ESPN3.
2015 ACC Men’s Swimming Championship – Day Two Scores
Virginia Tech – 558 points
North Carolina – 503 points
North Carolina State – 495 points
Virginia – 342 points
Louisville – 338 points
Florida State – 320 points
Georgia Tech – 274 points
Notre Dame – 268 points
Duke – 216 points
Pittsburgh – 193 points
Boston College – 109 points
Miami – 105 points
Notre Dame `B’ Time Standards
500 Free – Tom Andersen – 4:24.56 (Prelims)
500 Free – Tom Andersen – 4:24.87 (Finals)
500 Free – Trent Jackson – 4:23.37 (Finals)
200 IM – Zachary Stephens – 1:46.91 (Prelims)
200 IM – Zachary Stephens – 1:45.62 (Finals)
200 IM – Reed Fujan – 1:47.63 (Prelims)
200 IM – Reed Fujan – 1:48.40 (Finals)
200 IM – Cameron Miller – 1:48.09 (Prelims)
200 IM – Cameron Miller – 1:49.03 (Finals)
50 Free – Justin Plaschka – 20.12 (Prelims)
Lizzie Mikes,
Media Services Coordinator