Junior Allison Casareto won the 1-meter dive Friday night in Iowa.

December 6, 2013

Irish Impress On Day One Of Hawkeye Invitational

Dec. 6, 2013

IOWA CITY, Iowa – Before the squad pushed off for Iowa City, Iowa and the Hawkeye Classic Thursday, University of Notre Dame women’s swimming and diving head coach Brian Banes talked about his team getting back to “hard work” in the three weeks since its last competition. If day one of the fall finale is any indication, the “hard work” Barnes mentioned has paid off as the Irish borderline dominated the opening day by winning four of the six events to take a 28-point lead over second place Boise State heading into Saturday’s action.

“It was very important for us to get off to a good start on day one because our team runs really well off momentum,” said Reaney. “Seeing each other swim so well right off the bat is definitely going to help keep us excited and on track. It’s so awesome to see everyone so happy for each other when someone has a good swim.”

After a solid morning saw junior’s Emma Reaney (200 IM) and Allison Casareto (1-Meter Dive) qualify first for the finals in their respective events, the dynamic duo completed their sweep later that night as Reaney went 1:55.65 (NCAA A Cut) in one of her specialty events and Casareto scored 302.55 points on the 1-meter board. Reaney’s time in the a.m. (1:55.18) was a meet and pool record in addition to an NCAA A cut.

“I was really pleased with my prelims swim,” said Reaney. “I was hoping to go 1:54 tonight but I’ll take an A cut for now. Tonight was sloppy so if I can clean up the details I think it can get to where I want it to be.”

The Irish bookended the night with a pair of relay victories as they claimed the 200 free and 400 medley relay titles. In the first race, seniors Christen McDonough and Kelly Ryan teamed with sophomore Catherine Galletti and Reany to win in 1:31.55. In the night cap, sophomore Katie Miller, Reaney, junior Courtney Whyte and Ryan went 3:36.84 to set a new meet record.

Miller and Ryan continued their impressive seasons as the former notched a pair of NCAA B cuts in the 200 IM to finish third in the event (1:58.16), while Ryan also put up a pair of B cuts in the 50 free to claim fourth (22.93).

Elsewhere on day one, Bridget Casey claimed sixth in the 500 free (4:53.88), Genevieve Bradford placed seventh in the 200 IM (2:03.18), McDonough finished eighth in the 50 free (23.17), Lindsey Streepey took third in the 1-meter dive (289.25) and Emma Gaboury claimed fifth in the same event (276.90).

The Irish totaled 232 points on day one and lead second-place Boise State (204) by 28. The University of Nebraska is in third with 149.

Day two gets underway at 11 a.m. (ET) with the 400 IM prelims. Other events set to be held Saturday are the 100 fly, 200 free, 100 breast, 100 back and the 3-meter dive.

Fans can follow the meet through or by paying for the live video stream. Links for both can be found on UND.com.

Notre Dame Victories

200 Free Relay: 1:31.55 (Christen McDonough / Kelly Ryan / Catherine Galletti / Emma Reaney)

Allison Casareto: 1-Meter Dive – 302.55

Emma Reaney: 200 IM – 1:55.65

400 Medley Relay: 3:36.84 (Katie Miller / Emma Reaney / Courtney Whyte / Kelly Ryan)

Pool Records

Emma Reaney: 200 IM – 1:55:18 – Prelims

Meet Records

Emma Reaney: 200 IM – 1:55:18 – Prelims

400 Medley Relay: 3:36.84 (Katie Miller / Emma Reaney / Courtney Whyte / Kelly Ryan) – Finals

NCAA Cuts