Feb. 24, 2016
By Lizzie Mikes
GREENSBORO, N.C. – The University of Notre Dame men’s swim team made a significant jump in the standings Wednesday night, racing at the ACC Championship meet. After earning 10 points through men’s diving last week, the Irish earned a total of 98 points from their 200 medley relay and 800 free relay teams.
“Today was a solid start by our men,” head coach Mike Litzinger said. “Especially racing in the early relay heats. I really like the speed we had on the back half of our medley, and our freestyle splits were pretty darn good. This group will be right in the thick of it as the individual events start tomorrow.”
The 200 medley relay team of Bogac Ayhan (22.33 split), Trent Jackson (24.50 split), Justin Plaschka (20.48 split) and Daniel Speers (19.03 split) won their heat in the first event of the evening, taking sixth place overall with their 1:26.34 showing. They earned 48 points towards the team standings.
In the 800 free relay, Jackson (1:35.42 split), Tabahn Afrik (1:36.50 split), Reed Fujan (1:35.67 split) and Thomas Anderson (1:36.18 split) finished in 6:23.77, winning their heat easily and earning an NCAA B-cut time. They earned 50 points, bringing the overall team total to 108.
Action kicks off tomorrow morning at 10 a.m. ET, with live prelims results tweeted from the team’s Twitter account, @NDMensswimdive. A full recap will be posted to und.com after the evening finals session.
–ND–
Lizzie Mikes serves as the Media Services Coordinator at the University of Notre Dame. A 2013 graduate of Johnson & Wales University, she oversees credential management and is the athletic communications director for Fighting Irish men’s and women’s swimming and diving and track and field. She has assisted with numerous NCAA postseason events hosted by Notre Dame, and is heavily involved in the day-to-day tasks of the athletic communications office.