Dec. 8, 2013
IOWA CITY, Iowa – The fruits of prior day’s successes were in full effect Sunday, as the University of Notre Dame men’s swimming and diving team cruised to victory on the final day of the Iowa Hawkeye Invitational at the Iowa Campus and Recreation and Wellness Center. The Irish scored 1,228.5 points to take the invitational title over host Iowa (977.5 points), followed by Denver (669 points) and Milwaukee (248 points).
Senior two-time All-American Frank Dyer broke the sixth team record of the weekend during a time trial swim prior to the afternoon final session, clocking a 100 fly swim of 46.92 in a solo trial run. Dyer now holds at least a share of nine all-time Notre Dame records during his four seasons competing with the Irish.
Senior Bertie Nel posted the best Notre Dame qualifying time in the 200 back to open the morning preliminary session, logging the then best Irish readout of the year with a third-place swim of 1:46.12 for an NCAA B-cut. Freshman Tom Anderson (1:46.73) and junior James McEldrew (1:46.93) added `A’ final qualifying times. Anderson led all Irish finishers in the event final, capturing an NCAA B-cut with a career-best 1:45.37 to take third place. Nel added an NCAA B clip of his own with a fifth-place 1:46.20, while McEldrew logged a 1:47.19.
Senior co-captain Colin Babcock punched his ticket to the top 200 breast final with a Notre Dame season-best time of 1:58.94 to finish fourth in the preliminary round. Junior Patrick Olson also reached the `A’ heat with a time of 2:00.42. Babcock added another B-cut time in the `A’ final, traversing the course in 1:59.46 to take fourth place. Olson added a 2:02.50 in the championship heat to finish fifth.
Junior All-American John Williamson shaved more than three second off his previous fastest time in the 200 fly this season, carding a preliminary swim of 1:45.04 to lead all competitors and advance to the event final. Junior Brennan Jacobsen (1:48.58) and freshman Kevin Bradley (1:49.03) also qualified for the `A’ final. Williamson improved by nearly a full second during the final heat, tapping the wall in 1:44.18 for both an NCAA B-cut and the race victory. Bradley chipped in a fifth-place result (1:49.16), with Jacobsen following in seventh after a 1:50.95.
Jacobsen shattered the previous Notre Dame season-best in the 1650 free, logging a 9:35.32 1000 split and a B-cut total time of 15:27.35 to take third place. Junior John Nappi was next to the wall with a final time of 15:27.35 (9:32.43 1000 split) for fourth place.
Notre Dame capped off the winning weekend with a clean sweep of every relay event, claiming the gold in the 400 free relay. Dyer, Babcock, freshman Trent Jackson and junior All-American Zach Stephens posted a victorious 2:56.89 to close the competition. The `B’ entry of freshman Reed Fujan, junior co-captain Patrick Murphy, Anderson and sophomore Bogac Ayhan added an exhibition swim of 3:02.82.
THE IRISH AT THE IOWA HAWKEYE INVITATIONAL:
Notre Dame `A’ Final Victories by Event
200 Freestyle Relay – Zach Stephens, Frank Dyer, Colin Babcock, Kevin Bradley – 1:20.16
200 Individual Medley – Zach Stephens and Colin Babcock – 1:46.48
3-Meter Diving – Joe Coumos – 398.20 points
200 Medley Relay – Bogac Ayhan, Cameron Miller, Frank Dyer, Zach Stephens – 1:26.11
400 Medley Relay – Bogac Ayhan, Cameron Miller, Frank Dyer, Zach Stephens – 3:11.15
400 Individual Medley – Tom Anderson – 3:46.22
100 Butterfly – John Williamson – 47.94
200 Freestyle – Frank Dyer – 1:35.01
100 Breaststroke – Zach Stephens – 53.24
1-Meter Diving – Nick Nemetz – 364.60 points
800 Freestyle Relay – Frank Dyer, Kevin Hughes, Tom Anderson, Colin Babcock – 6:32.15
200 Butterfly – John Williamson – 1:44.18
400 Freestyle Relay – Frank Dyer, Colin Babcock, Trent Jackson, Zach Stephens – 2:56.89
Notre Dame Victories by Individual
Frank Dyer – 200 Free, 200 Free Relay, 200 Medley Relay, 400 Medley Relay, 400 Free Relay, 800 Free Relay
Zach Stephens – 100 Breast, 200 IM (co-winner), 200 Free Relay, 200 Medley Relay, 400 Medley Relay, 400 Free Relay
Colin Babcock – 200 IM (co-winner), 200 Free Relay, 400 Free Relay, 800 Free Relay
Bogac Ayhan – 200 Medley Relay, 400 Medley Relay
Tom Anderson – 400 IM, 800 Free Relay
Cameron Miller – 200 Medley Relay, 400 Medley Relay
John Williamson – 100 Fly, 200 Fly
Kevin Bradley – 200 Free Relay
Kevin Hughes – 800 Free Relay
Trent Jackson – 400 Free Relay
Nick Nemetz – 1-Meter Diving
Joe Coumos – 3-Meter Diving
NCAA Provisional Relay Times
200 Medley Relay – Bogac Ayhan, Cameron Miller, Frank Dyer, Zach Stephens – 1:26.11
400 Medley Relay – Bogac Ayhan, Cameron Miller, Frank Dyer, Zach Stephens – 3:11.15
Notre Dame Team Records
200 IM – Zach Stephens – 1:44.34 (Prelims)
400 Medley Relay – Bogac Ayhan, Cameron Miller, Frank Dyer, Zach Stephens – 3:11.15
100 Back – Bogac Ayhan – 47.80 (Lead-Off Split)
100 Fly – Frank Dyer – 46.92 (Time Trial)
400 IM – Tom Anderson – 3:50.73 (Prelims)
400 IM – Tom Anderson – 3:46.22 (Final)
200 Medley Relay – Bogac Ayhan, Cameron Miller, Frank Dyer, Zach Stephens – 1:26.11
–ND–