Nov. 2, 2012
NOTRE DAME, Ind. – The University of Notre Dame men’s swimming and diving team claimed a 156-144 victory over No.18 Purdue University Friday in a dual meet at the Rolfs Aquatic Center.
The Fighting Irish (3-0) enjoyed their first win over the Boilermakers since an identical 156-144 decision Nov. 3, 2006 at the Rolfs Aquatic Center. Notre Dame’s three-meet win streak to open the dual schedule is the best start for the program since the 2009-10 campaign.
“It is a huge win for our program,” Notre Dame head coach Tim Welsh said. “Our guys talked about this meet all week and were excited about it. We want to be a better team and beating them helps us take a giant step forward. “I thought we swam well from start to finish and what is characteristic of us always is that it was a total team victory.”
All-American Frank Dyer led the way for the Fighting Irish, contributing his third consecutive double-gold individual performance in as many dual meets this season. Dyer won the 200 free (1:39.14) and 500 free (4:33.73), while also swimming the fly leg on the first place 200 medley relay squad that featured Bertie Nel, Cameron Miller, and Kevin Overholt (1:30.16).
Zachary Stephens swept both the 100 (55.93) and 200 breast (2:02.14) to record his second multi-win performance of the season. Nick Nemetz won the 1-meter diving crown with 349.28 points, continuing his streak of winning at least one event per dual competition this season.
“It wasn’t decided on first places, it was decided on everyone doing their part in every race,” Welsh said. “That’s the way this team functions and that’s the way they functioned tonight.”
The Fighting Irish return to the water Nov. 9 at 5 p.m. against BIG EAST Conference foe Pittsburgh before welcoming fellow conference opponent Louisville Nov.10 at 1 p.m. Both meets will take place inside the Rolfs Aquatic Center.
EVENT-BY-EVENT RESULTS
200 Medley Relay: The Notre Dame “A” squad of Nel, Miller, Dyer, and Overholt posted a victory margin of over one second en route to claiming the gold (1:30.16) ââ’¬¦ the “B” squad of Matt Buerger, Christopher Johnson, Bill Bass, and Stephens earned third place (1:31.72).
1,000 Free: Purdue’s Alec La Mothe (9:24.81) and Jan Petric (9:27.83) took first and second, respectively ââ’¬¦ Notre Dame’s James McEldrew (9:29.63) placed third and teammate Brennan Jacobsen (9:34.44) came in fourth place.
200 Free: Dyer (1:39.14) turned in a strong performance as John McGinley (1:41.22) and Colin Babcock (1:41.24) joined him to sweep the top three positions for the Fighting Irish ââ’¬¦ Michael Hudspith (1:41.48) turned in a fifth-place finish for Notre Dame.
100 Back: Purdue’s Brian Kiel (50.18) grabbed first place in the sprint ââ’¬¦ Nel (50.71) and Bogac Ayhan (51.11) completed the top three in the event for the Fighting Irish ââ’¬¦ Matthew Buerger (51.85) turned in a fifth-place performance.
100 Breast: The Fighting Irish men dominated the event, completing a 1-2-3 sweep led by Stephens (55.93), Miller (56.23) and Johnson (57.07) ââ’¬¦ Andrew Jensen (59.45) also posted a fifth-place finish for Notre Dame.
200 Fly: John Williamson (1:49.71) charged ahead in the final fifty to overtake Purdue’s Danny Conway (1:50.87) and earn the victory ââ’¬¦ Bass (1:52.28), Tylor Gauger (1:54.06), and Wes Mullins (1:54.34) took third through fifth place, respectively, to round out the event for Notre Dame.
50 Free: Purdue’s sprinters put on a dominant performance, taking the top-four spots in the event led by Danny Tucker (20.23) ââ’¬¦ Overholt (21.14) posted the top time for the Fighting Irish en route to fifth place.
1M Dive: Nemetz won the event, posting a strong score of 349.38 to distance himself from the field ââ’¬¦ Purdue’s Nathan Cox (333.90) placed second ââ’¬¦ Michael Kreft (288.15) came in fifth for Notre Dame.
100 Free: Purdue’s Tucker (45.25) completed the freestyle sprint double with a tremendous second lap to pull away from the field ââ’¬¦ Overholt (46.01) and McGinley (46.07) touched the pads second and third, respectively, for Notre Dame.
200 Back: Purdue’s Kiel (1:47.44) finished the sweep of backstroke events on the day with another victory ââ’¬¦ McEldrew (1:51.07), Buerger (1:51.58), Nel (1:52.29), and Matthew DeBlasio (1:55.08) capped off an impressive second through fifth place showing.
200 Breast: Stephens (2:02.14) and Miller (2:04.82) proved to be the class of the field in the event, posting a 1-2 finish for the Fighting Irish ââ’¬¦ Johnson (2:06.39) and Patrick Olson (2:07.44) grabbed fourth and fifth place, respectively.
500 Free: Dyer (4:33.73) jumped out to an early lead and cruised his way to his second individual victory of the night ââ’¬¦ Kevin Hughes (4:40.31) and Jacobsen (4:41.09) secured points for the Fighting Irish by finishing fourth and fifth, respectively.
100 Fly: Purdue’s Chuck Destro (49.59) sprinted to the win in the event ââ’¬¦ Bass (49.88) and Williamson (50.15) rounded out the podium for Notre Dame, placing second and third.
400 IM: Purdue’s Conway (4:01.17) cruised to take the victory in the event ââ’¬¦ Babcock touched the pad in 4:04.23 to finish runner-up ââ’¬¦ McEldrew (4:07.59) placed fourth.
3M Dive: Jamie Bissett (369.22) of Purdue took the gold medal, outscoring Notre Dame’s Nemetz (335.10) and Kreft (332.55), who took second and third, respectively.
400 Free Relay: The Purdue squad of Matt Friede, Destro, Kiel, and Tucker posted a gold-winning time of 3:00.08, besting the Notre Dame squad of Dyer, McGinley, Bass, and Overholt (3:01.65) ââ’¬¦ the quartet of Buerger, Hudspith, Hughes, and Stephens grabbed the bronze in 3:05.90.
–ND–