Jan. 12, 2011
EVANSTON, Ill. – It had been nearly 20 years since Notre Dame posted a victory over Northwestern, but the Irish men’s swimming and diving team surged to a 160-140 victory over the Wildcats at the Norris Aquatics Center on Wednesday.
Notre Dame improved to 4-2 in dual meets on the season with its first win over the Wildcats since the 1990-91 campaign. The victory soothed a 10-meet skid to the Big Ten foe during that stretch.
Frank Dyer had three individual wins for Notre Dame with Eric Lex adding a pair. Petar Petrovic and Kevin Overholt also tacked on wins for the visitors.
“Count that as one big win for the Irish,” head coach Tim Welsh said. “Our team showed a great combination of speed and depth. Each team had eight wins, but what mattered most was the depth we showed in those races. This was a great win for us, and a good meet to build on for the rest of the season.”
The Irish are back in action at 2:00 p.m. on Friday at Cleveland State.
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200 Medley Relay: Northwestern (1:30.66) struck first with a win in the opening relay … Petrovic, Christopher Johnson, Bill Bass and Overholt teamed to finish second in 1:32.51.
1,650 Free: Colin Babcock (16:07.14) was third while Steven Brus (16:13.07) touched fourth.
200 Free: Notre Dame got on the board as Dyer (1:39.75) and John McGinley (1:41.17) finished first and second, respectively.
100 Backstroke: Petrovic (50.08) won the race as Notre Dame claimed four of the top five spots.
100 Breast: Johnson (56.41), Mason Weber (57.72), Joseph Raycroft (58.56) and Joshua Choi (58.95) each finished immediately behind first-place Alex Tyler (55.59).
200 Fly: Bass (1:51.55) was Notre Dame’s highest finisher and placed third.
50 Free: Overholt was the fastest of the fast after going 20.84 in the sprint event.
3-meter Diving: Eric Lex (364.43), Nathan Geary (343.35) and Wesley Villaflor (323.10) were dominant off the high board by sweeping the top three positions.
100 Free: Dyer’s second individual win came in 45.76, as Overholt (46.44) was third.
200 Back: Michael Sullivan (1:50.84) finished first and was trailed by teammates Petrovic (1:50.88) and Bertie Nel (1:51.07).
200 Breast: Raycroft (2:05.76), Choi (2:06.23) and Weber (2:06.51) finished behind Northwestern’s Tyler (2:01.66).
500 Free: Dyer continued his dominance by winning the event in 4:27.80 for an NCAA B-cut.
100 Fly: Jordan Berry led the Irish with a second-place showing in 50.93.
1-meter Diving: Lex (360.75), Villaflor (347.70) and Geary (302.48) once against notched a 1-2-3 finish for the visitors.
200 Individual Medley: Bass (1:53.54) was third overall.
400 Free Relay: Overholt, Dyer, Joshua Nosal and Thomas Van Volkenburg sealed the deal with a silver showing in the final relay with a 3:03.41, just behind Northwestern’s first-place squad (3:03.40).
–ND–