NOTRE DAME, Ind. — The Notre Dame swimming and diving program opened their home season as they hosted in-state rival Purdue for a dual meet. Both teams swept the Boilermakers, as the women scored 190 points to their 110, while then men won 168-132.
The team led off with a strong first-place finish in the 200 medley relay, as the women’s relay team made up of Carly Quast, Meaghan O’Donnell, Cailey Grunhard and Abbie Dolan finished in 1:40.18. The men’s relay teams took second and third to continue the hot start for the Irish.
In total, the two teams combined for 21 first place finishes (twelve from the women and nine on the men’s side), including a record six-straight as the men won the 200 fly, 50 free, 100 free, 200 back, 200 breast and 500 free. The six-straight was highlighted by Tabahn Afrik, who took two of those top spots in back-to-back events. First, in the 50 free, Afrik swam a 20.45 before posting a time of 44.54 in the 100 free. Through 32 events on the night, the Irish swimmers and divers finished in the top-three on 56 separate occasions.
“It was a great effort by both our teams today on both ends of the pool,” head coach Mike Litzinger said. “Our men rose to the occasion again today and put us in a great spot.”
The women also went on a win-streak, topping the board in four-straight events to start the meet. Following a first place finish in the 200 medley relay, Lindsay Stone won her third consecutive race 1,000 yards or more. She finished the 1,000 free with a time of 9:55.88. Abbie Dolan and Bailey Stewart continued the Irish run, finishing first in the 200 free and 100 back, respectively.
Dolan led the Irish, out-touching her opponents at the wall on three occasions. As the anchor of the medley relay, she helped her team to a 1:40.18 finishing time. Shortly after, she posted a 200 free time of 1:46.72. She finished her stellar night with a time of 49.50 in the 100 free. She was also the leadoff member of the 400 free relay team that took first-overall, with a time of 3:22.59.
“Our women, as always, swam and dove today like a team. We were very solid in all areas, and our depth carried the day,” Litzinger went on. “Abbie DOlan and Lindsay Stone led the way tonight. Erin Isol and Annie Weise took care of business on the diving end of the pool.”
The women divers took first and third in both the three-meter and one-meter diving events. Annie Weise finished first in the women’s three-meter dive, scoring a total of 316.5 while Erin Isola came in third. Claire Andrews led the one-meter event, recording a team best score of 280.12 while Kelly Straub finished third.
Afrik and Zach Yeadon led the men’s side in first-place individual finishes, boasting two apiece. Yeadon led the Irish to their first win of the night, finishing the 200 free in 1:37.83. He also topped the boards in the 500 free, touching the wall in 4:22.31. Afrik came out on top in the 50 and 100 free events. The two were also a part of the 400 free relay team to take first-place, finishing in 2:59.02.
“Zach Yeadon was great again, as was Tabahn Afrik and Will Cumberland,” he added. “We are looking forward to being home again next weekend.”
WOMEN’S TOP-FIVE FINISHERS:
200 Medley Relay
1st – 1:40.18 – Carly Quast, Meaghan O’Donnell, Cailey Grunhard, Abbie Dolan
4th – 1:43.93 – Bailey Stewart, Sammie Eyolfson, Erin Sheehan, Katie Smith
1000 Free
1st – 9:55.88 – Lindsay Stone
3rd – 10:27.18 – Sammy Steigerwald
200 Free
1st – 1:46.72 – Abbie Dolan
2nd – 1:50.59 – Sinead Eksteen
5th – 1:51.92 – Skylar Fore
100 Back
1st – 54.80 – Bailey Stewart
4th – 55.48 – Alice Treuth
5th – 55.61 – Carly Quast
100 Breast
2nd – 1:02.42 – Meaghan O’Donnell
4th – 1:04.35 – Sarah Nickolls
200 Fly
1st – 1:59.60 – Nikki Smith
2nd – 1:59.68 – Luciana Thomas
5th – 2:04.15 – Erin Sheehan
50 Free
2nd – 23.49 – Sofia Revilak
3rd – 23.50 – Rachel Whittmer
4th – 23.52 – Cailey Grunhard
5th – 23.69 – Katie Smith
100 Free
1st – 49.50 – Abbie Dolan
3rd – 51.13 – Lauren Heller
4th – 51.15 – Skylar Fore
200 Back
1st – 1:57.33 – Alice Treuth
2nd – 1:57.92 – Bayley Stewart
4th – 2:00.57 – Kyra Sarazen
200 Breast
3rd – 2:18.92 – Meagan O’Donnell
4th – 2:20.57 – Sarah Nicholls
5th – 2:21.77 – Sammie Eyolfson
500 Free
1st – 4:51.48 – Lindsay Stone
2nd – 4:53.37 – Sinead Eksteen
4th – 5:02.09 – Madeline LaPorte
100 Fly
1st – 54.43 – Cailey Grunhard
2nd – 55:14 – Rachel Wittmer
3rd – 55.22 – Erin Sheehan
5th – 55.73 – Nikki Smith
200 IM
2nd – 2:05.48 – Luciana Thomas
5th – 2:08.42 – Erin Sheehan
400 Free Relay
1st – 3:22.59 – Abbie Dolan, Skylar Fore, Cailey Grunhard, Carly Quast
3rd – 3:27.05 – Lauren Heller, Sofia Revilak, Sinead Eksteen, Rachel Wittmer
5th – 3:32.70 – Katie Smith, Alice Treuth, Kelly Jacob, Madeline LaPorte
3 Meter Diving
1st – 316.50 – Annie Wiese
3rd – 298.50 – Erin Isola
4th – 288.90 – Kelly Straub
1 Meter Diving
1st – 280.12 – Claire Andrews
3rd – 277.05 – Kelly Straub
5th – 266.40 – Annie Wiese
MEN’S TOP-FIVE FINISHERS:
200 Medley Relay
2nd – 1:29.68 – Jack Montesi, Steven Shek, Zachary Smith, Tabahn Afrik
3rd – 1:30.46 – Brendan Santana, Matthew Limbacher, Matt Grauslys, Aaron Schultz
5th – 1:34.27 – Joe Turk, Josh Bottelberghe, Jack Russell, Dan Fujan
1000 Free
2nd – 9:28.22 – Sadler McKeen
3rd – 9:33.12 – Will Cumberland
200 Free
1st – 1:37.83 – Zach Yeadon
2nd – 1:38.46 – Marci Barta
3rd – 1:40.62 – Aaron Schultz
4th – 1:42.31 – Andrew Winton
100 Back
2nd – 48.94 – Jack Montesi
5th – 51.45 – Nick Milikich
100 Breast
2nd – 56.70 – Steven Shek
3rd – 56.93 – Matthew Limbacher
4th – 57.01 – Josh Bottelberghe
5th – 58.13 – Rex Riley
200 Fly
1st – 1:48.98 – Zachary Smith
2nd – 1:49.44 – Max Miranda
4th – 1:51.69 – Matt Grauslys
50 Free
1st – 20.45 – Tabahn Afrik
100 Free
1st – 44.54 – Tabahn Afrik
5th – 46.08 – Aaron Schultz
200 Back
1st – 1:48.54 – Jack Montesi
2nd – 1:49.07 – Sadler McKeen
3rd – 1:49.97 – Will Cumberland
5th – 1:52.44 – Joe Turk
200 Breast
1st – 2:02.87 – Josh Bottelberghe
2nd – 2:04.56 – Andrew Winton
3rd – 2:05.56 – Steven Shek
5th – 2:07.86 – Matthew Limbacher
500 Free
1st – 4:22.31 – Zach Yeadon
2nd – 4:26.81 – Marc Barta
4th – 4:33.17 – Max Miranda
100 Fly
2nd – 48.87 – Zachary Smith
4th – 50.31 – Matt Grauslys
5th – 50.66 – Brendan Santana
200 IM
1st – 1:49.13 – Marc Barta
2nd – 1:51.59 – Andrew Winton
3rd – 1:52.50 – Will Cumberland
4th – 1:53.51 – Nick Milikich
400 Free Relay
1st – 2:59.02 – Tabahn Afrik, Zach Yeadon, Aaron Schultz, Sadler McKeen
4th – 3:06.95 – Dan Fujan, Jack Montesi, Steven Shek, Zachary Smith
5th – 3:09.59 – Dan Bannon, Brendan Santana, Max Miranda, Josh Bottelberghe
1 Meter Diving
4th – 278.92 – Austin Flaute
5th – 244.72 – Cristian Herrera
3 Meter Diving
3rd – 311.32 – Austin Flaute
4th – 262.27 – Cristian Herrera
5th – 253.95 – David Petrison
Up Next For The Irish
The Irish return to Rolfs Aquatic Center next Friday, November 2, as they host Pitt and Virginia Tech in a two day dual meet. The first event will begin Friday at 5 p.m. They will run half the events before breaking until 11 a.m. Saturday, November 3.