Jan. 11, 2014
EVANSTON, Ill. – The University of Notre Dame men’s swimming and diving team went down to the wire with Northwestern Saturday, and a pair of top three 400 freestyle relay finishes for the host Wildcats in the final event of the day yielded a rare 150-150 tie between the teams at the Norris Aquatic Center. No. 1 Michigan defeated Northwestern 177-115, but the Wolverines and Irish did not score against one another in the meet after competing against each other on two previous occasions during the season’s opening weekend.
The tie for No. 20 Notre Dame (4-4-1) was just the second in its 56-year program history, and the first since the inaugural Irish dual meet on Dec. 6, 1958 at Chicago (43-43). Notre Dame had competed in 664 dual meets since its first tie before squaring with the Wildcats on Saturday.
Freshman diver Joe Coumos swept both the 1 and 3-meter diving events to give Notre Dame two crucial victories during the meet. Coumos scored 311.80 points off the 1-meter board and totaled 339.50 points in the 3-meter dive to complete the double-win.
Junior All-American John Williamson earned runner-up finishes in both the 100 (49.18) and 200 (1:47.91) butterfly events behind Michigan’s Dylan Bosch, scoring first-place points in each distance in the dual format against Northwestern. Williamson’s 200 fly effort also earned him an NCAA B-cut.
Junior All-American Zach Stephens was the second swimmer to the wall behind Bosch in the 200 IM (1:49.19), logging first-place points for the Irish in the process. Stephens contributed an additional runner-up result in the 200 breaststroke (2:01.09) and a pair of third-place finishes in the 50 freestyle (20.70) and with the 200 medley relay `A’ team that registered a total time of 1:30.86.
Junior Cameron Miller added an NCAA B-cut of his own in the 100 breaststroke, clocking a time of 55.08 in a runner-up swim. Miller also added third-place results in the 200 breaststroke (2:01.58) and as a member of the 200 medley relay team.
Notre Dame returns to action at former BIG EAST Conference and future Atlantic Coast Conference foe Louisville on Jan. 24 at 4 p.m. (ET) inside the Ralph Wright Natatorium.
Event-By-Event Results
200 Medley Relay: The Notre Dame `A’ entry of Bogac Ayhan, Cameron Miller, John Williamson and Zach Stephens logged a third-place finish with a time of 1:30.86 to lead the Irish in the event. The `B’ grouping of Matthew Buerger, Colin Babcock, Patrick Olson and Kevin Bradley claimed seventh place with an effort of 1:32.53.
1000 Freestyle: Brennan Jacobsen was the first Irish swimmer to the wall in the distance, logging a time of 9:30.54 for fifth place. John Nappi was the next Notre Dame finisher in sixth place (9:33.10), while James McEldrew added an eighth-place effort of 9:43.43. Shane McKenzie posted an exhibition swim of 9:44.66.
200 Freestyle: Kevin Hughes scored first-place points for Notre Dame in the dual contest with an overall finish of third place in 1:40.05. Joe Petrone clocked in with a time of 1:42.84 (eighth place), while classmate Trent Jackson posted a readout of 1:42.95 (10th place). Michael Hudspith recorded an exhibition time of 1:43.44.
100 Backstroke: Ayhan tapped the wall in 50.25 for a fifth-place finish overall to lead Notre Dame. Buerger placed seventh with a time of 51.27, followed by Tom Anderson in eighth place (51.59). Bertie Nel chipped in an exhibition swim of 52.11.
100 Breaststroke: Miller earned first-place points and an NCAA B-cut with an overall runner-up finish of 55.08. Babcock was the next swimmer to the wall, clocking in with an effort of 55.49. Andrew Jensen finished in ninth place (58.20), while Joshua Choi added an exhibition run of 1:00.53.
200 Butterfly: John Williamson paced all Notre Dame entrants with a runner-up time of 1:47.91, good for an NCAA B-cut and first-place dual points. Bradley earned a sixth-place result (1:52.90), with Reed Fujan just behind in seventh place (1:53.55). Broderick Kelley posted a time of 1:54.35 in an exhibition swim.
50 Freestyle: Stephens traversed the sprint distance in 20.70 to place third overall in the event. Olson added a time of 21.48 (eighth place), while Nicholas Sim clocked in at 22.01. Jack Cobain (22.62) was the only Notre Dame exhibition swimmer.
100 Freestyle: Babcock was the top Irish finisher in the distance after posting a fifth-place time of 46.15. Jackson added a time of 47.88, with Hudspith (47.95) and Sim (47.97, exhibition) just behind.
200 Backstroke: McEldrew was the first Notre Dame swimmer to the pad with a time of 1:50.42 (third place). Anderson (1:52.89) and Nel (1:53.93) claimed fifth and sixth place, respectively, while Michael Scheid clocked an exhibition clip of 1:58.09.
200 Breaststroke: Stephens (2:01.09) and Miller (2:01.58) took runner-up honors and third place, respectively, with strong runs in the 200 breaststroke. Jensen logged a time of 2:07.87 for fifth place.
500 Freestyle: Petrone was the top Notre Dame finisher with a time of 4:36.92 and fourth place. Hughes touched in with a time of 4:37.21 (fifth place), and Nappi followed in sixth place with a clip of 4:39.45. Bradley registered an exhibition time of 4:39.90.
100 Butterfly: Williamson picked up first-place dual points with an overall runner-up finish (49.18) to pace the Irish. Olson placed fifth with a time of 50.61, with Ayhan tapping the wall next in 51.01 (sixth place). Fujan (51.34) and Kelley (51.84) each swam exhibition efforts.
200 IM: Stephens narrowly missed out on an NCAA B-cut, taking first-place points for Notre Dame with a time of 1:49.19 and a second place overall finish. Babcock (1:51.37) and Anderson (1:53.54) earned third and fourth place results, respectively, for the Irish while Matthew DeBlasio clocked an exhibition time of 1:53.96.
400 Freestyle Relay: The Notre Dame `A’ squad of Hughes, Bradley, Buerger and Jackson placed fourth in the field with a time of 3:03.20. The Irish `B’ squad of Ayhan, Fujan, Hudspith and Olson finished in fifth place with a time of 3:06.34.
1-Meter Dive: Joe Coumos picked up the first Notre Dame win of the day with a score of 311.80 points off the 1-meter board. Michael Kreft (267.75 points, fifth place), Nick Nemetz (266.65, sixth place), James Lichtenstein (245.45) and Ted Wagner (206.75) rounded out the Irish competitors in the event.
3-Meter Dive: Coumos completed the meet sweep with a total of 339.50 points to take home the 3-meter title for the Irish. Nemetz claimed third place with 305.80 points, with Kreft just behind in fourth place with 301.55 points. Wagner (287.60) and Lichtenstein (235.30) both competed as exhibition participants.
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