Feb. 20, 2015
ESPN3 COVERAGE
ATLANTA – After clinching a spot at her fourth NCAA Championships in the morning session, University of Notre Dame women’s swimming standout Emma Reaney continued to add to her impressive Atlantic Coast Conference legacy Friday night, as she won her second consecutive ACC title in the 100-yard breaststroke with an impressive finals swim of 58.72.
A night after a disappointing disqualification in the 200 IM, Reaney quickly put it out of her mind, as she went 27.72 in the first leg of the 100 breast and 31.00 in the second to beat out Virginia’s Laura Simon by .25 seconds to win her second title. She’ll look to go for another individual title Saturday night in the 200-yard breaststroke, an event she holds the American record in after setting it at last year’s ACC meet and resetting it at the 2014 NCAA Championships.
Reaney’s gold medal-winning performance highlighted an outstanding day in the pool for the Irish.
Sophomore Katie Miller started off the night session with an eighth place showing in the 400 IM, in an NCAA B cut time of 4:17.38. Senior Bridget Casey placed 22nd (6th in “C” final) in 4:22.98.
One event later, junior Catherine Galletti won the “B” final by swimming an NCAA B cut time of 53.24. Teammate Courtney Whyte joined Galletti’s winning ways by claiming the “C” final of the 100 fly (53.49). Her time was also an NCAA B cut.
In addition to Reaney’s sterling performance in the 100 breast, sophomore Danielle Margheret claimed second (10th overall) in the “B” finals in an NCAA B cut time of 1:01.20, while junior Genevieve Bradford placed third (19th overall) in the “C” finals (1:02.58) and freshman Sherri McIntee claimed seventh (23rd overall) in 1:03.92.
Galletti continued her outstanding night by touching the pad third (11th overall) in the 100 back in an NCAA B cut time of 53.81. Teammate Catherine Mulquin finished close behind in fifth (13th overall) in an NCAA B cut time of 54.15.
Notre Dame closed out the night with an outstanding effort in the 400 medley relay, as Galletti, Reaney, Whyte and Mulquin placed fourth in an NCAA B cut time of 3:35.00.
Through three days, the Irish sit in sixth place out of 13 squads with 449 points.
The final day gets underway at 10 a.m. (ET) with prelims for the 200 back, 100 free, 200 breast, 200 fly and the platform dive. Prelims for the 1,650 begin at 4 p.m. (ET), with the final swim of the 1,650 set for 6 p.m. (ET). The meet will end with the 400 free relay.
Fans can follow along in a number of different ways. In addition to live tweeting from @NDwSwimming and @NDDiving, links to live results and ESPN3 (Finals Only) are at the top of this recap.
QUOTES
SENIOR Emma Reaney
On her 100 breaststroke win ââ’¬¦
“I wanted to kind of come back from last night in a positive way and I swim better when I’m a little bit angrier and have a mission. I felt so much better tonight, I didn’t quite get the push off that I wanted on the last wall so it was a little bit closer of a race than I intended, but I guess that’s a good sign for NCAA’s because I know I can go faster without trying that much harder.”
On heading into final day ââ’¬¦
“The individual 100 breast gave me a lot of confidence going into tomorrow because I was just kind of worried about those two other girls from Louisville and Virginia. I’m a little upset about myself about the relay because if I had gone my split from last year we would have gotten the A cut.”
On the meet so far from a team perspective ââ’¬¦
“I think the team energy has been escalating slowly which is good and bad, it would have been nice to start out with that energy, but we’ve kind of built ourselves into this meet so I guess that means that tomorrow is going to be better than today.”
INTERIM HEAD COACH Tim Welsh
On the day ââ’¬¦
“I thought this morning was very exciting, but tonight was even more so. The team is improving as we go through the meet and sharpening with the competition, so I’m very proud of what we are doing and pretty excited about what can happen tomorrow.”
On the 400 medley relay ââ’¬¦
“We dropped over four seconds to do that, that was phenomenal,” said Welsh. “We are close in both relays. We are going to time trial the 200 medley tomorrow and hope we get it.”
On any particular swims that were especially impressive ââ’¬¦
“Courtney Whyte’s butterfly and Catherine Mulquin’s free were just spectacular,” said Welsh. “Tomorrow we are strong in every event so we need to come prepared, but we are looking for a great close out to what’s been a very strong meet.”
SENIOR Courtney Whyte
On her meet so far ââ’¬¦
“Wednesday I came down with the stomach flu and I was throwing up and had a fever, and didn’t feel great yesterday either. I definitely felt better today especially going into tonight’s swims. My finals swim definitely helped my confidence going into the relay, and going into tomorrow.”
JUNIOR Catherine Galletti
On today’s races ââ’¬¦
“Yesterday was just really fun being able to race the 50 free with Cath (Mulquin) in the finals and after 1-2ing that with her it gave me a lot of confidence going into today and just having a better groove with the meet. I came into today with the same determination and energy that I had yesterday and things worked out.
This morning I tried some different things with my race strategy and it didn’t necessarily work, so tonight I made it a point to talk with the coaches and have a plan so that I would be able to do better.”
On Saturday’s relays ââ’¬¦
“Tomorrow will be fun with relays because relays are a great chance to do something awesome with the team and with three other girls that are working their hardest, so I’m just excited it’s going to be fun.”
PRELIMS RECAP
Highlighting the morning session was an impressive swim from Reaney. Quickly putting Thursday night’s disappointment behind her, the Lawrence, Kansas native qualified first in the 100 breast by .62 seconds, notching an NCAA A cut time of 58.87. It was the third fastest time in the country this year and automatically qualified her for March’s NCAA Championships for the fourth time in her career.
Elsewhere in the 100 breast, Margheret looked strong in her swim, locking up a spot in the “B” finals (10th overall) with a time of 1:01.36. Meanwhile, Bradford (1:02.33) and McIntee (1:03.38) claimed spots in the “C” finals. Bradford’s swim was an NCAA B cut.
The Irish got off to a great start on day three, as Miller qualified eighth for the “A” finals in the 400 IM, with a season-best time of 4:17.38 (NCAA B Cut). Senior Bridget Casey locked up a slot in the “C” finals of the event (4:22.98). Fellow senior Melissa Scott sits in the second alternate spot (4:28.37).
In the 100 fly, Galletti just missed out on the “A” finals by .36, as she placed ninth in 53.35, which tied her career-best time. Whyte earned a spot in the “C” finals (20th overall) with an NCAA B cut time of 54.23.
Sophomore Elizabeth House placed in the second alternate spot of the 200 free (1:49.89). She swam a career-best in addition to career bests from Molly Treble (1:50.65) and Molly Barry (1:54.23).
In the 100 back, both Mulquin (54.08) and Galletti (54.40) locked up spots in the “B” finals, as they placed 15th and 16th, respectively, with NCAA B cut swims.
TEAM STANDINGS (AFTER DAY 3)
1. North Carolina: 862 Points
2. Virginia: 839.5 Points
3. Virginia Tech: 664.5 Points
4. Louisville: 641 Points
5. NC State: 589 Points
6. Notre Dame: 449 Points
7. Florida State: 408 Points
8. Miami: 365 Points
9. Pittsburgh: 330 Points
10. Duke: 325 Points
11. Georgia Tech: 137 Points
12. Boston College: 92 Points
13. Clemson: 4 Points
IRISH AT THE ACC CHAMPIONSHIPS
ACC INDIVIDUAL CHAMPIONSHIPS
100 Breast (58.72): Emma Reaney
ALL-ACC
100 Breast (58.72): Emma Reaney
NCAA A CUTS (PRELIMS OR FINALS)
100 Breast (58.72 – Finals): Emma Reaney
100 Breast (58.87 – Prelims): Emma Reaney
NCAA B CUTS (FINALS ONLY)
200 Medley Relay (7th– 1:38.39): Catherine Galletti / Emma Reaney / Courtney Whyte / Catherine Mulquin
200 IM (19th – 2:00.68): Katie Miller
50 Free (18th – 22.83): Catherine Galletti
50 Free (21st – 22.89): Catherine Mulquin
400 IM (8th – 4:19.38): Katie Miller
100 Fly (9th – 53.24): Catherine Galletti
100 Fly (17th – 53.49): Courtney Whyte
100 Breast (10th – 1:01.20): Danielle Margheret
100 Back (11th – 53.81): Catherine Galletti
100 Back (13th – 54.15): Catherine Mulquin
400 Medley Relay (4th – 3:35.00): Catherine Galletti / Emma Reaney / Courtney Whyte / Catherine Mulquin
INDIVIDUAL RESULTS (FINALS ONLY – Swimming / POINT SCORERS – Diving)
Emma Reaney (Senior)
1st – 100 Breast (58.72)
4th – 400 Medley Relay (3:35.00)
7th – 200 Medley Relay (1:38.39)
10th – 800 Free Relay (7:20.35)
DQ – 200 IM (1:55.79)
Lindsey Streepey (Junior)
4th – 3-Meter Dive (338.55)
7th – 1-Meter Dive (282.45)
Catherine Galletti (Junior)
4th – 400 Medley Relay (3:35.00)
7th – 200 Medley Relay (1:38.39)
9th – 100 Fly (53.24)
10th – 200 Free Relay (1:32.78)
11th – 100 Back (53.81)
18th – 50 Free (22.83)
Catherine Mulquin (Sophomore)
4th – 400 Medley Relay (3:35.00)
7th – 200 Medley Relay (1:38.39)
10th – 200 Free Relay (1:32.78)
13th – 100 Back (54.15)
21st – 50 Free (22.89)
Courtney Whyte (Senior)
4th – 400 Medley Relay (3:35.00)
7th – 200 Medley Relay (1:38.39)
10th – 200 Free Relay (1:32.78)
17th – 100 Fly (53.49)
Katie Miller (Sophomore)
8th – 400 IM (4:19.38)
10th – 800 Free Relay (7:20.35)
19th – 200 IM (2:00.68)
Suzanne Bessire (Senior)
10th – 800 Free Relay (7:20.35)
10th – 200 Free Relay (1:32.78)
Genevieve Bradford (Junior)
19th – 100 Breast (1:02.58)
21st – 200 IM (2:02.58)
Allison Casareto (Senior)
8th – 3-Meter Dive (300.35)
Elizabeth House (Sophomore)
10th – 800 Free Relay (7:20.35)
Danielle Margheret (Sophomore)
10th – 100 Breast (1:01.20)
Bridget Casey (Senior)
22nd – 400 IM (4:23.73)
Sherri McIntee (Freshman)
23rd – 100 Breast (1:03.92)
–Russell Dorn, Assistant Media Relations Director
–ND–