Oct. 21, 2011
NOTRE DAME, Ind. – The Auburn women’s swimming and diving team set four Rolfs Aquatic Center records on its way to a 167-125 victory over Notre Dame in a dual meet on Friday.
Notre Dame falls to 2-1 on the young season, while the Tigers improve to 2-0.
The Irish won six events on the day, with junior diver Jenny Chiang picking up a pair of victories in the one and three-meter dives. Other highlights during the meet included sophomore Kelly Ryan’s close victory in the 200 backstroke and freshman Bridget Casey’s impressive win in the 200 butterfly.
Notre Dame travels to Pittsburgh next weekend for a dual meet with the Panthers. Friday’s meet is slated to get underway at 4 p.m.
Event-By-Event Results
1-Meter Dive
Chiang topped the field in the 1-meter dive, winning with a final score of 3:13.28. Freshman Allison Casareto placed third with 267.07 points.
3-Meter Dive
Chiang picked up her second victory of the day, winning the 3-meter dive with a score of 3:48.53. She narrowly held off Auburn’s Vennie Dantin (343.28) for the best score, but Auburn exhibitioned its divers so Notre Dame claimed the top five spots. Casareto earned her second runner-up finish on the day, scoring 291.53.
200 Yard Medley Relay
Auburn breezed to the win in a Rolfs Aquatic Center record time of 1:40.84. The previous record of 1:42.61 was set by Notre Dame’s Kim Holden, Samantha Maxwell, Kellyn Kuhlke and Amywren Miller in 2010. The Tigers led from the beginning as Emily Bos opened up more than a second lead on the competition on the lead leg. Abby Duncan, Hannah Riordan and Arianna Vanderpool-Wallace extended the lead to almost four seconds. Notre Dame’s foursome of Ryan, Lauren Stauder, Lauren Scott and Hannah Bowen claimed third in 1:45.36.
1,000 Yard Freestyle
Auburn’s Katie Gardocki blew past the field, claiming first in 9:51.98. Notre Dame freshman Bridget Casey just missed out on second place (10:17.19), finishing .12 behind Auburn’s Sterling Wine (10:17.07).
200 Yard Freestyle
In one of the better races of the day, Auburn’s Becca Jones and Notre Dame’s Ryan battled to the pad, with Jones (1:49.21) winning in just .05 seconds. Ryan (1:49.26) led throughout the race, but Jones powered back in the final lap, swimming it in 27.29 to Ryan’s 27.84.
100 Yard Backstroke
Bos claimed her second victory of the day, winning the 100 backstroke (53.62) by over four seconds, to set another pool record. Indiana’s Zubkova set the previous record in 2008. The Tigers took the top two spots, with Irish sophomore Sarah Dotzel placing third in 58.16.
200 Yard Butterfly
Casey showed very much why she is a member of the U.S. National Junior Team in the 200 fly, outpacing the competition by over two seconds to claim the victory in 2:01.25. Casey led from the beginning of the race and extended the lead with every lap.
100 Yard Breaststroke
Auburn took the top two spots in the 100 breast. Notre Dame’s Emma Reaney claimed third in a time of 1:04.21 to pace the Irish.
50 Yard Freestyle
Auburn claimed the top two spots in the 50 free, as Hannah Riordan finished first (22.84) with teammate Haley Krakoski (23:46) trailing closely behind. Notre Dame’s Amy Prestinario finished third in 23.90.
100 Yard Freestyle
The second pool record of the day fell in the 100 free, as Auburn’s Vanderpool-Wallace (48.73) topped the previous mark of 49.27 set in 1998 by Michigan’s Shakespeare. Vanderpool-Wallace dominated the field, topping teammate Becca Jones by two and a half seconds. The Tigers claimed the top three spots in the event. Touching the wall first for the Irish was Prestinario, who finished fourth in 51.62.
200 Yard Backstroke
The Irish picked up their first victory of the day in the 200 back, as Ryan surged from behind for the win. The Hinsdale, Ill., product trailed the through the first three laps, but blazed through the final lap in 30.82, to edge Auburn’s Erica Belcher, 2:00.54 to 2:00.75. Junior Gracie Fredlake took third in 2:04.59.
200 Yard Breaststroke
The Tigers’ Lauren Norberg took first in 2:15.86, finishing just ahead of teammate Abby Duncan (2:16.68). Auburn claimed the top three spots in the event. Sophomore Lauren Stauder was the first Irish swimmer to touch the pad, finishing fourth in 2:22.36.
500 Yard Freestyle
After winning the 1,000 free, Gardocki completed her sweep of the two long freestyle events, winning the 500 in 4:56.68. Leading the entire way, Gardocki finished two seconds ahead of teammate Siena Devenuto. Freshman Erin Foley was the first Notre Dame swimmer to touch the pad, placing third in 5:07.02.
100 Yard Butterfly
The third pool record of the day was broken in the 100 fly, as Auburn’s Olivia Scott finished in 53.61, which broke the previous record of 54.80 set by Purdue’s Takaki in 2006. The Tigers claimed the top four spots in the event, with Prestinario touching the wall in 57.03 to take fifth.
400 Yard IM
With Auburn exhibitioning all four of their swimmers in the 400 IM, and thus not eligible for scoring, Notre Dame freshman Reaney took the top spot in 4:21.94. She battled with Auburn’s Sarah Peterson for much of the race, eventually losing by just over a second. Peterson finished the race in 4:20.73, and was followed closely by teammate Gardocki, who completed the race in 4:21.27.
400 Yard Freestyle Relay
Auburn exhibitioned its relay teams for the 400 free relay, thus allowing Notre Dame to claim the top four spots in the standings. The race was a thriller as Ryan, Prestinario, Suzanne Bessire and Reaney finished the race in 3:27.52. Auburn teams finished in 3:24.41 and 3:28.69 to bookend the Irish.
–ND–