Swimcloud

#--/24 Notre Dame Sweeps Shamrock Invite; Missouri State Men Upset #25 Iowa

The No. 24 University of Notre Dame women’s swimming and diving team won 16 of the 20 events to run away from Iowa, 263-106, at the two-day Shamrock Invitational at Rolfs Aquatic Center this weekend. Northwestern also competed at the invitational, but the Irish and Wildcats chose not to count their score since the two teams just dualed a few short weeks ago. The Wildcats squeaked past the Hawkeyes, 186-184, in the other dual result.

Great crowds came out to Rolfs all weekend as a pool-record 609 braved Saturday’s elements to give the invitational a two-day total of 1,041 spectators.  

With 16 wins in 20 chances, strong performances were the norm for the Irish throughout the weekend.

“I thought we got better as the meet went on,” said head coach Brian Barnes. “It was interesting to show up after a day of school and a morning swim yesterday and I thought we were a little rusty last night. However, I thought this morning we showed up and did a heck of a job. I know what I asked this team to do this week and then to head into a three-session meet and compete the way they did, I’m very happy with them. We have work to do in several areas but I’m pretty happy with where we are.”

Junior Emma Reaney won four individual events and three relays, grabbed four NCAA B cuts and broke two pool records (200 IM, 800 free relay).

Senior Kelly Ryan picked up three individual wins and two relays, tallied two NCAA B cuts and swam a leg of the pool-record 800 free relay team.

Freshman Katie Miller won the 400 IM and also assisted on the winning 800 free relay team, while junior Bridget Casey claimed the 200 fly title and swam the anchor for the 800 free relay. Miller notched three NCAA B cuts and Casey had one.   

Junior Allison Casareto won the 1-meter discipline Friday night, while senior Christen McDonough, freshman Catherine Mulquin, sophomore Genevieve Heidkamp, junior Hannah Bowen and junior Courtney Whyte helped the Irish win all five relays.

Prior to the evening session, seniors Sarah Dotzel, Mikelle Masciantonio, McDonough, Ryan and Lauren Stauder were honored for their contributions to the program both in and out of the water with a ceremony and senior video.  

“Tonight was more about our seniors than anything,” said Barnes. “Watching the team with this senior class, it’s a beloved class. It’s good to see that in athletics. We are going to miss them tremendously. Today was a sentimental day for all of us. They have represented Notre Dame with great passion and it was good to see them recognized.”

The Irish (7-5) close out their regular season at 12 p.m. next Saturday with a dual against Cleveland State at Rolfs Aquatic Center. Notre Dame heads to its first Atlantic Coast Conference meet in a few short weeks (Feb. 19-22). 

EVENING SESSION RECAP

Notre Dame turned in another 1-2 sweep in the evening session as senior Kelly Ryan (1:57.57) and freshman Katie Miller (1:58.55) picked up NCAA B cuts in pulling away from the field.

Ryan pulled off wins in back-to-back swims as she took the 100 free crown (50.33) just minutes after winning the 100 back. Joining Ryan on the podium was teammate Catherine Mulquin, who claimed second in 51.56. Notre Dame also secured spots five, six and seven to give the Irish five of the top seven spots in the event.

Reaney finished up her individual portion of the weekend with a win in the 200 breast (2:12.38 – NCAA B cut). Her time was 4.77 seconds faster than the second place finisher. Behind Reaney, the Irish were well represented as senior Lauren Stauder finished third (2:17.83), fellow senior Christen McDonough claimed fourth (2:19.68) and sophomore Danielle Margheret took fifth (2:20.12).

Notre Dame swept the top three spots in the 200 fly as junior Bridget Casey (1:59.30 – NCAA B Cut), Miller (2:01.30) and junior Melissa Scott (2:03.32) went 1-2-3.

The Irish rounded out the meet with a win in the 400 free relay as Reaney, Mulquin, Bradford and Ryan touched the pad first in 3:24.23.   

MORNING SESSION RECAP

The Irish kicked off day two in grand fashion with a victory in the 200 medley relay. Mulquin, Reaney, junior Courtney Whyte and Ryan touched the pad in 1:41.22 to give Notre Dame six victories in the first seven events of the weekend. The Notre Dame “B” team earned a runner-up finish as Miller, McDonough, Genevieve Heidkamp and Hannah Bowen completed the race in 1:43.18.

Notre Dame went 1-2 in the 400 IM as Miller swam an NCAA B cut time of 4:17.62 to blow away the field. Teammate Bridget Casey claimed second in 4:23.25 to extend her squad’s lead over Iowa.

Reaney helped the Irish continue their winning ways as she claimed the 100 fly title in an NCAA B cut time of 53.99. Teammates Whyte (55.23) and Heidkamp (55.78) took second and third, respectively, to give Notre Dame a sweep in the event. Casey (5th – 56.48) and Sarah Dotzel (6th – 56.75) weren’t far behind to give Notre Dame five of the top six finishers.

Junior Suzanne Bessire picked up a runner-up finish in the 200 free as she touched the wall in 1:52.12.

Reaney won her third individual event of the weekend with a victory in the 100 breast (1:00.71 – NCAA B cut). McDonough earned a bronze in the event with a 1:03.58 performance, missing out on second place by .01 seconds.    

Ryan looked strong in the 100 back as she won the event in an NCAA B cut time of 54.42. Following closely behind were Irish teammates Mulquin (55.42) and Whyte (55.57), who took second and third, respectively, to give Notre Dame the sweep. The Irish also had performers finish in the sixth, seventh and eighth spots to give the host program six competitors in the top eight.  

On the 3-meter board, sophomore Lindsey Streepey claimed third (303.25) to lead the way for the Irish.

Notre Dame wrapped up the morning session with a pool record in the 800 free relay. The foursome of Reaney, Ryan, Miller and Casey took down Ohio State’s record (7:22.85) from 2011 by .20 seconds (7:22.65).

DAY TWO SCORES
Notre Dame 263, Iowa 106
Iowa 186, Northwestern 184


On the strength of seven race victories, and an additional nine runner-up finishes, the University of Notre Dame men’s swimming and diving team put an exclamation mark on a victorious outing at the 2014 Shamrock Invitational Saturday night in front of a record crowd of 609 at the Rolfs Aquatic Center.
 
The Irish (6-5-1) defeated Missouri State 223-147 in one of the two dual matchups, and Notre Dame added a 224.5-145.5 win over Iowa to claim its fourth sweep in nine Shamrock Invitational starts.
 
“I thought we got better as the weekend went on,” Notre Dame head coach Tim Welsh said. “We told the guys that we thought we had a breakthrough this morning and a follow through tonight. It was a very strong day overall.”
 
Sophomore Shane McKenzie (400 IM, 3:55.52), senior two-time All-American Frank Dyer (200 freestyle, 1:37.28), the ‘C’ entry of the Notre Dame 800 freestyle relay (Reed Fujan, Michael Hudspith, Patrick Murphy and Broderick Kelley, 6:36.98), freshman Joe Coumos (1-meter diving, 355.80 points), freshman Joe Petrone (1650 freestyle, 15:40.81), junior All-American John Williamson (200 butterfly, 1:48.43) and Hudspith (100 freestyle, 45:07) all claimed race victories on Saturday.
 
Of the seven different Irish competitors who logged race wins on the day, four were Notre Dame freshmen and sophomores. Welsh said that there were a number of younger student-athletes who honed in on the Shamrock Invitational as a meet to post top results.
 
“We did have a group of guys who focused on this meet, ‘Shamrock Guys’ we will call them,” he said. “They made a huge contribution, and we are very proud of them for doing that.”
 
Welsh felt the team responded well to the meet format, which was spread out over a single session Friday night before closing with a pair sessions on Saturday. The Shamrock Invitational closely followed what the Irish will see at the Atlantic Coast Conference Championship Feb. 26-March 1 in Greensboro, N.C.
 
“I think we are sufficiently tired, and what we were able to see was where the guys needed rest, and where to polish their technique, strategy and race plan,” Welsh said. “We were definitely able to see that under race conditions, and the advantage to this is like football at high speed. Unlike a trials-finals where you don’t get a re-swim at night, going into the ACC we know that if we’re going to be successful there we have to be very good the first time we swim.”
 
Notre Dame now turns its attention to next weekend’s season finale dual meet against Cleveland State. The extra dual contest following the Shamrock Invitational is a first on the Notre Dame schedule since the Irish downed Olivet 173-102 on Feb. 7, 2009.
 
“There will be a different race plan for that final meet, and we will evaluate how this came out,” Welsh said. “We will take a look and say, ‘What do we need to do next, what is the next most important thing we need to do?’ We went into this meet saying not to count on next week, or thinking that there is always a next week, this is its own deal and it ends tonight. We will re-evaluate where we are, and see what the next best steps are.”
 
Next Saturday’s dual meet against Cleveland State is scheduled to begin at noon (ET) inside the Rolfs Aquatic Center.  



The Missouri State men's swimming & diving team used three individual event victories from junior Paul Le to earn a split in the Shamrock Invitational Saturday.

The Bears took down No. 25 Iowa, 213-157, and fell to Notre Dame, 223-147 at the Rolfs Aquatic Center. The host Irish were receiving votes in this week's College Swimming Coaches of America top 25 poll.

On the heels of three event victories on the opening day of the meet, Missouri State got outright wins from Le in the 100 backstroke and 100 butterfly in the first of two sessions on Saturday. He followed his morning performance up with a win in the 200 back in the final session.

Le won the 100 backstroke in an NCAA consideration time of 48.29 and the 100 butterfly in 49.14, before claiming the 200 back in 1:46.60.

The Bears sit at 9-3 on the season after the split. The victory over Iowa marked the first over a ranked team in the three-year tenure of head coach Dave Collins. "I am very proud of how our team responded this weekend against two very good teams," Collins said. "To beat the No. 25-ranked team in the country on the road is a major step for our program."

The Bears opened the final session with a 1-2-5 finish against Iowa and went 1-2 versus Notre Dame. Freshman Brandon Weissman (149.07) and Senior Yuri Garanito (1:50.97) were MSU's second and third finishers in the event.

MSU then went 1-3 against the Hawkeyes and took the second and third spots versus the Irish in the 100 free. Uvis Kalnins swam 45.63 and Vitalii Baryshok 46.03 to score big points in that race. 

Junior Matthew Wilson, freshman Preston Selby and senior Michal Bulak chipped in with fourth- and fifth-place and 11th-place times overall in the 200 butterfly to lead the Bears to a 1-2-5 finish against Iowa in 1:51.49, 1:52.13 and 1:54.52, respectively.
Le, Kalnins, Caleb Schuermann and Baryshok then took the 400 free relay to close the meet in 3:00.81.

"The condensed NCAA format was a much-needed challenge for our athletes to get up and perform at a high level and fight off fatigue," Collins said. "I feel this will give us some added confidence as we prepare for championships."

The 200-medley relay team of Le, Isaac Springer, Baryshok and Kalnins posted a third-place overall finish in 1:30.43 in the morning session.

Selby came up big in the 100 fly, touching third in 49.57 and Wilson followed in fourth in 49.59. Selby's time vaulted him to third on the team in the event this season.

Junior Max Pratt swam a career-best 1:40.45 200-yard freestyle to finish third. The time is also third on the team this year. Baryshok (1:41.29) was fifth and Schuermann (1:41.66) seventh.

Springer was fourth in the 100 breaststroke in 56.22, while freshman Uldis Tazans went 57.39. Junior Chris Carpenter finished 10th in 58.34.

Selby continued his solid effort Saturday with a third-place time in the 100 back. He clocked a 49.92 for the No. 4 time in the event for the Bears in 2012-13. Garanito (50.62) was seventh, rounding out MSU's three scorers in the race.

The Bears closed the morning session with a second-place time in the 800-free relay. Kalnins, Schuermann, Pratt and Baryshok turned in a 6:41.47, the second-best mark on the squad to date.

"Competing against a nationally ranked team in Iowa and Notre Dame [as well] was rare for us, so we wanted to maximize the opportunity," said co-captain Bulak. "It was a great team effort, led by a few guys going their best times."

Garanito - the team's other co-captain - agreed.

"Having a great meet against big teams and also a victory over a ranked team is what this program is about," he said. "We've been working hand and lifting the program to a whole new level, and this weekend was another big step towards our main goal, the championship."

The Bears begin the quest for a title at the MAC Championships on March 6 in Buffalo, N.Y.  



The No. 25 University of Iowa men’s swimming and diving team dropped a pair of duals to Notre Dame and Missouri State at the Shamrock Invitational. The Hawkeyes fell to Notre Dame, 224.50-145.50, and Missouri State, 213-157.  
 
Iowa won three events during the second day of competition.
 
The Hawkeyes opened the morning session Saturday morning with the first victory. In the 200-medley relay the quartet of junior Grant Betulius, sophomore Roman Trussov, senior Dustin Rhoads, and sophomore Charles Holliday paired up to finish in 1:29.78 to take the top spot.
 
Trussov paced the team, posting two more first-place finishes, taking both the 100 and 200-breast. The junior touched out in 55.05, a NCAA ‘B’ cut, to claim the 100-breast, while finishing in 2:00.26 to win the 200-breast.
 
Rhoads posted a pair of second-place finishes, including a ‘B’ cut time, in the backstroke events. In the 100-back, he touched in 48.41 seconds to finish as runner-up, while Betulius (49.93) and Matthew Boyd (50.24) finished fourth and tied for fifth, respectively. Rhoads also was second in the 200-back in 1:48.56.
 
In the final event of the meet, Iowa teamed up to take second in the 400-free relay. Sophomore David Ernstsson, Holliday, sophomore Jackson Allen, and senior Gianni Sesto came together to finish in 3:01.05 to end the meet on a high note.
 
In the diving well, sophomore Addison Boschult finished third on the 1-meter springboard.  His score of 315.15 marks a new season best.
 
Iowa returns to the pool Feb. 7, hosting Western Illinois in the final home dual meet of the season.  The meet will serve as Senior Day with festivities set to begin at 5:45 p.m. (CT).  Competition will start at 6 p.m. inside the Campus Recreation and Wellness Center Pool.



The University of Iowa women’s swimming and diving team dropped a pair of duals at the Shamrock Invitational, falling to Notre Dame (263-106) and Northwestern (186-184).
 
Junior Becky Stoughton posted the lone Hawkeye win in the pool when she claimed the 200-free title, finishing in 1:51.09. Stoughton also was the runner-up in the 1,650-free, touching in 16:42.09.
 
Redshirt junior Joelle Christy claimed the second individual victory on the day in the diving well, winning the 3-meter springboard. Christy scored 312.75 points for the win while fellow redshirt junior Abby Grilli took second with 311.40 points.
 
Iowa excelled in the relays, finishing second in the 400-free relay, third in the 800-free relay, and third in the 200-medley relay.
 
Sophomore Olivia Kabacinski, and seniors Elise Borja, Emily Hovren, and Lindsay Seemann touched out in 3:26.82 to finish as the runner-up in the 400-free relay. Kabacinski, Hovren, and Seemann paired up with Stoughton to take third in the 800-free relay (7:30.42), and sophomore Maddie Bro, freshman Emma Sougstad, senior Haley Gordon, and Borja took third in the 200-medley relay (1:45.10).
 
The Hawkeyes also received a second-place performance in the 100-breast from Sougstad (1:03.57) and a third-place showing by Kabacinski in the 100-free (51.92).
 
Iowa returns to the pool Feb. 7, hosting Western Illinois in the final home dual meet of the season.  The meet will serve as Senior Day with festivities set to begin at 5:45 p.m. (CT).  Competition will start at 6 p.m. inside the Campus Recreation and Wellness Center Pool.



Northwestern came back to defeat on the second day of the Shamrock Invite to defeat Iowa Saturday.

The ‘Cats trailed the Hawkeyes 63-47 entering Saturday’s sessions of the invitational before NU mounted a rally to defeat Iowa 186-184.

Lauren Abruzzo led throughout the 1,650 yard freestyle to give the ‘Cats a first place finish in the long distance event. The freshman posted a time of 16:34.19, winning the race by nearly eight full seconds.

Freshman Lacey Locke continued her impressive first season with a NCAA ‘B’ cut time in the 200 yard backstroke. The race featured three NCAA ‘B’ cut times, with Locke finishing in third place with a time of 1:58.72. The Irish’s Kelly Ryan and Katie Miller also posted NCAA ‘B’ Cut times, to finish ahead of Iowa.

Julianne Kurke would take second place for NU in the 200 yard breast with a time of 2:17.15. She was bested only by Notre Dame’s Emma Reaney, whose time of 2:12.38 was good for an NCAA ‘B’ cut.

In the 200 yard butterfly, Ellen Stello (2:03.32) and Becca Soderholm (2:05.05) finished ahead of the Hawkeyes to propel the Wildcats. 

For the ‘Cats relay team, NU finished in second place in the 800 yard freestyle when Ellen Anderson, Abruzzo, Jackie Powell andLacey Smith swam a 7:29.11. NU came back to beat out Iowa to finish the relay.

Notre Dame defeated Iowa head-to-head 263-106. On the men’s side, Missouri State won 213-157 against Iowa and the Irish defeated both Missouri State (223-147) and Iowa (224.5-145.5).

Up next for the ‘Cats, NU travels to the Big Ten Championships in Minneapolis, Minn. from Feb. 19 to 22. 

Comments