The No. 8-ranked University of Michigan women's swimming and diving team turned in a dominant performance Saturday (Jan. 10) to top Big Ten rival Northwestern 199.5-100.5 and Notre Dame 182-118 inside Canham Natatorium.
The Maize and Blue tallied nine event wins in the tri-meet.
Senior Ali DeLoof turned in a day of strong swimming, sweeping the freestyle sprints and assisting on two relay wins. The Grosse Pointe, Michigan-native won the 50-yard freestyle in 22.90. Following a 20-minute break, she outraced the field in the 100-yard freestyle going 50.33.
In the three distance events, a pair of U-M freshmen led the charge. Gillian Ryan won both the 200 and 500-yard freestyles. She went 1:49.83 in the 200 and 4:52.14 in the 500. Sophomore Claudia Goswell took second in the 500 (4:56.11) and third in the 200 (1:50.40).
Freshman Hannah Moore paced the field in the 1,650-yard freestyle, going 16:27.79 to take first place. Her time is a NCAA B cut. Teammate Jessica Wolf placed second at 16:31.68. Moore also took second in the 200-yard backstroke.
In the diving well, senior Carey Chen was Michigan's top performer. The senior took first in the 1-meter competition with a score of 274.95. She also placed second on three-meter at 273.30. Junior Sarah Kamstra placed fourth on three-meter and fifth on one-meter.
U-M's other individual event was freshman Clara Smiddy; she won the 100-yard backstroke at 54.71. Smiddy also took second in the 200-yard individual medley behind Notre Dame All-American Emma Reaney. Freshman Emily Kopasturned in a pair of strong breaststrokes, finishing second in both the 100 (1:03.31) and the 200 (2:14.02) to Reaney.
DeLoof, Kopas, junior Zoe Mattingly and sophomore Madeline Frost won the 200-yard medley relay to open the meet (1:42.22). To close the meet, DeLoof, her sister freshman Gabby DeLoof, Mattingly and Ryan raced to a win in the 400-yard freestyle relay (3:25.21).
The Wolverines will next compete against Ohio State in coed dual meet on Saturday, Jan. 24 inside Canham Natatorium. Admission to the meet is free.
After a grueling week-plus of training over winter break, the University of Notre Dame women’s swimming and diving squad took to the pool for the first time in 2015, as it competed against Big Ten opponents Michigan and Northwestern Saturday afternoon at the Donald B. Canham Natatorium on the University of Michigan campus.
The Irish (4-7) won five events, including three from senior All-American Emma Reaney, but fell to the Wolverines (182-118) and the Wildcats (154-146).
Reaney, who was last seen competing in Doha, Qatar for the U.S. squad at the FINA Short Course World Championships in early December, picked up where she left off with wins in the 100 (1:01.57) and 200 breast (2:13.48) and the 200 IM (2:01.76). She also notched a pair of NCAA B cuts in both breaststroke events.
Junior Catherine Galletti won the 100 fly in 55.32 and senior Allison Casareto took first in the 3-meter dive (295.30). The pair also tallied a couple of second-place finishes, as Galletti secured the runner-up position in the 100 back (55.36), while Casareto claimed second on the 1-meter board (273.80).
Other runner-up finishes included senior Bridget Casey in the 200 fly (2:01.39) and the foursome of sophomore Catherine Mulquin, Reaney, senior Courtney Whyte and Galletti in the 200 medley relay (1:43.03).
Notre Dame had especially impressive showings in the 200 breast and 3-meter dive. In addition to Reaney’s win in the 200 breast, freshman Sherri McIntee claimed third (2:18.59) and sophomore Danielle Margheret touched the pad fourth (2:19.03) to give the Irish a 1-3-4 finish. The Irish faired similarly in the 3-meter as Casareto was followed by teammates Lindsey Streepey (3rd – 266.25) and Emma Gaboury (4th – 257.65).
The Irish continue their Big Ten road swing next weekend with a two-day, double-dual meet in Madison, Wisconsin against the Wisconsin Badgers and the Indiana Hoosiers. Action gets underway at 6 p.m. ET Friday and continues at 11 a.m. ET Saturday.
The University of Notre Dame men's swimming and diving team suffered a tough road loss against top-ranked Michigan and Northwestern Saturday. The Irish lost to the Wolverines 177 to 117, while the Wildcats beat them 173 to 127.
"We were definitely tired heading into today's meet," Irish head coach Matt Tallman says. "The guys did a great job training in San Juan (Puerto Rico), and that will pay huge dividends for us at the end of the season.
"Unfortunately, it was not conducive to racing well today."
One bright spot for the Irish was their diving squad, which claimed first and second in the men's three-meter event and took first in the one-meter event. Ann Arbor native Nick Nemetz dove to first place in the one-meter (314.35) and took second in the three-meter (316.60) behind sophomore teammate Joseph Coumos (353.55).
"It was very encouraging to have old friends supporting me in Ann Arbor," the senior squad member admits. "I had people come to the meet today that haven't seen me dive since high school, and I felt very comfortable performing in front of them."
Breaststroker Zachary Stephens also had strong swims for the Irish, taking second in the 200 breast (2:02.02) and third in the 200 IM (1:52.90). He also finished seventh in the 50 free (20.95).
Fellow seniors Cameron Miller and John Nappi put in strong performances for the Irish as well, as Miller came in third in the 100 breast (56.17) and fifth in the 200 breast (2:04.78). Nappi placed fifth in the 1650 free (15:50.45) and came in seventh in the 500 free (4:38.77).
One of Notre Dame's strongest performers came in the form of junior Bogac Ayhan who clinched third in the 100 back (49.91) before placing eighth in the 100 fly (50.50). Sophomore Kevin Bradley also posted his own third-place finish, touching in just behind two Wolverine swimmers in the 200 fly (1:52.53).
Michigan native Joseph Krause claimed sixth in the 100 free, posting the top time for he Irish in the event with his 46.81 mark. Fellow freestylers Michael Hudspith and Justin Plaschka tied for ninth place (47.39).
In relay events, the A team lineup of Krause, Plaschka, Nappi and Bradley tied for third in the 400 free relay (3:06.45) while Ayhan, Miller, Stephens and Plaschka took fifth in the 200 medley relay (1:30.56).
The Irish are next in action Friday and Saturday, Jan. 16-17 at Wisconsin, facing off against the Badgers and in-state rival Indiana.
