Notre Dame had a strong day one against Virginia Tech and Pittsburgh on Friday.
Notre Dame Press Release
PITTSBURGH -- The Notre Dame swimming and diving program leads both Virginia Tech and Pittsburgh after the first day of competition at Trees Pool on the campus of the University of Pittsburgh. The men are ahead of Virginia Tech 85-82 and Pittsburgh 116-51, while the women lead Virginia Tech 86-81 and Pittsburgh 115-52.
"What a great competition both teams are in right now," said Head Coach Mike Litzinger. "All three teams are swimming and diving to win. Tonight our men and women have been tested in every way possible this evening and have responded beautifully! This is a great example of ACC competition!"
"Tomorrow will be just as competitive," added Litzinger. "Our Men have a slight edge over Virginia Tech by three points and our women by five over Virginia Tech. We will have to be on our game if we want to come out on top."
SWIMS OF THE DAY:
Women's and Men's 200 Backstroke:
Alice Treuth and Robert Whitacre delivered first-place showings in the women's and men's 200 backstroke with times of 1:56.57 and 1:45.28, respectively. Both times were NCAA B-cut performances. Whitacre's time is the fifth fastest time in the nation entering today while Trueth's performance ranks her ninth in the country entering the day.
Kyra Sarazen joined Treuth with her own NCAA B-cut performance of 1:58.67 in the event as she finished in third-place overall.
OTHER NOTABLE SWIMS:
Men's 100 Freestyle:
The trio of Tabahn Afrik, Reed Fujan and Justin Plaschka swept the 100 freestyle with performances of 44.30, 45.09 and 45.22, respectively.
Women's 100 Breaststroke:
Meaghan O'Donnell continued her season-long success in the 100 breaststroke with her first individual win of the meet, stopping the clock at 1:02.17.
Men's 100 Butterfly:
The Irish duo of Plaschka and Matthew Grauslys touched the pad in first and second-place overall in the 100 butterfly with performances of 48.26 and 48.47, respectively. Plaschka's performance was his second NCAA B-cut of the meet. Both swims were within the top 30 times in the nation entering today.
Women's 1,000 Freestyle:
Rebecca Walton dropped over 11 seconds in the 1,000 freestyle from last week as she touched the pad in 10:08.17. Walton's performance makes her the fourth fastest performer in the event in Notre Dame history.
Virginia Tech Press Release
PITTSBURGH -- The Virginia Tech swimming and diving program currently lead Pitt and trail just behind Notre Dame after day one of ACC tri-meet action on Friday afternoon.
The No. 9 H2Okie men lead the Panthers, 121-46, but are down three to Notre Dame, 85-82. The women H2Okies are ahead of host Pitt, 117.5-49.5, and only trail the Irish by five, 86-81.
PERFORMANCES OF THE DAY
Senior Jess Hespeler continued her dominance in the freestyle events as she set career-bests in the 1000 free with a time of 9:49.20 and a 50.04 in the 100 free. Finishing behind Hespeler in the event was freshman Jenna Beattie, who turned in 10:06.60 in her first taste of ACC competition.
Sophomore Ashlynn Peters got the day started off right with a convincing 306.80 score to take the women’s three-meter. On the men’s side of diving, junior Thomas Shinholser and sophomores Mauro Castro-Silva and Ben Schiesl placed second and third, respectively, in the one-meter.
The H2Okies swept the 400 IM with junior Klaudia Nazieblo finishing a time of 4:19.05 and senior Robert Owen taking first with a 3:52.09.
OTHER NOTABLE SWIMS
Sophomore Norbert Szabo placed first in 1000 free with an impressive time of 9:16.88 while senior Brandon Fiala led wire-to-wire and took the top time in the 100 breast with a 54.74.
Tech went second and third in the 200 back with Owen posting the second-fastest time of 1:45.60 and Wisconsin transfer Jake Lamparella turning in a 1:47.68. Nazieblo won her second race of the day with a 54.19 in the 100 fly.
In the relays, Tech saw two second place performances in the men’s and women’s 200 free. Junior Adriana Grabski registered a split of 22.99 in the third leg to pull the unit closer but it finished with a respectable time of 1:33.20.
The H2Okies will be back in action tomorrow at 10 a.m. to conclude its tri-meet with the Panthers and Irish. The meet will be streamed live on the WatchESPN platform.
Pittsburgh Press Release
PITTSBURGH – The University of Pittsburgh men’s and women’s swim and dive teams welcomed Notre Dame and Virginia Tech to Trees Pool Friday evening in the first of a two-day tri-meet with the ACC powerhouse programs.
With 18 events in the books through the first day of action, the men trail Virginia Tech 121.00-46.00 and Notre Dame 116.00-51.00 while the women trail Virginia Tech 117.50-49.50 and Notre Dame 115.00-52.00.
“The focus all year has been on getting better each meet and we continue to do that,” said head coach John Hargis. “Our focus ultimately is February and March and the kids put in a lot of hard work, this was probably one of the harder weeks they’ve put in and to race on the back end of that is pretty tough. We’re coming in facing a very good Virginia Tech and Notre Dame teams and ultimately the kids are racing well. A lot of in-season racing bests today and that’s what we want to continue to do is get better meet-to-meet and the kids seem to be doing just that.”
Reigning national champion Dominic Giordano continued to dominate, earning another title on the 1M with a six-dive score of 359.25. His mark bested the second-place finisher from Virginia Tech by 21.65 points as teammate Joe Ference took sixth with a six-dive mark of 275.75.
A missed second dive resulted in a second place finish for reigning ACC champion Meme Sharp on the 3M as the junior placed behind Ashlynn Peters of Virginia Tech with a six-dive score of 299.80. Fellow Panther Krista Jones took fourth with a score of 262.50 for Pitt.
In addition to the impressive finishes by Pitt’s divers, the Panthers placed a total of 14 in the top five of the 16 swimming events, with seven men’s and seven women’s top-five finishes.
Kinga Cichowska and Zach Lierley led the way for the Panthers, each grabbing a second place finish on the evening. Chicowska would earn a time of 1:02.18 in the 100 breast to take silver, while Lierly touched with a time of 3:55.13 in the 400 IM. Lierely also captured fifth in the 100 breast, swimming to a time of 56.99.
For the women, 2016 NCAA qualifier Amanda Richey took fourth in the 400 IM with a time of 4:24.80, while freshman Valerie Daigneault earned fourth in the 200 back with a mark of 2:00.56. Teammate Lina Rathsack tied for fifth in the 100 fly with a time of 55.96 and Richey would also palce fourth in the 1000 free with a time of 10:09.98.
Individually for the men, Henrique Machado and Brian Lovasik each grabbed a fourth place finish on the evening, as Machado took fourth in the 200 back with a time of 1:49.73 and Lovasik touched with a time of 45.57 in the 100 free. Scott Simmer earned fifth in the 1000 free with a mark of 9:28.37.
The women’s relay squad of Rathsack, Emily Murphy, Rachel Brown and Melissa Pocasi took third in the 200 free relay with a time of 1:33.95 while the quad of Daigneault, Cichowska, Ratsack and Brown placed third in the 400 medley relay with a time of 3:44.84.
For the men’s relay teams, Machado, Lovasik, Haden Calegan and Gabriel Larson led the 200 free relay team to a fourth place finish with a time of 1:25.17 while the group of Machado, Lierley, Jake Tovey and Lovasik placed fourth in the 400 medley relay with a time of 3:2.90.
The Panthers will return to the pool tomorrow for the final day of action with Notre Dame and Virginia Tech. The men’s 3M and women’s 1M diving will kick things off at 10 a.m. with the final 18 swimming events to follow.
