Oct. 12, 2013
NOTRE DAME, Ind. – With two high-caliber opponents on the schedule for the second consecutive day, the University of Notre Dame men’s swimming and diving team faced a difficult challenge in both defending NCAA champion Michigan and Auburn. The Irish battled to the end with both opposing teams, dropping a competitive 153-147 decision to Auburn and a 201-99 verdict to Michigan Saturday at the Rolfs Aquatic Center.
A total of four pool records were set on the day, bringing the total from the dual meet and Friday’s 49th annual Dennis Stark Relays to six record times swam over the weekend.
Notre Dame senior Frank Dyer was the first Irish individual winner on the day, placing first in the 100 free after touching in with a time of 44.34. Dyer added a runner-up result in the 200 free (1:37.42) and the 100 fly (48.55) in individual racing, and was a member of the third place 200 medley relay ‘A’ squad to help pace Notre Dame.
Junior Zach Stephens added the second Notre Dame win later in the day, becoming the only swimmer in the 200 breast to break the two-minute barrier with his gold time of 1:59.91. Stephens chipped in a runner-up finish of his own in the 100 breast (55.49, and clocked in third in the 200 IM after a swim of 1:49.43.
Other top Notre Dame finishes were turned in by junior John Williamson, who navigated the 200 fly in 1:48.68 to place third in the field, and fifth-place efforts for senior Colin Babcock (100 breast, 56.64), sophomore Bogac Ayhan (100 back, 50.59), junior James McEldrew (200 back, 1:51.05) and junior Cameron Miller (200 breast, 2:04.50).
Freshman diver Joseph Coumos enjoyed a clean sweep during his NCAA dual meet debut, sweeping the action off both the 1 and 3-meter boards. Coumos scored 328.25 points in his 1-meter attempts and added a final score of 354.90 in the 3-meter event as a double-winner. Junior Nick Nemetz contributed a score of 330.00 off the 3-meter board to finish in third place in that event, adding a fifth-place result in the 1-meter competition (291.85). Freshman James Lichtenstein (fourth place, 292.85 in the 1-meter) and junior Ted Wagner (fifth place, 288.70) added top five results for the Irish.
Notre Dame returns to dual meet racing on Oct. 25 at 8 p.m. (ET) at the United States Air Force Academy.
Select Event-by-Event Results
Men’s 100 Backstroke Heat 1: Irish freshman Tom Anderson took fourth place with a time of 51.98, while senior Bertie Nel placed fifth in the heat with a time of 52.39. Freshman Jack Cobain logged a clip of 54.58. The heat was won by Auburn’s Jacob Star with a time of 50.52.
Men’s 100 Backstroke Heat 2: Ayhan led Notre Dame in fourth with a time of 50.59, while Matthew Buerger claimed fifth place in the heat with a time of 51.59. Michigan’s John Wojciechowski claimed the overall race victory with a time of 48.59.
Men’s 100 Breaststroke Heat 1: Stephens claimed an Irish heat win with a first place time of 55.49. Senior Joshua Choi finished fourth (59.95), and Andrew Jensen came in fifth place with a time of 1:00.20.
Men’s 100 Breaststroke Heat 2: Michigan’s Richard Funk won the outright event with a time of 54.69, while Notre Dame’s Miller was in fourth with a time of 57.04.
Men’s 200 Butterfly Heat 1: Irish swimmers Broderick Kelley and Matthew DeBlasio each competed in the heat, with Kelley taking third (1:56.60) and DeBlasio fifth (1:58.04). Peter Brumm of Michigan paced the heat with a time of 1:52.04.
Men’s 200 Butterfly Heat 2: Notre Dame’s Williamson captured third place overall with a swim of 1:48.68, and Irish freshmen Kevin Bradley came in fifth in the heat (sixth overall) with a time of 1:52.68. Michigan’s Dylan Bosch was the overall race winner (1:46.38).
Men’s 50 Freestyle Heat 1: Irish swimmer Michael Hudspith clocked in with a fourth-place time of 21.66, while Nicholas Sim finished sixth with a time of 21.91.
Men’s 50 Freestyle Heat 2: Irish swimmer Trent Jackson was sixth in the heat group with a time of 21.57, while teammate Patrick Olson followed close behind in seventh (21.65). Auburn’s Marcelo Chierighini was the event champion with a time of 19.93.
Men’s 100 Freestyle Heat 1: Three Notre Dame swimmers competed in the opening heat, Jackson in sixth place (47.08), Hudspith in seventh place (47.16), and Sim came in eighth place (48.18). Auburn’s James Disney-May emerged as the heat winner in 45.12.
Men’s 100 Freestyle Heat 2: In a close race, Frank Dyer pulled away from the pack and touched the wall first with a time of 44.34, beating out Auburn’s Chierighini who came in .02 seconds after Dyer (44.36). Irish teammate Reed Fujan was sixth with a time of 47.70.
Men’s 200 Backstroke Heat 1: Buerger came in third with a time of 1:53.68, Nel in sixth with a time of 1:55.12, and Michael Scheid finished eighth after a swim of 1:57.88.
Men’s 200 Backstroke Heat 2: McEldrew finished fourth in the heat with a time of 1:51.05, and teammate Tom Anderson followed with a fifth-place finish and time of 1:51.96.
Men’s 200 Breaststroke Heat 1: Babcock came in third with a time of 2:09.36, Choi followed close behind with a time of 2:09.82, and Andrew Jensen checked in seventh with a time of 2:14.28.
Men’s 200 Breaststroke Heat 2: In a close race, Stephens was the overall winner (1:59.91), while teammate Miller was fourth in the heat (2:04.50).
Men’s 500 Freestyle Heat 1: Brennan Jacobsen posted a time of 4:39.32, John Nappi checked in with a fourth-place finish at 4:43.94, and Patrick Murphy came in sixth place with a time of 4:50.77.
Men’s 500 Freestyle Heat 2: Kevin Hughes logged a clip of 4:40.43, while teammate Joe Petrone followed with a time of 4:40.44. The heat was won by Michigan’s Connor Jaeger in 4:24.56.
Men’s 100 Butterfly Heat 1: Ayhan came in fourth with a time of 51.62, while teammate Bradley finished fifth (52.08) and Kelley seventh (52.52).
Men’s 100 Butterfly Heat 2: Dyer touched in second with a time of 48.55, while Williamson came in sixth with a time of 49.77.
Men’s 200 Individual Medley Heat 1: Shane McKenzie logged a third place heat time (1:54.10), and Anderson was fifth with a time of 1:55.20.
Men’s 200 Individual Medley Heat 2: Olson finished third with a time of 1:49.43 and Babcock added a clip of 1:55.23.
Men’s 400 Freestyle Relay Heat 1: Notre Dame relay entries came in third and fourth place, respectively with times of 3:09.30 and 3:13.78. The heat was won by Michigan with a time of 3:05.76.
Men’s 400 Freestyle Relay Heat 2: Irish relay teams placed fifth and sixth after times of 3:05.77 and 3:08.60, respectively. Michigan won the outright race with a new Rolfs Aquatic Center record time of 2:56.79.
–ND–