Feb. 2, 2013
EVANSTON, Ill. – The University of Notre Dame men’s swimming and diving team capped its successful 2012-13 regular season with a pair of historic dual wins Saturday at the Northwestern Invitational at the Norris Aquatic Center.
The Irish (9-2) claimed victory over Missouri State 210-160 and host Northwestern 191-177. The win over the Wildcats was the 400th dual triumph in program history, and earned Notre Dame its best regular season mark since 2006-07 (11-3).
Junior All-American Frank Dyer was a double winner for Notre Dame, taking first place in the 100 (44.71) and 200 free (1:37.67) events to lead the Irish cause. Dyer’s effort in the 200 free qualified as an NCAA B-cut.
Sophomore John Williamson clocked a time of 1:49.88 to earn the overall victory in the 200 fly. Williamson has recorded six of the 10 fastest times in the event this season for the Irish.
Other top Notre Dame performers included sophomore Patrick Olson, who led all Irish finishers with a third-place time of 4:02.74 in the 400 IM. Classmate Zachary Stephens (200 medley and 400 free relay squads) was a key member of two third place relay finishers for Notre Dame.
The Irish travel to compete at the 2013 BIG EAST Swimming and Diving Championships Feb. 27-March 2 in Indianapolis, Ind.
Event-By-Event Results:
200 Medley Relay: The Notre Dame ‘A’ entry of Bogac Ayhan, Cameron Miller, Dyer and Stephens earned a third place finish with a team time of 1:30.63. The Irish ‘B’ squad of Matthew Buerger, Christopher Johnson, Bill Bass and Kevin Overholt checked in at sixth place (1:32.52).
400 IM: Olson paced the Irish with a time of 4:02.74 (third place). James McEldrew (4:04.38) touched the wall in sixth place, while Colin Babcock (4:05.24) and John Nappi (4:05.69) took eighth and ninth place, respectively.
100 Fly: Bass earned a top-five result in the 100 fly, clocking in just ahead of the 50-second mark in fourth place (49.99). Williamson logged a time of 50.57 to take ninth.
200 Free: Dyer won by nearly a second and a half, claiming an NCAA B-cut and a race victory (1:37.67). Freshman Michael Hudspith earned sixth place with a time of 1:41.29.
100 Breast: Notre Dame had a pair of swimmers crack the top four, as Johnson (56.03) and Miller (56.48) touched in third and fourth place, respectively. Babcock logged a time of 57.21 for eighth place.
100 Back: Buerger (51.26) and Kevin Hughes (51.27) were the top Irish entries in the 100 back, claiming eighth and ninth-place honors, respectively.
800 Free Relay: The Notre Dame quartet of Dyer, John McGinley, Hughes and Bass was the race runner-up with a team time of 6:41.35. The second Irish entry of Nappi, Hudspith, Williamson and Overholt rounded out the top-five finishers in 6:53.91.
3-Meter Dive: Ted Wagner paced the Irish with 308.00 points (third place). Nick Nemetz (307.85 points), Michael Kreft (293.80) and Ryan Koter (289.75) claimed fourth through sixth place.
1650 Free: Patrick Murphy swam a season-best 15:55.15 to lead Notre Dame in the mile with a fourth-place finish. Brennan Jacobsen touched in at 16:01.21 for fifth place.
200 Back: McEldrew (eighth place-1:52.39) and Bertie Nel (10th place-1:53.63) were the top performers for the Irish.
100 Free: Dyer posted his second-fastest final time of the season (44.71) in the 100 free to narrowly miss an NCAA B-cut and earn his second race win of the day. Dyer previously swam the distance in 44.06 in a fourth-place finish at the Hawkeye Invitational earlier this season.
200 Breast: Miller led all Irish entrants with a fourth-place time of 2:04.05. Olson (2:05.32) and Babcock (2:05.91) earned seventh and eighth place, respectively.
200 Fly: Williamson outraced the field with a winning time of 1:49.88 to continue his successful season in the 200 fly. Bass hit the pad in fifth place, logging a time of 1:51.40.
400 Free Relay: The foursome of Dyer, Stephens, McGinley and Bass posted a team time of 3:01.95 to close the meet with a third-place finish. The second Notre Dame entry of Overholt, Hughes, Babcock and Hudspith claimed sixth (3:05.24).
–ND–