ATLANTA, Ga. — The Notre Dame swimming and diving teams opened Atlantic Coast Conference action with a sweep over their opponents. The team went a combined 3-0 with the women defeating Miami (200-59) and Georgia Tech (200-60) while the men topped the Yellow Jackets, 132-130. The women finished first overall in all but three events while the men took the top spot in seven events.
For the second meet in a row, sophomore Lindsay Stone finished first in the distance free. Having previously won the 1,000 free, Stone added a first place finish in the 1,650 to her list of accomplishments. Freshman Sinead Eksteen finished first for the Irish in two events, including a first-place finish in the 500 free.
“Our women had an opportunity to show off our versatility and depth today,” head coach Mike Litzinger said. “I’m very excited about the way they are coming together. I am particularly proud of Cailey Grunhard as she continues to develop into one of the ACC’s top butterfliers.”
The 50 free featured all Irish women in the top-five, with Katie Smith taking first (23:32), followed by Abbie Dolan, Cailey Grunhard, Carly Quast and Sofia Revilak. The team also swept two other events, the 400 IM and the 100 fly. Luciana Thomas took first for the Irish in that IM, with Nikki Smith and Sammie Eyolfson finishing just behind her. The 100 fly featured Irish in the top-four spots, with Cailey Grunhard (1st), Abbie Dolan (2nd), Erin Sheehan (3rd) and Rachel Wittmer (4th).
Divers Erin Isola finished first in the 3-meter, while Annie Weise took second in the 1-meter. The 1-meter diving competition saw three of the top-five spots go to the Irish with Isola (3rd) and Kelly Straub finishing fourth.
“We had some dominant performances by our divers and had multiple winners on the swimming side,” he added.
On the men’s side, the team swept the 500 free with Zach Yeadon leading the pack and Max Miranda (2nd) and Sadler McKeen (3rd) rounding out the top-three spots. On the day, Yeadon took home first in three events: the 1,650 free, 200 free and 500 free. Zachary Smith, Tabahn Afrik, Jack Montesi and Austin Flaute all topped the leaderboards, giving the Irish men seven first-place finishes for the 132-130 win over Georgia Tech.
“As predicted it was an exciting meet for our men,” Litzinger sai. “The meet came down to the final event and I was very proud that our guys held their composure and found a way to win. The meet was decided by 2 points and our last relay needed to only get 2nd — in doing so clinched the win.
“Our team grew today and are beginning to explore how good they can be. Zach Yeadon continues to impress and pulled off an incredible double, back to back wins in the 1650 & 200 Freestyles. His time in the 1650 is the fastest in the NCAA so far to date.”
Smith finished first in the 100 fly, an event in which the team took four of the top-five spots (1, 3-5). His time of 48.73 just edged out his Yellow Jacket competitor for the victory. Afrik kept the winning streak alive, finishing first in the 100 free with a time of 44.57 before Jack Montesi (100 back; 48.98) and Zach Yeadon (500 free; 4:26.70) made it four-straight first-place finishes for the team.
Austin Flaute topped the leaderboard in the 3-meter dives, finishing with a score of 349.85.
The Women’s Top-Five
200 Relay
- Quast, O’Donnell, Grunhard, Dolan — 1st, 1:41.73
- Revilak, Eyolfson, Sheehan, Wittmer — 2nd, 1:44.29
- Stewart, Nicholls, Smith N., Smith K. — 3rd, 1:44.84
1650 Free
- Lindsay Stone — 1st, 16:38.71
- Ellie Berdusco — 4th, 17:19.46
200 Free
- Sinead Eksteen — 2nd, 1:50.38
- Alice Treuth — 3rd, 1:51.00
- Skylar Fore — 4th, 1:51.21
- Kyra Sarazen — 5th, 1:51.42
50 Free
- Katie Smith — 1st, 23:32
- Abbie Dolan — 2nd, 23:41
- Cailey Grunhard — 3rd, 23:63
- Carly Quast — 4th, 23:87
- Sofia Revilak — 5th, 23:91
400 IM
- Luciana Thomas — 1st, 4:21.88
- Nikki Smith — 2nd, 4:26.00
- Sammie Eyolfson — 3rd, 4:26.97
1 Meter Diving
- Annie Wiese — 2nd, 274.20
- Erin Isola — 3rd, 265.25
- Kelly Straub — 4th, 258.60
100 Fly
- Cailey Grunhard — 1st, 54.60
- Abbie Dolan — 2nd, 54.63
- Erin Sheehan — 3rd, 54.74
- Rachel Wittmer — 4th, 56.31
100 Free
- Skylar Fore — 1st, 50.77
- Lauren Heller — 3rd, 51.69
- Katie Smith — 4th, 52.34
100 Back
- Bayley Stewart — 1st, 54.78
- Kyra Sarazan — 4th, 57.36
500 Free
- Sinead Eksteen — 1st, 4:53.66
- Alice Treuth — 2nd, 4:55.71
- Madeline Laporte — 4th, 4:57.80
- Luciana Thomas — 5th, 5:00.70
100 IM
- Rachel Wittmer — 2nd, 57.91
- Nikki Smith — 3rd, 58.24
- Meaghan O’Donnell — 4th, 58.30
3 Meter Diving
- Erin Isola — 1st, 304.60
- Kelly Straub — 2nd, 300.10
- Annie Wiese — 5th, 281.35
100 Breast
- Meaghan O’Donnell — 1st, 1:02.84
- Sarah Nicholls — 3rd, 1:04.23
- Sammie Eyolfson — 5th, 1:04.86
400 Free Relay
- Fore, Quast, Heller, Dolan — 1st, 3:23.68
- Revilak, Smith K., Grunhard, Eksteen — 2nd, 3:27.99
- Sarazen, Treuth, Stone, Laporte — 5th, 3:33.43
The Men’s Top-Five
200 Relay
- Montesi, Shek, Smith Z., Afrik — 2nd, 1:29.83
- Santana, Limbacher, Grauslys, Schultz — 3rd, 1:30.58
- Turk, Becker, Russell, Bannon — 5th, 1:35.36
1650 Free
- Zach Yeadon — 1st, 15:17.10
- Sadler McKeen — 2nd, 16:03.49
200 Free
- Zach Yeadon — 1st, 1:37.37
- Aaron Schultz — 4th, 1:39.86
- Max Miranda — 5th, 1:39.93
50 Free
- Tabahn Afrik — 2nd, 20:56
- Dan Fujan — 5th, 21:06
400 IM
- Marci Barta — 2nd, 3:52.98
- Andrew Winton — 3rd, 3:57.02
- Will Cumberland — 4th, 3:59.66
1 Meter Diving
- Christian Herrera — 5th, 280.05
100 Fly
- Zachary Smith — 1st, 48.73
- Matt Grauslys — 3rd, 48.86
- Aaron Schultz — 4th, 49.07
- Jack Russel — 5th, 49.55
100 Free
- Tabahn Afrik — 1st, 44.57
100 Back
- Jack Montesi — 1st, 48.98
- Will Cumberland — 3rd, 49.54
- Joe Turk — 4th, 51.08
500 Free
- Zach Yeadon — 1st, 4:26.70
- Max Miranda — 2nd, 4:31.59
- Sadler McKeen — 3rd, 4:34.52
100 IM
- Marci Barta — 2nd, 50.88
- Andrew Winton — 3rd, 51.40*
- Zachary Smith — 3rd, 51.40*
3 Meter Diving
- Austin Flaute — 1st, 349.85
100 Breast
- Steven Shek — 2nd, 56.13
- Josh Bottleberghe — 4th, 56.73
- Matthew Limbacher — 5th, 57.14
400 Free Relay
- Afrik, Schultz, Yeadon, Fujan — 2nd, 3:00.15
- Smith Z., Grauslys, Montesi, Barta — 4th, 3:05.48
- McKeen, Bannon, Miranda, Santana — 5th, 3:07.30
Up Next For The Irish
The Irish return home to host Purdue University next Friday, October 26. The meet marks the first of three home meets for the Irish this season, including the annual Shamrock Invitational in January. The event will begin at 5 p.m. ET and admission is free to all fans and specators.
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