Kentucky Women Beat Indiana for the First Time Since 2007

KENTUCKY VS. INDIANA, NOTRE DAME

• October 9, 2019
• Lexington, KY
• Short Course Yards
• Meet results

WOMEN’S MEET

• Kentucky – 161, Indiana 139
• Kentucky – 184.5, Notre Dame – 115.5
• Indiana – 172, Notre Dame – 128

Indiana and Kentucky really battled this one out, with Notre Dame coming through with several nice swims as well. It was #19 Kentucky, though, with the big upset over #9 Indiana and a handy defeat of #16 Notre Dame. This was the Wildcat women’s first dual meet victory over the Hoosiers in over a decade; their last win was in 2007, and before that, it came in the 1999-2000 season.

Kentucky’s backstroke excellence shone through, as freshman Caitlin Brooks (54.20) collected the win in the 100 before finishing second (1:57.24) behind teammate Asia Seidt (1:56.26) in the 200. IU had nobody in the top four of either backstroke, again showing their lineup gap in that discipline.

Kentucky also earned big points on the diving boards, with Kyndal Knight winning both 1-meter (155.70) and 3-meter (166.30) and leading a 1-2-3 on the 1-meter. The Wildcats, while not winning a ton of events, were able to out-do Indiana in events like the 100 fly and 200 IM, where Notre Dame swimmers found the wall first, which ultimately led to their victory.

Freshman Cora Dupre is just what the doctor ordered for Indiana — a strong sprinter who can do the 200 free. Her debut was a resounding success: she first won the 200 free in 1:46.66 over a tie between Kentucky sophomore Riley Gaines and Notre Dame senior Abbie Dolan (1:47.67) plus fourth place Wildcat Ali Galyer (1:48.15). Dupre finished on top in the 100 free, too, at 49.43 ahead of Dolan (50.25), Gaines (50.36), and Galyer (50.87).

Notably, Dupre’s 200 free time of 1:46.66 ranks her second in the NCAA right now. While it is early, and some teams have yet to race at official meets, several top teams have already worn tech suits in October meets, making Dupre’s time really stand out.

Dupre led off IU’s 200 medley relay in 25.98, which touched second (1:42.40) behind Kentucky’s victorious 1:40.67. Freshman Emily Weiss was 28.16 for IU, but Kentucky was untouchable with Brooks going out in 25.20 and Bailey Bonnett at 28.43 on breast. Neither the Hoosiers nor the Fighting Irish had the back-end to keep very close to Kentucky, who finished with Izzy Gati (24.22) and Gaines (22.82).

Indiana’s Cassy Jernberg was the only sub-10:00 finisher in the 1000 at 9:55.29 ahead of Notre Dame distance specialist Lindsay Stone‘s 10:05.51. Kentucky freshmen Beth McNeese (10:06.51) and Ashley Neas (10:19.23) were third and fifth, respectively, leading the way for the Wildcats in distance now that Geena Freriks is graduated. McNeese dropped over 15 seconds from her previous best time. Jernberg took control of the 500 free, too, posting a 4:50.82 there to take the win over Galyer’s 4:52.88, her third individual of the day.

Noelle Peplowski was another strong point for the Hoosiers. The sophomore went 1:01.35 to win the 100 breast by a hundredth over Weiss (1:01.36) before going 2:12.30 to take the 200.

Down the final few events, Notre Dame pushed into the win category twice thanks to standout freshman Coleen Gillilan. The versatile rookie was 53.11 to win the 100 fly by over 1.5 seconds, then dominated the next event, the 200 IM, with a 1:58.57 to knock off Seidt, one of the best IM’ers in the country (2:01.49). That time moves her to #3 in the 2019-20 NCAA rankings, an impressive feat for the first year.

The Hoosiers combined for a 3:22.83 in the 400 free relay to win by over a second over Kentucky (3:23.95) and ND (3:26.75). IU’s Dupre (48.98) and Kentucky’s Seidt (49.65) were the only sub-50 swims.

MEN’S MEET

• Indiana – 204, Kentucky – 96
• Indiana – 219, Notre Dame – 81
• Kentucky – 176, Notre Dame – 124

Indiana flew out of the gates hot in their dominant win over Kentucky and ND, winning the 200 medley relay with a 1:27.55 (Gabriel Fantoni – 21.80, Zane Backes – 24.42, Brendan Burns – 21.46, Brandon Hamblin – 19.87) before securing wins in almost every individual event until the 50 free.  There, Kentucky’s Peter Wetzlar clocked a 20.11 to edge a trio of Hoosiers in the 20-mid range: Hamblin (20.39), Jack Franzman (20.41), and Bruno Blaskovic (20.46). Wetzlar would go on to take third in the 100 free (44.51) with Blaskovic second (44.40).

Fantoni scorched the field in the backstrokes, first dropping a 47.22 in the 100 and returning for a win in the 200 (1:45.26). The Hoosiers went 1-2 in the 100 and 1-2-3 in the 200 in an impressive showing of depth. Fantoni returned for his third individual, ripping a 47.96 to take the 100 fly over teammate Van Mathias (48.66). With those swims, Fantoni moves up to third in the country in both backstrokes.

Also turning in a triple for IU was Mohamed Samy, who was victorious in the 200 free (1:37.59), 100 free (43.88), and 200 IM (1:47.36), while sophomore Backes swept the breaststroke events (55.26 and 2:01.39). Samy now sits at #2 nationally in the 100 free and #3 in the 200 IM.

Freshman Burns swam quite well in his IU debut, notching a win in the 200 fly at 1:46.73 to lead a 1-2-3 finish with Corey Gambardella (1:48.48) and Mathias (1:48.54). Kentucky’s Mason Wilby touched at 1:48.65 for fourth. Burns now ranks third in the country in the 200 fly, just over a tenth behind current leader Miles Smachlo of Michigan (1:46.59).

Zach Yeadon was big for the Fighting Irish, taking home wins in the 1000 (9:01.58) and 500 (4:23.73). Yeadon was the winningest non-Hoosier individually with his two first-place finishes, while he and Kentucky’s Wetzlar combined for the only non-Hoosier wins of the entire competition on the men’s side individually.

Indiana couldn’t close it out with another win, though, despite Samy’s 43.17 anchor leg on the 400 free relay. IU was 2:58.71, just ahead of ND (2:58.85), while it was Kentucky (led by Wetzlar’s 43.96 second-leg split) who cruised to the win at 2:57.69.

Despite being known for its diving program, Indiana did not come out on top in either diving event on the men’s side: Kentucky’s Ming Zhang won the 3-meter (189.75) and his teammate Chase Lane owned the 1-meter (170.90).

This was the Hoosier men’s 32nd-straight dual meet win. Their last loss was to Michigan in January of 2016.

PRESS RELEASE – INDIANA

LEXINGTON, Ky. – The Indiana University men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams opened the 2019-20 season with three wins in a tri-meet with Kentucky and Notre Dame at the Lancaster Aquatic Center on Wednesday.

TEAM SCORES
Men
Indiana 219, Notre Dame, 81
Indiana 204, Kentucky 96

Women
Indiana 172, Notre Dame 128
Kentucky 161, Indiana 139

HOOSIER WINNERS
MEN
Zane Backes – 100 breaststroke (55.26); 200 breaststroke (2:01.39); 200 Medley Relay (1:27.55)
Brendan Burns – 200 butterfly (1:46.73); 200 Medley Relay (1:27.55)
Gabriel Fantoni – 100 backstroke (47.22); 100 butterfly (47.96); 200 backstroke (1:45.26); 200 Medley Relay (1:27.55)
Brandon Hamblin – 200 Medley Relay (1:27.55)
Mohamed Samy – 100 freestyle (43.88); 200 freestyle (1:37.59); 200 IM (1:47.36)

WOMEN
Cora Dupre – 100 freestyle (49.43); 200 freestyle (1:46.66), 400 freestyle relay (3:22.83)
Laurel Eiber – 50 freestyle (23.47); 400 freestyle relay (3:22.83)
Maria Paula Heitmann – 400 freestyle relay (3:22.83)
Cassy Jernberg – 500 freestyle (4:50.82); 1,000 freestyle (9:55.29)
Noelle Peplowski – 100 breaststroke (1:01.35); 200 breaststroke (2:12.30)
Ashley Turak – 400 freestyle relay (3:22.83)

NOTABLES
• The Indiana men’s team has won 32-consecutive dual meets dating back to Jan. 16, 2016 against the Michigan Wolverines.
• The men’s team won 10-of-16 events in the meet and went 1-2 in six total events.
• The women’s team took first in eight of the 16 events contested.
• Eight Indiana swimmers won at least two events, with three swimmers claiming three-plus event victories.

NCAA CUTS
A: None.
B: Cora Dupre (100 free, 49.43); Gabriel Fantoni (100 back, 47.22); Noelle Peplowski (100 breast, 1:01.35/200 breast, 2:12.30)

UP NEXT
The Indiana Hoosier swimming and diving teams will host a tri-meet against Big Ten opponents Iowa and Michigan on Nov. 2 at the Counsilman Billingsley Aquatic Center in Bloomington, Ind.

@IndianaSwimDive
Be sure to keep up with all the latest news on the Indiana men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams on social media – Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

PRESS RELEASE – NOTRE DAME

he Notre Dame Swimming and Diving team (M-12, W-16) fell to Kentucky (M-RV, W-18) and Indiana (M-6, W-9) at the first road meet of the season Wednesday. The Irish earned impressive individual victories over the two highly-ranked squads, including consistent veteran junior Zach Yeadon and freshman Coleen Gillilan, as well as multiple top-three finishes.

“We swam against an IU team that won a B1G championship one year ago and a UK team that, like us, is on the rise,” Notre Dame head coach Mike Litzinger shared. “While the time [10 a.m.] was a bit unconventional, the competition is the same, and it took us awhile to adjust.”

FINAL SCORES  |  RESULTS

Men

• Kentucky – 176, Notre Dame – 124
• Indiana – 219, Notre Dame – 81

Women

• Kentucky – 184.5, Notre Dame – 115.5
• Indiana – 172, Notre Dame – 128

The Irish held their own in the opening event, the women’s 200 Medley Relay, with the Notre Dame team of Carly Quast, Coleen Gillilan, Cailey Grunhard and Rachel Wittmer claiming a third-place finish (1:42.92). Lindsay Stone placed second in the women’s 100 freestyle (10:05.51), while Zach Yeadon claimed his second win of the season in the 1000 free (9:01.58). Yeadon later won the 500 free, with a 4:23.73 time.

Freshman Gillilan earned a win in the 100 Fly (53.11) by more than 1.5 seconds, cruising to a nearly three-second win in the 200 IM (1:58.57) and earning NCAA B-cut times in both.  Gillilan also placed third in the 100 breast (1:01.97).

“Coleen has been very consistent in the practice pool, and that helps translates to performance. But, what makes her special is her competitiveness,” Litzinger said. “She likes to win. That is something that is built-in for her.”

Junior Cailey Grunhard also reached the top three in the women’s 100 Fly, placing third with a 54.99 time. Abbie Dolan posted two second-place finishes in the 200 free (1:47.67) and 100 free (50.25). Bailey Stewart touched the wall second in the women’s 100 back (55.24) and third in the women’s 200 back (1:57.55), while Luciana Thomas placed third in the women’s 200 Fly (2:02.69).

Both Notre Dame 400 Free Relays placed third in their heats, with the men touching the wall with a time of 2:58.85 and the women in 3:26.75.

The Notre Dame divers continued their success this week, with sophomore Austin Flaute placing second in the men’s 1-meter (151.70) and third in the men’s 3-meter competition (172.85). On the women’s side, senior Erin Isola earned a second-place finish in the women’s 3-meter (164.55), trailed by Irish teammate junior Kelly Straub (160.20).

“We have a very strong diving program, and these women have made it so,” Litzinger expressed. “Like the rest of us, they ran into two teams that were very tough.”

CSCAA preseason rankings, announced today, place the Notre Dame Men at 12th in the nation, with the Women at 16th. Up next, the Irish will return home to prepare for their next road meet at Purdue on October 25.

“Rankings are nice, as it shows how your peers perceive you,” Litzinger explained “However, our concern is how we perform at the end of the ACC and NCAA championships. It’s early in the season, and there is much more work ahead of us.”