Michigan State’s men’s swimming and diving team hosted the men of the University of Notre Dame on Friday night in East Lansing for their annual dual meet. After a competitive night of racing, Notre Dame seized the win, finishing with 171 total points to Michigan State’s 127.
In the 200 Medley Relay, Notre Dame’s Bogac Ayhan, Cameron Miller, Zach Stephens, and Justin Plaschka took first in 1:31.78. Michigan State’s Alex Trompke, Alec Kandt, Kyle Workman, and Jacob Moore took second in 1:32.28.
In the longest event of the night, the 1000 Freestyle, MSU’s Joseph Szczupakiewicz claimed first in 9:32.29, followed by his teammate Jon Burke (9:33.92). Notre Dame freshman Benjamin Jany took third in 9:36.87.
In the 200 Freestyle, it was Michigan State’s Lachlan McLeish who took the win, finishing in 1:40.05. Notre Dame junior Michael Hudspith finished second in 1:42.65 just ahead of Nick Leshok of MSU.
In the 100 Backstroke, Trompke of Michigan State (49.88) edged out Notre Dame’s Ayhan (50.31), Robby Whitacre (51.68), and Matthew Buerger (51.78). Notre Dame’s Patrick Olson then won the 100 Breaststroke in a time of 57.10, trailed by Kandt of Michigan State.
In the 200 Butterfly, Notre Dame seized the event, with senior John Williamson (1:51.19) and sophomore Kevin Bradley (1:51.60) finishing first and second, respectively. Nathaniel Weeks of MSU took third in a 1:52.31. The same result occurred in the 50 Freestyle, when Notre Dame’s Stephens (20.78) and Plaschka (21.24) taking first and second. Third place belonged to Michigan State’s Leshok in this event.
McLeish of Michigan State won the 100 Freestyle in 46.21, just .1 seconds ahead of Notre Dame’s Buerger. Leshok of MSU claimed third in 26.95, rounding out a very close top three spots. Next up, in the 200 Backstroke, Notre Dame senior Jimmy McEldrew edged out MSU’s Sam Hiller, finishing in 1:51.48 and 1:51.76, respectively.
The 200 Breaststroke event belonged to Kandt of Michigan State (2:05.67), followed by Notre Dame’s Olson (2:07.94). Miller and Andy Jensen, both from Notre Dame, tied for third in 2:08.41. In the 500 Freestyle, Burke of Michigan State touched first (4:38.51), trailed by Joe Petrone of Notre Dame (4:40.18).
Trompke of MSU won the 100 Butterfly in 49.51, and Plaschka of Notre Dame placed second in 49.97. Next, in the 400 IM, Notre Dame’s McEldrew claimed first in 4:04.03, followed by Connor Lamb of Michigan State and David Zoltowski of Michigan State. To close the meet, the Notre Dame A relay of Stephens, Plaschka, Buerger, and Kevin Hughes won the 400 Freestyle Relay in a time of 3:04.63. The Michigan State A relay finished second in 3:05.54.
Notre Dame was especially dominant in the diving events on Friday night. In the 3 Meter event, Notre Dame divers Joe Coumos (383.10), Nick Nemetz (337.83), and Ted Wagner (335.47) took first, second, and third place. In 1 Meter, Coumos (370.80) and Nemetz (324.67) took first and second again, followed by Notre Dame teammate James Lichtenstein (295.35). These finishes certainly helped the Notre Dame team score to soar, allowing the Irish to secure their win over Michigan State.
Final Score: University of Notre Dame 171 – Michigan State University 127
The victorious Irish men are back up on the blocks December 5-7 at the Iowa Hawkeye Invitational at the University of Iowa. The Michigan State Spartans will next compete November 21-23 at the TYR Invitational at Northwestern University.
ND commit, Tate Jackson, swam 20.18 last night at the Longhorn Aquatics November Unclassified.