Notre Dame Holds Edge Over FSU After Day One of Dual

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – After the first of two sessions, the (No.25/20) Florida State swimming and diving teams narrowly trail (No.22/22) Notre Dame after the 10 events competed on Friday. The meet will resume on Saturday at 2 p.m. at the Morcom Aquatics Center.

“I thought we had a solid first day,” FSU head coach Neal Studd said. “There are just some things we need to tune up for tomorrow. I think Saturday’s events swing more in our favor, so we’ll just have put ourselves in a better spot in order to take advantage.”

The men trail the Irish by eighth points, (97-89) while Notre Dame holds a 112-74 lead in the women’s meet.

The men started off the session edging out the Irish in the 200 medley relay as senior Joe Plechy pulled the Noles to victory in the anchor leg. Seniors Chad Mylin and Matt Ankerholz along with junior Kanoa Kaleoaloha clocked 1:28.49.

Notre Dame followed with a sweep in the 1000 free on top of claiming wins in the 200 free and 100 back, however the Noles got second place finishes in both those events behind sophomore Felipe Ribeiro de Souza (1:38.29) in the 200 free and senior Connor Kalisz (49.24) in the 100 back.

Ankerholz held on at the finish to win the 100 breast, touching with a time of 56.30 and freshmen Julio Horrego (56.47) and Ryan Telford (56.82) added crucial third and fourth place points.

After surrendering a sweep in the 100 fly, the Noles gained some ground in the 50 free as Mylin touched first with a time of 20.06 ahead of Plechy in third at 20.48 and junior Will Pisani in fourth with a mark of 20.49.

Kaleoaloha won the 100 IM with a fight to the finish with a time of 50.56 while sophomore Nate Samson placed third at 50.91.

The Seminoles and Fighting Irish were neck-and-neck in the final 400 free relay, as Plechy, junior Emir Muratovic and Ribeiro de Souza handed Pisani a slight edge. As the anchor, Pisani held on, touching with a time of 2:59.70.

The men also competed in 3-meter diving, led by freshman Josh Davidson who placed second with a total of 348.93 ahead of senior Tyler Roberge in third at 308.48.

In the women’s meet, the Seminoles were strong on 1-meter with a one-two finish as senior Blaire Mulka led the way with the win at 276.08 and sophomore Ayla Bonniwell followed in second at 276.38, edging out Notre Dame’s top diver by three one-hundredths of a point.

Florida State won the opening 200 medley relay behind the team of freshman Madeline Cohen, senior Natalie Pierce, junior Leila Johnston and senior Alexi Smith with a time of 1:40.69.

Notre Dame answered with a one-two finish in the 100 free and a sweep in the 200 free.

Cohen led the Noles in the 100 back, touching second with a time of 55.37, just ahead of her classmate Ana Zortea who touched third at 55.58.

Pierce continued her dominance in the 100 breast, using a strong back half to win the race, clocking a 1:01.34.

The Irish followed with a sweep of the 200 fly, but the Seminoles answered with a strong 50 free as Smith won with a time of 23.27 ahead of freshman Emma Terebo in third (23.56).

Notre Dame ended the meet with a one-two finish in both the 100 IM and 400 free relay.

Saturday’s events will feature the 400 medley relay, 500 free, 100 free, 200 back, 200 breast, 200 IM and the 200 free relay along with women’s 3-meter and men’s 1-meter.

PRESS RELEASE – NOTRE DAME

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – A fast Friday start carried the University of Notre Dame men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams out of the blocks to kick off an Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) dual meet at Florida State. Wins in 11 out of 20 total events on the opening evening of competition lifted the No. 22 Irish men to a 97-89 lead over No. 20 Florida State, while the No. 22 Notre Dame women held a 112-74 edge over the No. 25 Seminoles after one session at the Morcom Aquatics Center.

Freshman Zach Yeadon finished day one as a double-winner for Notre Dame, notching an NCAA B-cut with a winning swim of 1:37.83 in the 200 freestyle to go along with a triumphant effort of 9:05.07 in the 1000 freestyle. Sophomore Abbie Dolan added wins in the 200 freestyle (1:48.20) and as a member of the women’s 400 freestyle relay (3:21.00), while junior Alice Treuth fashioned an NCAA B-cut time of 54.30 in a victorious 100 backstroke swim and junior Meaghan O’Donnell earned an NCAA B-cut of 1:02.23 in the 100 breaststroke to pace the Irish. Senior Joe Coumos chipped in a season-high 383.78 points in the 3-meter dive to deliver crucial first-place points toward the Notre Dame men’s squad’s cause.

The second and final day of the ACC dual meet between Notre Dame and Florida State is set to commence on Saturday at 2 p.m. at the Morcom Aquatics Center.

Coach Litzinger Said

“Our women are excelling and our depth is playing a factor in this meet. Finishing 1-2 in the 1000 free, 1-2-3 in the 200 free, 1-2-3 in the 200 fly and 1-2 in the 400 free relay have made the difference thus far. Alice Treuth and Rachel Wittmer also picked up nice wins in the 100 backstroke and 100 IM to round out the session. I am proud of the way our women are competing.”

“The men’s meet is exactly what it looked like on paper. FSU has the advantage in the relays and sprints, we have the upper hand in the distance and strokes. Hats off to Zach Yeadon for winning back-to-back events in the 1000 and 200 freestyle. Zach is a truly a team guy and that double takes a special athlete. Joe Coumos took his specialty off the 3-meter board along with Rob Whitacre in the 100 backstroke and Matt Grauslys in the 200 butterfly. We took five events and FSU took five tonight, the difference was the 1-2-3 finish in the 200 butterfly and 100 freestyle.”

“We have a great event schedule tomorrow and need to take advantage of it if we are to win out.”

Top Irish Performances

Women’s 200 Medley Relay – The Notre Dame entry of Carly Quast, Meaghan O’Donnell, Cailey Grunhard and Sofia Revilak logged a runner-up time of 1:42.14. The Irish ‘B’ lineup of Alice Treuth, Sherri McIntee, Nicole Smith and Katie Smith placed fourth in 1:44.20.

Men’s 200 Medley Relay – The top Notre Dame lineup of Rob Whitacre, Steven Shek, Justin Plaschka and Tabahn Afrik claimed second place with a time of 1:28.98. The Irish entry of Jack Montesi, Garrett Clarke, Brendan Santana and Daniel Speers took third with a time of 1:30.77.

Women’s 1000 Freestyle – Lindsay Stone continued her steady season in distance competition, taking a nine-second victory with a time of 9:54.26. Teammate Molly Treble was event runner-up with a time of 10:03.43, with Reilly Lanigan in fourth place after touching in at 10:17.46.

Men’s 1000 Freestyle – Zach Yeadon stormed to victory with a convincing heat triumph in 9:05.07. Teammates Sadler McKeen (9:18.40) and Richard Mannix (9:24.47) completed the Notre Dame podium sweep in the event in second and third place, respectively.

Women’s 200 Freestyle – Abbie Dolan narrowly missed an NCAA B-cut on her way to a race win in 1:48.20, pacing a top-three Notre Dame sweep. Lauren Heller placed second with a time of 1:49.42 and Kyra Sarazen third with a time of 1:49.47.

Men’s 200 Freestyle – Zach Yeadon won his second event of the day, cruising to the wall with an NCAA B-cut effort of 1:37.83 for the race triumph. Ben Jany claimed third place with a time of 1:39.77, with Tabahn Afrik in fifth at 1:40.40.

Women’s 100 Backstroke – Alice Treuth took home the race win with a time of 54:30, good for an NCAA B-cut. Carly Quast added a fourth-place finish for Notre Dame with a time of 55.75.

Men’s 100 Backstroke – Rob Whitacre outpointed the competition with a winning time of 48.65 to just miss an NCAA B-cut. Jack Montesi was third with a time of 49.41, and William Cumberland fifth at 49.96.

Women’s 100 Breaststroke – Meaghan O’Donnell led all Notre Dame finishers as event runner-up with a time of 1:02.23, posting an NCAA B-cut in the process. Sherri McIntee finished third with a time of 1:03.99, and Alyssa Storino was fourth with a time of 1:04.40.

Men’s 100 Breaststroke – Steven Shek was the first Irish swimmer to the wall, clocking a time of 56.19 for second place. Garett Clarke finished fifth with a time of 57.10.

Women’s 200 Butterfly – Nicole Smith earned a convincing win for Notre Dame with her time of 1:59.78, just above an NCAA B-cut. Katie Rentzwas runner-up in 2:02.08, while Erin Sheehan placed third with a time of 2:04.55.

Men’s 200 Butterfly – Matt Grauslys brought home first-place points for the Irish with a time of 1:48.25. Aaron Schultz (1:50.07) and Brendan Santana (1:50.42) were the next two to the wall in second and third place, respectively.

Women’s 50 Freestyle – Lauren Heller took second-place honors with a time of 23.49 to pace Notre Dame. Kelly Jacob finished fourth with a time of 23.58, and Katie Smith was fifth with a time of 23.68.

Men’s 50 Freestyle – Justin Plaschka was race runner-up with a time of 20.20, just a .01 of a second above the NCAA B-cut benchmark.

Women’s 100 IM – Rachel Wittmer finished first with a time of 56.72 for the event win. Meaghan O’Donnell finished second with a time of 57.09.

Men’s 200 IM – Rob Whitacre narrowly missed the top spot with a runner-up swim of 50.68. Nick Milikich finished fourth in 51.61, while William Cumberland was fifth with a time of 51.70.

Women’s 400 Freestyle Relay – The Notre Dame ‘A’ entry of Abbie Dolan, Skylar Fore, Carly Quast and Sofia Revilak scored a win with a time of 3:21.00. The Irish lineup of Lauren Heller, Rachel Wittmer, Erin Sheehan and Kyra Sarazen scored a second-place finish in 3:23.24.

Men’s 400 Freestyle Relay – Notre Dame’s Justin Plaschka, Tabahn Afrik, Daniel Speers and Aaron Schultz finished second with a time of 3:00.21. The Irish entry of Daniel Fujan, Matt Grauslys, Jack Montesi and Sadler McKeen claimed fourth place with a time of 3:05.70.

Women’s 1-Meter Diving – Claire Andrews was the top Notre Dame finisher after scoring 262.35 points to place third. Kate McCahan took fourth place with 253.50 points, and Erin Isola finished fifth with 236.48 points.

Men’s 3-Meter Diving – Joe Coumos scored a season-high 383.78 points to take the win off the 3-meter board for the Irish. David Waszakfinished fourth with 286.43 points, and Peter Myers placed fifth with 279.15 points.