The Notre Dame men's and women's swimming teams took care of business in the 43rd Dennis Stark Relays, boasting strong performances that led to a first place finish for both teams.
The men took first in 10 of the 13 events, breaking three meet records along the way. Sophomores John Lytle and Andrew Hoffman, junior Danny Lutkus, and senior Rob Seery set a record for the 300-yard freestyle relay with a time of 2:16.83.
Senior Sam Stoner and junior Michael Bulfin set meet records in the one-meter diving relay and the three-meter synchronized dive.
Sophomore Andrew Deters and freshman Steven Brus turned in a dominating performance in the 1,000-yard freestyle relay. Brus, who took the second leg, was able to lap the field as the pair combined for a time of 9:26.38, 35 seconds ahead of second place Valparaiso.
Seery and Deters teamed up with freshman Michael Sullivan and sophomore MacKenzie LeBlanc to win the 800-yard freestyle relay. Senior Eric Swenson and junior Daniel Rave were both part of teams that won the 400-yard breaststroke relay and the 400-yard medley relay.
Ball State finished a distant second, followed by Oakland, Valparaiso, and Marquette rounding out the top five.
The women also turned in a dominant performance, finishing with a score of 226, 60 points ahead of Ball State and Illinois State who finished in a tie for second. Oakland, Valparaiso, and Marquette finished fourth, fifth and sixth, respectively.
One meet record was broken in the last event of the day, the 400-yard freestyle relay. Senior captain Katie Guida, junior Christa Riggins, freshman Amywren Miller and freshman Delia Cronin combined for a time of 3:31.01, more than two seconds better than the previous meet record.
Guida and Miller also won the 400-yard backstroke relay with freshmen Lauren Parisi and Meg Reynolds.
Several freshmen turned in big performances in their first meet with the Irish. Cronin, Reynolds and Sam Maxwell - all rookies - teamed up with Guida for the Irish victory in the 300-yard freestyle relay, while sophomore Lexie Shue and freshman Lauren Sylvester combined to win the 1,000-yard freestyle relay by almost 25 seconds. Sophomore Maggie Behrens, senior Caroline Johnson, freshman Katie Casey and Maxwell took first in the 200-yard medley relay.
For the divers, freshman Heidi Grossman and sophomore Natalie Stitt won the one-meter diving event, while junior Lucy Hirt and senior Tara Hyer took first in the three-meter synchronized dive.
Both teams will be back in action on Oct. 19 when they host Southern California at the Rolfs Aquatic Center.
