In their final meet of the regular season, the Irish defeated Denver (245-124) but lost to Iowa (197-171) and Missouri (197-173) at the Shamrock Invitational at Rolf's Aquatic Center.
"It was a really hard meet and a real challenge for everyone involved," Irish coach Tim Welsh said. "The good news for us is that we swam better every session and our energy and competitiveness was solid throughout. Also, we are swimming faster than we were last year at this time."
Iowa swept the event by defeating the Irish, Missouri and Denver. Missouri also defeated Denver.
Led by freshman Chris Johnson and junior Joseph Raycroft, Notre Dame (5-6) dominated the breaststroke events. Freshman Bill Bass beat the competition in the 200-yard individual medley in the only Irish win on Friday.
Heading into the second day of the tournament, the Irish trailed Iowa and Missouri but were ahead of Denver.
John Lytle was once again a top performer for the Irish. The senior finished third in the 200-yard freestyle and second in the 100-yard freestyle.
"[Lytle] is quite a racer," Welsh said. "He is extremely competitive and we hope that he's not done. We're very proud of him. He has done everything."
Junior Wes Villaflor finished second in the one-meter diving event for the Irish.
The Irish now prepare for the Big East Championships next month. Pittsburgh will host the events, with the diving portion taking place Feb. 12-14, while the swimmers will compete Feb. 17-20. A Big East Championship would give Welsh's squad their fifth conference title in the last six seasons.
"Our next race will be at the Big East Championships," Welsh said. "We need to clean up and improve some of our events."
