Notre Dame won its first dual meet of the season against the Oakland University Golden Grizzlies with a score of 179-119.
The Irish placed first in eleven of the fifteen events Friday at Notre Dame's Rolfs Aquatic Center. They won nine of the thirteen swimming events and both the one-meter and three-meter diving events.
"Oakland is a very solid and well coached team," Irish coach Tim Welsh said. "They beat us in a dual meet at their pool last year, and they outscored us in swimming at the Dennis Stark Relays (we outscored them in diving), so this win is a strong team performance from our men."
The Irish gained some early points in the 200-meter medley relay, composed of sophomore Petar Petrovic, junior Joseph Raycroft, freshman John McGinley and senior John Lytle. Freshmen Bill Bass and Christopher Johnson each received first places in their first collegiate dual meet. Bass was the first to finish in both the 500-meter freestyle and the 200-meter individual medley, and Johnson won the 100-meter breaststroke.
"I thought Bill Bass did really well, not only because he won two events but also because of the way in which he won," junior Christopher Wills said. "Both events came down to the last stroke and he was the one who put his hand on the wall first."
On the diving side of the competition, the Irish took first place in both events. Junior Eric Lex (369.15) came in first place, senior Caleb Dunnichay (350.5) came in second place, and junior Wes Villaflor (339.75) placed third in the three-meter five. In the one-meter event, Dunnichay finished first, followed by Lex and Villaflor, respectively.
"We measure our season by improvement," Welsh said. "Improving from the first meet to the second is exciting and encouraging. By winning the meet, the team can take credit for their improvement, but there is still much more to be done, and a lot of improvement we hope, plan, and strive for to come."
The team's next event is a home event against the Cleveland State Vikings and the Miami University Redhawks for a tri-meet on Oct. 31.
