In a meet to celebrate the 25th anniversary of varsity competition in the Rolfs Aquatic Center, the Irish picked up two victories in the double dual meet, defeating Cleveland State 178-122 and Miami (Ohio) 232.50-67.50.
"The scoreboard was very kind to us," Irish coach Tim Welsh said. "It was a lot kinder to us that I thought it would be. That's always a good thing."
The Irish showed time improvement in many events, including the freestyle and breaststroke events on their way to the two victories.
"I thought we did get faster," Welsh said. "I thought that our split freestyles showed quite a bit of depth. I just thought that we got faster across the program, and that was a good thing."
Senior John Lytle and freshman Kevin Overholt finished first and second in the 200-meter freestyle. Lytle also recorded a victory in the 100-meter freestyle, and the two helped the 400-meter freestyle relay to a first place finish was well.
"(Lytle) was named Big East Swimmer of the Week last week," Welsh said. "This boy is on a roll. He's doing a great job."
The Irish were helped by their divers as well, receiving first place finishes in both the one-meter dive, from senior Caleb Dunnichay, and in the three-meter dive, from junior Wesley Villaflor.
"I would call the two diving victories an upset, and for (Villaflor), that's his first collegiate win, so that's a huge improvement," Welsh said. "The divers are always important. If you take the diving points out of (the scoring), that's a very close meet (against Cleveland State)."
Notre Dame turned in four other first place victories, including top finishes by sophomore Petar Petrovich in the 100-meter backstroke and by the 200-meter medley relay team. Senior MacKenzie LeBlanc and junior Michael Sullivan were also victorious in the 200-meter butterfly and the 200-meter backstroke, respectively.
"What we need to learn and what we have to look at more carefully is what the fastest way for us to line up throughout the program," Welsh said. "I think we went a long way towards doing that this weekend."
The Irish will now go on the road for the first time when the face Purdue University in a dual meet on Nov. 6. The Boilermakers have not lost so far this season, finishing in first place in the Indiana Intercollegiate, and then defeating Miami (Ohio) in their first dual meet of the season.
