Notre Dame finished ahead of Pittsburgh but fell to Virginia Tech in a double-dual ACC meet at the Rolfs Aquatic Center this weekend.
The Irish beat Pittsburgh, 286-84, but fell to defending ACC champions Virginia Tech, 201-169, in their last home meet of the fall season. The Irish posted three first-place victories and five runner-up finishes to close Friday’s 10 events, while several top-three finishes across multiple events.
Notre Dame opened the weekend with a first-place victory in the 200 free relay. Freshmen Justin Plaschka and Joseph Krause and seniors Zachary Stephens and Matthew Buerger posted a time of 1:21.94 for first place.
Sophomore Tom Anderson finished the 400 IM in 3:59.47, less than a second behind Robert Owen (3:58.54) of Virginia Tech. Sophomore Kevin Bradley and senior John Nappi also placed in the top 10, posting times of 4:03.69 and 4:04.47 for fifth and seventh, respectively.
Nappi also claimed a second place finish (15:56.64) in the 1,650 free, while freshman Benjamin Jany finished close behind in third place (15:59.09).
The Irish bested Virginia Tech and Pittsburgh in the relay event and swept first and second place in the 200 medley relay. Plaschka, Stephens, senior Cameron Miller and freshman Robert Whitacre represented the A-team lineup for a first place time of 1:30.68, while the B-team squad of Krause, junior Bogac Ayhan and seniors Patrick Olson and Jonathan Williamson took second place with a time of 1:31.46.
Notre Dame opened Saturday with more success in the relay events. The A-team lineup of Ayhan, Stephens, Williamson and Buerger finished second (3:19.19) in the 400 medley, and the B-team squad of Whitacre, Miller, Olson and Bradley came in third (3:23.53).
Senior Nick Nemetz represented the Irish divers on the podium and won the 1-meter diving competition with a score of 322.15.
The Irish dominated Saturday’s freestyle competition. Plaschka took first place in the 50 free (20.67), while Krause and junior Michael Hudspith placed seventh and tenth, respectively. Sophomore Trent Jackson came in third (1:41.70) in the 200 race behind two Hokies swimmers. Stephens, Buerger, Plaschka and senior Kevin Hughes closed out the meet for the Irish with a first-place finish in the freestyle relay (3:01.34).
