Between Friday and Saturday, Notre Dame swimming and diving hosted the Tim Welsh Classic, welcoming in Ohio State, Akron, Indiana State and Wisconsin. The Irish claimed second with 818 points, finishing behind Ohio State’s 1,623 and ahead of Akron’s 803, Indiana State’s 478 and Wisconsin’s 50.
Notre Dame took home a win in the women’s 200-yard freestyle relay, beating out the Buckeyes by just 26 hundredths of a second. Freshman Hollie Widdows, senior Jessica Geriane, graduate student Imogen Meers (a transfer from Rice) and senior Madelyn Christman swam the Irish to a winning time of 1:28.68 in the event.
Geriane and Meers each finished inside the top three during the women’s 50-yard freestyle race. Geriane captured first place with a time of 22.29 seconds, while Meers claimed third with a time of 22.57.
Freshman Carli Cronk put on a terrific performance in the women’s 400-yard individual medley, taking first place by more than three seconds. Her time of 4:07.63 led the Irish, who also placed sophomore Lainey Mullins inside the top five at 4:14.82.
Notre Dame put another two swimmers in the top five of the women’s 100-yard butterfly. Junior Renee Gillilan took third with a time of 53 seconds flat, while Widdows followed in fourth at 53.65 seconds.
Geriane earned another top-five result in the women’s 100-yard backstroke, placing fourth with a time of 53.86 seconds. Meers followed by just two hundredths of a second, grabbing fifth in 53.88 seconds.
Moving back to the relays, Notre Dame finished second in the women’s 800-yard freestyle relay, as Christman and Cronk teamed up with senior MaryCate Pruitt and junior Greta Kolbeck. With their time of 7:14.82, the Irish finished eight seconds behind Ohio State’s A team. The Irish also earned second in the women’s 400-yard freestyle relay, as Meers, Geriane, Widdows and Christman posted a time of 3:18.21.
Senior Sophia Karras found third place in the women’s 1650-yard freestyle, ending the lengthy race in 16:49.41. Christman earned another second-place result in the women’s 200-yard backstroke, finishing about a second and a half off of first place in 1:54.85. Widdows notched a third-place finish in the women’s 100-yard freestyle, coming in at 49.27 seconds.
Notre Dame’s most successful individual event was the women’s 200-yard butterfly, which Cronk won in 1:55.28. Mullins finished third at 1:57.35, while Gillilan claimed fifth at 2:00.82.
Shifting to the diving sphere, junior Benedict Nguyen scored 350.25 to take second place in the men’s 1-meter, while junior Grace Courtney earned third on the women’s side with a 268.1. Courtney won the women’s 3-meter at 351.25, while Nguyen claimed second again at 356.75.
Up next, the Irish will head to Columbus for the Ohio State Winter Invite on Valentine’s Day weekend.
