Josh Bottelberghe, Coleen Gillilan Pace Notre Dame Sweep of Purdue
Notre Dame won all but two events in the pool in an in-state sweep of Purdue Saturday. The men claimed a 180-120 win, while the women rolled by a 216.5-81.5 margin.
The Irish needed their full depth to repel Purdue on the men’s side. Josh Bottelberghe led the way by winning both breaststroke events. Second each time was Tyler Christianson, who won the 200 individual medley. Cason Wilburn won the 200 freestyle, in a battle with Purdue’s Nikola Acin, and the 100 butterfly.
Notre Dame dominated the distance events. Josh Brown and Thatcher Scannell went 1-2 in the 1,000 free. Scannell won the 500 with Brown three and teammate Liam Hutchinson sandwiched in between.
Kaden Smesko won the 100 backstroke and finished second to teammate Jack Fitzpatrick in the 200. Zachary Smith won the 200 fly. Smesko, Bottleberghe, Wilburn and Chris Guiliano won the 200 medley relay in 1:27.53.
Purdue’s biggest point hauls were from diving and the sprints. Acin parlayed the strong showing in the 200 to win the 100 free in 43.77 seconds. Brady Samuels eked out a win in the 50 free in 20.33 seconds. He was also second to Wilburn in the 100 fly.
Purdue dominated on the boards, sweeping the top four spots in both events. Tyler Downs led the way by topping 400 points in both. He tallied 401.40 to win the one-meter and a stunning 431.70 on three-meter. Greg Duncan and Jordan Rzepka each had a second and a third.
The Notre Dame women won every event but the exhibitioned 400 free relay to conclude the meet.
Coleen Gillilan led the way by winning the 100 breast and 200 IM. Madelyn Christman finished first in the 100 back and 100 fly. Second to her in the 100 was Emma Gleason, the 200 fly champ. Sydney Whiting won the 50 free and 100 free.
Ana Herceg (200), Mary Cate Pruitt (500) and Maggie Graves (1,000) divided the freestyle spoils. Annie Behm and Sarah Bender added wins in the 200 back and 200 breast, respectively. Notre Dame also won the opening 200 medley relay with the quartet of Jess Geriane, Gillilan, Megan Deuel and Christman.
Notre Dame also swept the diving events, behind Kelly Straub. She won the one-meter with 308.55 points, ahead of teammate Annie Wiese. On three-meter, Straub (328.65) and Calie Brady went 1-2.
Purdue got a pair of second-place results via Maggie Love, in the 100 breast and 200 back, for their highest finishes.