Phoebe Bacon, Notre Dame Sprint Depth Shine in Split at Wisconsin
Phoebe Bacon opened the season with an event-winning 53.50 in the women’s 100 back as Wisconsin and Notre Dame split a dual meet on Friday.
Wisconsin’s women’s team rolled to a 213-87 decision, while Notre Dame claimed the men’s meet, 163-137.
The Olympian scratched the 200 back, the event in which she won silver at NCAAs last year, but won the 200 individual medley in 1:59.21. Both of her individual times are NCAA B cuts.
Bacon also led off the Badgers’ A 200 medley relay in 24.87 on the way to a win in 1:40.00.
That medley relay accounted for seven individual event wins on the day. Hazal Ozkan won the 100 breast and 200 breast. Mackenzie McConagha likewise swept the butterfly events. Hailey Tierney went 22.62 to win the 50 freestyle.
Tierney led off Wisconsin’s winning 400 free relay in 49.77. The freshman was joined on that foursome by Abby Carlson, who won the 200 free (an NCAA B cut of 1:46.82) and 500 free (B cut of 4:46.14), and Blair Stoneburg, the 100 free champ in 49.94 and runner-up to McConagha in the 200 fly. Abby Wanezek, who was second in the 100 free and 200 free, swam the fourth leg.
Maddie Waggoner won the 1,000 free for Wisconsin. Second was Paige McKenna, who took the same place in the 500 free.
Notre Dame’s only swimming victory on the women’s side came courtesy of Madelyn Christman, who won the 200 back in 1:58.74. Calie Brady and Grace Courtney went 1-2 in both diving events.
The Notre Dame men flashed their sprinting depth to great effect. Louisville grad transfer Abdelrahman Elaraby went 19.74 to win the 50 free, an NCAA B cut. He also won the 50 free in 44.18, edging out U.S. Worlds sprinter Chris Guiliano by .18 seconds. Giuliano was third in the 50 (20.31) but won the 200 in 1:37.50.
Giuliano led off the 400 free relay in 44.08, handing off to Elaraby (44.21) on the way to a Notre Dame victory in 2:56.21. Tanner Fillion and Cason Wilburn rounded out the quartet.
Backstroke may have been the difference maker for the Irish. Tommy Janton led 1-2-3 sweeps in both distances, winning the 100 in 46.74 and the 200 in 1:45.14. Marcus Gentry was second in the 100 and third in the 200. Fillion was second in the 200. Notre Dame also swept the top three spots in the 100 fly behind Wilburn’s 47.27. Janton, Sean Faikish, Wilburn and Elaraby won the 200 medley relay in 1:27.37.
Despite the loss, Dominik Mark Torok pulled off an impressive triple for Wisconsin. The Hungarian Olympic hopeful won the 200 fly in 1:45.14, an NCAA B cut. He bested the 200 breast field in 1:58.00, then eased past the crowd in the 200 IM in 1:48.25.
Wisconsin swept the breaststroke events, Matthew Segal winning the 100. Yigit Aslan led podiums sweeps in the 500 and 1,000 free; in the latter, Zach Ward and Jude Williams tied for second before Ward got second outright in front of the Williams in the 500. Wisconsin diver Daniel Muller swept on the boards, wining 1-meter by .15 points over Carlos Lopez Hernandez of Notre Dame.
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