The Notre Dame swimming and diving teams kicked off the 2025-26 season on Friday at Rolfs Aquatic Center, hosting ranked opponents Michigan and Wisconsin. Despite spirited performances, both the men’s and women’s squads fell to the visiting teams. The No. 25 men’s team lost 117-183 to No. 10 Michigan and 143-155 to No. 22 Wisconsin, while the women dropped 82-218 to Michigan and 105.5-194.5 to Wisconsin.
Notre Dame claimed six individual event victories, highlighted by strong showings from senior record-holder and U.S. National Team member Tommy Janton, sophomore Shane Eckler and standout senior divers Daniel Knapp, Benedict Nguyen and Grace Courtney.
The men’s team narrowly missed an early victory in the 200-yard medley relay. The quartet of Janton, freshman Jack Armour, senior Dillon Edge and Eckler finished second in a time of 1:27.43, just 0.03 seconds behind Michigan. Janton then captured the 100-yard backstroke in 47.24 seconds, while Eckler took the 100-yard freestyle in 43.84 seconds and finished second in the 50 free (19.91). Freshman Min-Gyo Jang added a third-place finish in the 50 free (20.41).
On the diving board, senior Daniel Knapp won the 1-meter with a score of 324.25, and Ben Nguyen earned first in the 3-meter with 369.00 points. Freshman Matthew Wong impressed with a second-place finish in the 1-meter (313.70).
The women were led by Courtney, who swept both diving events with scores of 291.40 on the 1-meter and 298.25 on the 3-meter. Graduate student Calie Brady finished second in both events, posting 274.25 and 284.80 points, respectively.
On the swimming side, sophomore Carli Cronk placed sixth in the 200 freestyle (1:49.60) and fifth in the 200 butterfly (2:01.41). Freshman Emily Hamill made a strong debut with a sixth-place finish in the 100 backstroke (55.49) and second in the 200 backstroke (1:59.27). Rookies Kate Simon and Becky Rentz also made their mark, finishing fourth and fifth in the 50 freestyle (23.36/23.44).
While the Irish did not top the scoreboard, the season-opening meet showcased promising performances from both veterans and newcomers. The Irish will return to Rolfs Aquatic Center on Oct. 24 to host regional rival Northwestern in a dual meet at 3:30 p.m.