Category: Swimming and Diving

Notre Dame adds new diving coach

Notre Dame diving has a new head coach.

The Notre Dame Fighting Irish have hired Josh Arndt as head diving coach.

Head swimming coach Chris Lindauer made the announcement.

“We are thrilled to add Josh to our staff!” Lindauer said in a statement. “He brings a wealth of experience in diving at the highest level. His commitment to the student-athlete experience was evident throughout the hiring process, and we are excited for him to bring a new perspective to our staff and team!”

Arndt has been the head diving coach at the University of Virginia and he was there while the Cavaliers won two national championships. Before that, Arndt worked at the University of Connecticut for three years as the head diving coach there.

For two of those three seasons, Arndt was the Big East Women’s Diving Coach of the Year. He began his coaching career at UMass.

Mar 23, 2012; Federal Way, WA, USA; A general view of the pool before the 2012 NCAA division I swimming championship at Weyerhaeuser King County Aquatic Center. Mandatory Credit: Joe Nicholson-USA TODAY Sports

“I am incredibly excited to join the Notre Dame family,” Ardnt said in a statement. “Growing up in the area, I have always held the University in high regard. I am honored and look forward to the opportunity to build alongside these phenomenal student-athletes and this staff.”

Arndt is a native of LaPorte, Ind. and he attended college at Indiana, where was an All-American in 2016. He also qualified for the Olympic Trials that year.

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Notre Dame loses diving coach Mark Bradshaw to Purdue

This is a tough loss.

Notre Dame already is feeling the effects of suspending its men’s swimming program for next season after a gambling culture revelation. Although the diving team still will be allowed to compete, it will have to do so with a new coach.

[autotag]Mark Bradshaw[/autotag] coached the Irish divers for the past three seasons. Previously, he spent 23 seasons in that role at Arizona State. Now, he’ll be taking his talents to West Lafayette and joining Purdue as its associate head coach under new coach David Boudia.

While it’s not known definitively whether the men’s swimming suspension played a role in Bradshaw leaving, the the Irish only have two men’s divers on their roster for the 2024-25 season whereas the Boilermakers have seven. That alone gives Bradshaw a challenge much more worth taking on.

The Irish are going to have to do quite a lot to rebuild their program once they’re able to compete again. This is only one sign of that.

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Notre Dame suspends men’s swimming program for at least one year

Tough day for the athletic department.

In late June, Notre Dame announced it was looking at issues within its men’s swimming and diving program. Fresh off [autotag]Chris Guiliano[/autotag] winning a gold medal and a silver medal at the 2024 Olympics in Paris, the investigation has been completed.

It was discovered that there was a rampant gambling culture within the men’s swimming program that did not abide by NCAA rules. Concluding that the culture did not reflect Notre Dame’s values and to prevent this from happening again, athletic director [autotag]Pete Bevacqua[/autotag] has announced that the men’s swimming program will be suspended for at least one academic year.

The coaches were exonerated after the investigation revealed that the team members concealed their activities from them. The decision also will not affect the women’s swimming team or either diving team.

The timing of this announcement gives team members wishing to transfer before the start of the school year the ability to do so. However, those who took part in the gambling would be subject to any eligibility penalties handed down to them regardless of whether they transfer.

This is a crushing blow for a program that just had a terrific season, placing in the top 10 at the national championships, not to mention Guiliano’s Olympic success. However, the law had to be laid down. Hopefully, a program with much higher integrity will emerge and ultimately be successful in the distant future.

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Former LSU swimmer Brooks Curry wins Olympic silver medal in Paris

Brooks Curry added the second medal of his Olympic career on Tuesday.

Former LSU swimmer [autotag]Brooks Curry[/autotag] has won the second Olympic medal of his career, earning silver in the 4×200-meter freestyle relay as part of Team USA.

Curry also won a gold medal as part of the 4×200-meter freestyle relay team as he participated during the preliminary rounds at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

He was previously a standout at LSU, becoming the first men’s Tiger swimmer to win a national championship since 1988. He won an SEC title as a freshman in 2020 and was named SEC Male Freshman Swimmer of the Year that season while later earning SEC Male Swimmer of the Year honors in 2022.

Curry finished his LSU career holding the school records in every sprint freestyle event as well as being a nine-time NCAA qualifier.

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Maggie MacNeil misses the podium in 100-meter butterfly heartbreaker

After winning gold in the event in Tokyo, the former LSU swimmer failed to medal in the women’s 100-meter fly.

[autotag]Maggie MacNeil[/autotag] had the chance to defend her gold medal from the 2020 Tokyo Olympics in the women’s 100-meter butterfly, but the former LSU swimmer missed the podium after coming up short of a bronze medal on Sunday.

MacNeil ultimately finished fifth in the event with a time of 56.44, just 0.02 seconds behind fourth-place finisher Angelina Koehler from Germany. Americans Tori Huske (gold) and Gretchen Walsh (silver) and Chinese swimmer Yufei Zhang (bronze) rounded out the podium.

It’s a disappointing result for MacNeil, who was seen as being in a strong position to medal once again in the 100-meter fly. She ultimately finished 0.23 seconds shy of the podium.

Stay tuned to LSU Wire for all the latest on former Tigers stars competing in the 2024 Paris Olympics.

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Former LSU swimmer Maggie MacNeil qualifies for Olympic final, seeks to defend gold medal Sunday

You can watch Maggie MacNeil defend her gold medal at 1:40 p.m. CT on NBC.

Former LSU swimmer [autotag]Maggie MacNeil[/autotag] won the gold medal for Canada in the 100-meter butterfly at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, and she will have the chance to defend that medal in the 2024 Paris Olympics on Sunday.

MacNeil finished with a time of 57.00 in the preliminary event but qualified for the final with a 56.55 time in the semifinal. She will go for the gold medal at 1:40 p.m. CT, and you can watch live on NBC or stream it on Peacock.

Former LSU swimmer Pavel Alovatki and current swimmer Jovan Lekic both competed in the 400-meter freestyle but failed to qualify for the final.

MacNeil began her career at Michigan but transferred to LSU for her final year, leading the Tigers to an SEC championship while winning multiple individual SEC titles and a national title.

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Daughter of two former Notre Dame athletes commits to swimming team

Good luck, Kate!

The name “Simon” might be familiar to longtime fans of a couple of Notre Dame programs. [autotag]Ben Simon[/autotag] played four years for the hockey team, was a professional player for over a decade and now is a coach. [autotag]Beth Simon[/autotag] was on the women’s golf. Now, the family tradition will continue.

[autotag]Kate Simon[/autotag], a 2025 swimming recruit from East Grand Rapids, Michigan, has announced her commitment to the Irish. Her official announcement read as follows:

“I’m very excited to announce my commitment to the University of Notre Dame!! I’m so grateful for the opportunity to swim for the Irish and want to thank everyone who has been a part of helping me achieve my lifelong dream! #GoIrish”

Simon has placed highly in numerous high-level competitions. She does the best in freestyle events but also does well in the backstroke. Here’s hoping she makes both her parents and the swimming team proud upon her enrollment.

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Notre Dame looking into ‘potential issues’ within swimming and diving

We’ll keep an eye on this.

Notre Dame’s swimming program had a great week last week. [autotag]Chris Giuliano[/autotag] qualified in three freestyle events for the Paris Olympics, and coach [autotag]Chris Lindauer[/autotag] was named an assistant to the U.S. team. But all of that now be coming under a cloud.

In an email obtained by Pat Forde of Sports Illustrated, Notre Dame athletic director [autotag]Pete Bevacqua[/autotag] wrote the following to the university’s athletic employees:

Notre Dame recently was made aware of this matter, and the outside firm is expected to finish its review by the end of August. This makes it rough timing for Giuliano and Lindauer as they now will have to deal with this distraction when they go overseas with no resolution in sight.

It’s hard to tell what these issues could be right now, but a hazing scandal within Northwestern’s football program that was uncovered last summer cost program legend Pat Fitzgerald his job as coach. There’s at least that precedent in the recent past that’s been set should similar circumstances be revealed here.

Stay tuned to Fighting Irish Wire for updates on this developing story.

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Notre Dame’s Chris Guiliano wins 100 freestyle at U.S. Olympic trials

Go for the gold in Paris, Chris!

Notre Dame’s [autotag]Chris Guiliano[/autotag] always will remember the 2024 U.S. Olympic Swimming Trials at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. Largely overlooked going into the 100-meter freestyle, the reigning ACC Swimmer of the Year surprised everyone by dominating the event. It culminated with a win in the final with a time of 47.38 seconds. Here’s the final in its entirety:

A surprising number of Irish fans made the trip, and they made their feelings about Guiliano’s victory loud and clear:

This victory qualifies Guiliano for his first spot on the U.S. team for the Paris Olympics. The U.S. has won gold in this event in two of the past three Olympics. Caeleb Dressel took the gold in Tokyo, but his third-place finish in Giuliano’s triumph means he won’t get a chance to defend that medal.

Guiliano also qualified for the 4×100 relay team simply by finishing in the top four. His teammates will consist of Dressel, Jack Alexy and Hunter Armstrong.

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Maggie MacNeil, coach Drew Livingston earn SEC women’s swimming and diving awards

MacNeil was the Female Swimmer of the Year, while Livingston was named the Women’s Diving Coach of the Year.

BATON ROUGE, La. – LSU swimmer Maggie MacNeil and diving head coach Drew Livingston received end-of-season awards from the Southeastern Conference, the league office announced Wednesday.

MacNeil earned the second SEC Female Swimmer of the Year honor in LSU’s women’s program history after an outstanding graduate season. In addition to pursuing her master’s degree in the classroom and maintaining a GPA over 4.0, her success in the pool was unlike any other swimmer in school history.

At the 2023 NCAA Championships, the London, Ontario, Canada product had the opportunity to add to her two national titles. Competing in the 50-yard free, 100-yard fly and 100-yard free, MacNeil qualified for the championship final in each event.

She won her third NCAA title in the 50-free after throwing down an NCAA record 20.79. The time also broke the U.S. Open, NCAA meet, LSU school, and pool marks. In addition, she took home silver in the 100-fly with a time of 48.51 and claimed bronze in the 100-free with a time of 46.58.

In her one and only SEC Championship appearance, MacNeil led the way with three individual gold medals. She won conference championships in the 50-free, 100-fly, and 100-free. MacNeil was also a part of the first relay victory at the conference meet since 1986. The Tigers won the 200-yard freestyle relay and 400-yard freestyle relay. The LSU women closed the meet with the most gold medals at a single SEC’s in school history with eight.

Livingston, who joined the program last June and replaced a diving legend in Doug Shaffer, was named the Female Diving Coach of the Year. Not even a year removed from his arrival in Baton Rouge, Livingston made a statement with his diver’s performances. This recognition marks the second straight season an LSU diving coach has received this honor.

He coached the women’s diving squad to an SEC title and a runner-up on the tower at NCAA’s. Montserrat Gutierrez Lavenant completed both feats with the first SEC title on platform for the program since Cassie Weil in 2015. Lavenant also finished in second at the NCAA Championships becoming the first diver to finish in the top three on platform at the national meet since 2001.

Livingston coached a total of six divers through NCAA diving zones, qualifying each one for their respective championships. On the women’s side, LSU’s four qualifiers finished with two All-American honors from Lavenant and Chiara Pellacani.

The SEC also announced the athletes to receive to the Commissioner’s Trophy at the conference meet, along with All-SEC teams and the All-SEC Freshman teams.

Commissioner’s Trophy

Men

Jordan Crooks, Tennessee

Bryden Hattie, Tennessee

Baylor Nelson, Texas A&M

Women

Maggie MacNeil, LSU

All-SEC First-Team

Women

Kalia Antoniou, Alabama

Emily Jones, Alabama

Kensey McMahon, Alabama

Rhyan White, Alabama

Avery Wiseman, Alabama

Talia Bates, Florida

Micayla Cronk, Florida

Ekaterina Nikonova, Florida

Emma Weyant, Florida

Zoie Hartman, Georgia

Rachel Stege, Georgia

Megan Barnes, LSU

Jenna Bridges, LSU

Peyton Curry, LSU

Michaela De Villiers, LSU

Montserrat Lavenant, LSU

Maggie MacNeil, LSU

Katarina Milutinovich, LSU

Ella Varga, LSU

Brooke Schultz, South Carolina

Brooklyn Douthwright, Tennessee

Mona McSharry, Tennessee

All-SEC Second Team

Women

Diana Petkova, Alabama

Kailyn Winter, Alabama

Bella Cothern, Arkansas

Alessia Ferraguti, Arkansas

Kobie Melton, Arkansas

Andrea Sansores, Arkansas

Meghan Lee, Auburn

Maha Amer, Florida

Nina Kucheran, Florida

Katie Mack, Florida

Olivia Peoples, Florida

Aris Runnels, Florida

Jillian Barczyk, Georgia

Duné Coetzee, Georgia

Callie Dickinson, Georgia

Eboni McCarty, Georgia

Sloane Reinstein, Georgia

Caitlin Brooks, Kentucky

Kyndal Knight, Kentucky

Lauren Poole, Kentucky

Maggie Buckley, LSU

Chiara Pellacani, LSU

Sophie Verzyl, South Carolina

Aly Breslin, Tennessee

Julia Burroughs, Tennessee

Emma Carlton, Tennessee

Josephine Fuller, Tennessee

Julia Mrozinski, Tennessee

Jasmine Rumley, Tennessee

Kristen Stege, Tennessee

Sara Stotler, Tennessee

Giulia Goerigk, Texas A&M

Chloe Stepanek, Texas A&M

All-Freshman Team

Women

Emily Jones, Alabama

Betsy Wizard, Arkansas

Zoe Dixon, Florida

Hayden Miller, Florida

Lydia Hanlon, Kentucky

Grace Frericks, Kentucky

Denise Phelan, Kentucky

Megan Barnes, LSU

Michaela De Villiers, LSU

Ella Varga, LSU

Malin Grosse, Missouri

Kamryn Wong, Missouri

Giulia Goerigk, Texas A&M

Joslyn Oakley, Texas A&M