Waterlogged
Late kick by Chatham downs NDC in home dual
| Results |

SOUTH EUCLID, Ohio – Notre Dame fell to Chatham College (PA) Saturday in their final dual meet of the season. The Panthers topped the Falcons, 117-87, after earning wins in each of the final five events on the afternoon.

Chatham's Carly Hicks (Downington, PA) and Amy Kuuskoski (Wilmington, NC) each earned individual and relay Gold medals over the final five events of the day to pace the Panthers.

For Notre Dame, Maria Buenano (So/Guyaquil, Ecuador) earned two individual Gold medals and a third in the 200 Yard Medley Relay (Lusnia-Walsh-Buenano-O'Connor). Buenano touched in at 2:23.80 in the 200 Yard IM and at 1:03.82 in the 100 Yard Butterfly for her two victories.

Maggie Simpson (Fr/Hudson, OH) earned a Gold and a Silver for her performances in the 1,000 Yard Freestyle (11:56.44) and the 500 Yard Freestyle (5:37.27).

As a team, the Blue & Gold earned 14 medals Saturday (four Gold, five Silver, five Bronze).

Saturday marked the third time in program history (since 2006) the Falcons have faced the Panther. Notre Dame now stands 1-2 all-time against the Chatham. Last season, NDC defeated Chatham in a tri-meet, 116-89. This season, the Falcons lost to the Panthers back on Nov. 10 when they traveled to the Chatham Invitational, 156-31.

The loss closes out Notre Dame's regular season with a 5-9 mark in dual meets. Saturday also marked the last time Falcons swimmers will compete in home waters for this season, as it was NDC's last in Mellen Pool this season. The Falcons earned a 3-2 mark on College Road this season.

"I thought we swam considerably well today," said Notre Dame Head Coach Mike Gallagher. "Now we need to focus on the next stage of our season, which will include the Appalachian Conference Championships and Nationals (NAIA National Championships)."

Next up: NDC will take two weeks off before traveling to Bristol, Tenn. for the Appalachian Conference Championships Feb. 15-16.

NOTES FROM THE NEST...

MUY BUENO: Maria Buenano's performance Saturday runs her team-leading medal count to 24 (16 Gold, six Silver, two Bronze). In her first season on College Road, the Ecuador native has notched three individual program records (100 Free, 100 Fly, 200 Fly). She's also participated on four relay teams that have posted new NDC bests.