SOUTH EUCLID, Ohio – In their first time competing in nearly a year, the Cleveland State University men's and women's swimming & diving teams both came away with victories over host Notre Dame (Ohio) Thursday inside Mellen Pool.

The CSU men cruised to a 209-53 win while the Viking women posted a 156-77 victory over the Falcons.

"It was a really good meet," head coach Hannah Burandt said. "It was so much fun to shake off the rust and race. There's a difference between swimming and racing. Our team has done a great job at swimming, but after all this adversity and everything we've been through, it was great to see them get out and race."

The CSU men won all 14 races contested Thursday and took both first and second place in 12 of the 14 races.

Senior Timothy Kubacki and freshman Bob Fick both won a pair of individual events and swam on at least one winning relay.

Fick swept the butterfly events, claiming the 200 in 1:52.49 and then winning the 100 in 49.96 seconds. He also swam the third leg on both the winning 200 medley and 400 freestyle relays for CSU, going a perfect 4-for-4 in first-place finishes in his collegiate debut.

Kubacki led off the winning medley relay (1:34.02) that also featured junior Griffin Manning and freshman Kenny Thomas. Kubacki then proceeded to win the 200 backstroke in 1:50.22 before finishing his day with a first-place showing in the 200 IM (1:55.29).

Thomas anchored the winning medley relay in his debut collegiate swim. He followed that up by winning his first individual event, taking the 100 backstroke in 51.33 seconds. After taking third in the 100 fly, Thomas led off the winning freestyle relay for CSU, a quartet that finished in 3:13.59.

Sophomore Nathen Eberhardt and freshman Aiden Morris joined Thomas in swimming on the winning freestyle relay and winning an individual event.

Eberhardt won the 200 freestyle (1:43.17) and took second in the 200 backstroke (1:57.15) before swimming the second leg on the free relay.

Morris won the 50 freestyle in his debut collegiate swim, finishing first in 22.33 seconds. He then took second in the 100 free (49.15) before anchoring the winning free relay.

After swimming the second leg on the winning medley relay, Manning won the 100 breaststroke in his first individual race as a Viking (58.31).

Junior Jack Krusinski joined three other CSU newcomers in adding an individual win Thursday.

Krusinski won the 200 breaststroke (2:04.48) while freshman Reno James won the 100 free in 48.59 seconds. Freshman Jake Taulbee (1000 free – 9:49.05) and sophomore transfer Spencer Tussing (500 free – 4:48.01) combined to sweep the distance events for the Vikings.

"Our guys put up some great swims, and we're working on figuring out what some of these guys' third event is going to be," Burandt said. "We saw some of our international swimmers competing in short-course yards for the first time, and it was really impressive to see what some of them did."

The Viking women were not far behind in matching the successes of their male counterparts as they won all but one race in which they entered.

Senior Sule van der Merwe and sophomore Rachel Contich both won two individual events and swam on a winning relay for CSU.

Van der Merwe was the first Viking to touch the wall this season as she led off the winning 200 medley relay with the fastest opening split. She then went on to win both the 200 backstroke (2:06.45), the event in which she broke the school record last season, and the 200 IM (2:13.70).

Contich began her day by winning the 200 freestyle (1:56.79) and then proceeded to win the 500 freestyle (5:13.55). She closed her afternoon by swimming the third leg on CSU's winning 400 freestyle relay.

Four other Viking women won an individual event and swam on a winning relay Thursday.

Sophia Davis and sophomore Hayley Rupp swam the second and third legs of the winning medley relay. Davis went on to win the 100 breaststroke (1:08.90) while Rupp topped the field in the 100 butterfly (1:02.47).

Meanwhile, sophomore Caroline Hughes and freshman Ana Sofia Sousa swam the fourth and second legs, respectively, of the winning freestyle relay. Sousa had won the 50 free earlier (26.55) while Hughes had finished first in the 100 backstroke (1:01.02).

Senior Irena Weclawiak was the lone Viking woman on both winning relays, anchoring the medley relay before leading off the free relay.

Senior Lexie Kostelnik (1000 freestyle – 10:47.21) and freshman Kellsie Krisch (200 breaststroke – 2:37.47) each added an individual event win Thursday.

"We've battled COVID and injuries, and for the women to step up and race—we saw some really shocking things, coming off all the things they've gone through," Burandt said. "They were assertive in their racing, and they should take so much confidence and pride in that. There was a level of racing that we hadn't even seen from some of them last year."

While the two victories were a nice way to start the season, Burandt was excited at what today meant and what it means going forward.

"I think every single swimmer in our program has a lot to be proud of, from top to bottom," Burandt said. "What my assistant coaches have done as leaders and communicators has been amazing as well, and we wouldn't be able to do it if it wasn't for every person in our program and every staff member. We're just grateful that we raced today."