Notre Dame travels to the 58th annual Husky Invitational in Federal Way, Wash., today with hopes of earning qualifying time for the NCAA Championships at the end of the season. The diving team, meanwhile, will head to the Ohio State Invitational in Columbus, Ohio.
"Our main focus out in Washington this week will be to swim fast times so we can get more girls qualified for the NCAA Championship in March," head coach Carrie Nixon said.
This is Notre Dame's first appearance in the Husky Invitational, which will take place today through Saturday. The event follows the same format as the NCAA Championships, providing the team with some much-needed practice for the style and pace of that meet.
The Irish come into the weekend with a disappointing 1-5 dual-meet record. Their only win so far this season was at the Dennis Stark Relays earlier this year. But Nixon said the record is not indicative of her team's progress this year.
"The regular season is more for race practice and does not affect the final outcome," Nixon said. "It is great for team morale to win a meet, but what is important is getting fast times to qualify for the championships."
The field at the Husky Invitational consists of 10 squads, including USC, who the Irish lost to earlier this season.
Freshmen Sam Maxwell and Amywren Miller have been key competitors for the Irish, providing the team with high hopes for the future.
Two weeks ago, against Wisconsin and Northwestern, Maxwell finished with a time of 1:03.31 in the 100-yard breaststroke and a 2:15.65 mark in the 200-yard breaststroke. Both finishes were personal bests for her and season-bests for the Irish. Miller finished just behind her teammate with a 1:05.46 in the 100-yard breaststroke.
Other bright spots for the Irish have been freshman Lauren Parisi, who finished third in the 200-yard backstroke against Wisconsin and Northwestern with a time of 2:01.15, and junior Christa Riggins, who recorded a second-place finish of 51.15 seconds in the 100-yard freestyle in that same event.
The divers, who will attend the Ohio State Invitational, have been consistent performers all season. The field in Columbus will consist of 11 teams, including Minnesota and Purdue.
Sophomore Natalie Stitt and senior Laura Rings have been key contributors to the squad. Stitt holds the team's season-bests in both the one-meter and three-meter, with scores of 275.40 and 294.55, respectively.
The Irish had Thanksgiving week off after five straight weeks of competition.
