Notre Dame got off to an encouraging start to its season, defeating three visiting teams at the Dennis Stark Relays Friday at Rolfs Aquatic Center.
The event honored former men's and women's head coach Dennis Stark, who was in attendance for the resounding Irish victory, as Notre Dame won 11 of the 12 events, with the one blemish coming on a disqualification.
Notre Dame finished the relays with 200 points. Illinois State (196), Valparaiso (118) and Saint Mary's (112) all finished behind the Irish.
Irish coach Brian Barnes said he saw many positive signs during his team's performance on Friday.
"I'm liking the direction and the attitude this team is displaying right now," he said to und.com. "It was good to watch the team compete in a tired state and still be tough.
Barnes said he was specifically pleased with the way his 200 meter medley team competed. Sophomores Kim Holden and Lauren Scott and seniors Amywren Miller and Samantha Maxwell combined for a time of 1:46.14, good enough for first place.
"[Holden, Scott, Miller and Maxwell] swam very tough together," he said.
The 200 free relay team also performed well, earning a meet record with its time of 1:35.19. The race was anchored by Miller, who capped off the race with a split time of 22.99.
Although the Irish performed strongly, Barnes stressed that the team still needs to improve.
"We're going to try to be much better in the next meet than we were tonight," Barnes said.
The Irish will get their chance in a battle against two top-20 Southeastern Conference opponents, when they travel south for a three team contest with Auburn and LSU.
"It's two weeks away, and we're going to continue to work hard," Barnes said. "We're going to show up down there better suited to compete than we were today. We're just a bit race-rusty."
