Before Notre Dame battles Utah on the gridiron Saturday, the two schools will meet Friday at the Rolfs Aquatic Center for a showdown in the pool.
Notre Dame will be looking to rebound from a narrow defeat last weekend against Purdue, in which the meet was decided in the final relay. Senior leader Samantha Maxwell hopes the team can make an important mental adjustment coming off the loss to the Boilermakers for the Utah meet.
"When we swam Purdue last week, they came at us from the very start," Maxwell said. "Going into Utah we need to make sure that as a team we are engaged in every race, whether we are physically swimming the race, or cheering on a teammate."
Maxwell and the Irish are looking forward to a challenging meet against the Utes, which will be the final dual meet for Notre Dame as well as parent's weekend.
"Utah should be exceptional competition for us," Maxwell said. "They have some very talented swimmers on their squad that are coming to race for a win. It should be a fun meet to compete in and our team is excited to host them on our parents' weekend."
The team focused on team unity this week in practice. Maxwell stressed that team cohesion will help the Irish as a unit during meets.
"Our focus this week has been on training hard and backing each other up in workouts," Maxwell said. "If we are able to invest in each other's training, we will be invested in each other's swims at our meets. It is important for everybody to be involved in their teammate's swims, helping them through challenges and celebrating their successes."
The meet begins Friday at 5 p.m. at Rolfs Aquatic Center.
