After a strong performance at the Virginia Invite last weekend, the No. 17 Irish hope to carry their momentum across the country when they participate in a double-dual regatta against No. 5 USC and No. 11 Stanford this weekend.
Senior Morgan Kelley said travelling to California would be a challenge. However, she said if the team carries the right mindset into the event, they should have success.
"Our approach going into this weekend's races with Stanford and USC is to stay internal," Kelley said. "Although they're two very fast teams, and are currently ranked ahead of us, we just need to stay calm, cool, and collected and realize that we have a lot of speed as well."
Stanford and USC have fast boats up and down their roster, and their depth will provide a stern test for the Irish.
"As long as we're internally focused on making our boat go as fast as possible, I think we can definitely give these other crews a run for their money," Kelley said. "All three of these teams have a lot of speed, and have always been known for putting some really fast boating lineups on the water."
Michigan State will also be participating in the regatta. Although Notre Dame will not go up against the Spartans head-to-head, Kelley said the Irish still hope to register faster times.
"We won't be racing Michigan State this weekend directly, but our times will still be compared against theirs for NCAA rankings. The idea is to put up times that are faster than State's," Kelley said. "The key is having better margins against Stanford and USC than Michigan State's margins."
The regatta will take place Saturday in Redwood Shores, Calif.
Contact Joe Wirth at jwirth@nd.edu
