This weekend, the Irish hit the road for their third road meet of the season, heading to Christianburg, Virginia, to take on Virginia Tech and Pittsburgh in a triple-dual meet Friday and Saturday.
The Irish (2-3) are coming off of a tough triple-dual meet loss to Purdue and Ohio State over Halloween weekend. Junior Catherine Mulquin said focus and preparation will be a deciding factor for the Irish this weekend.
“We have each challenged ourselves to focus on personal weaknesses and flaws we have become aware of over the first three meets of this season,” Mulquin said. “As a team, we have focused on acknowledging that we are physically prepared to race teams such as Pitt and Virginia Tech, so we have turned our mindset to focus more on racing strategies to be prepared for the tough racing we have ahead of us this weekend.”
Pittsburgh (2-1) will be racing in just its third event of the season, following a 187.5-107.5 victory over Bucknell on Oct. 24. Freshman Meghan Joram led the way for the Panthers in their last meet, collecting three individual first-place finishes in the 1,000-yard freestyle, 200-yard butterfly and 500-yard freestyle races. The Panthers’ only loss came in the first meet of the season in a head-to-head meet at conference rival Duke.
No. 24 Virginia Tech is off to a hot start in 2015 with a record of 5-1 thus far, having defeated Queens, Richmond, Maryland Baltimore County and Gardner-Webb last weekend. The Hokies’ sole loss came to nonconference opponent Penn State in the first meet of the season. Following the loss to Penn State and subsequent victory over West Virginia, freshman diver Ashlynn Peters was named ACC Diver of the Week.
Against Ohio State and Purdue, senior Lindsey Streepey finished in first-place in the one- and three-meter dives on the first day. The next morning, Streepey finished in third-place in the one-meter dive and in second-place in the three-meter dive.
Mulquin and freshman Sofia Revilak were the top performers off the block for the Irish in their loss to the Buckeyes and Boilermakers. Mulquin earned second-place honors in the 100-yard backstroke and finished fourth-place in the 100-yard freestyle. Revilak placed second in the 100-yard butterfly and fourth in the 50-yard freestyle. Freshman Alice Trueth also earned a second-place finish in the 200-yard backstroke.
The Irish struggled in the two-day meet against Purdue and Ohio State, Mulquin said, showing signs of fatigue Saturday morning following their action the previous evening. The same type of schedule will be in place against Virginia Tech and Pittsburgh as well, as the Irish will race on Friday at 5 p.m. and return to the pool again the next morning at 10 a.m.
“While swimming two days in a row is tough, it is most certainly not impossible. Beginning with last weekend's schedule of swimming two dual meets on Friday and Saturday, we have been preparing ourselves to be able to withstand the fatigue that comes with so much racing,” Mulquin said. “The best way we plan to combat that fatigue is through positive attitudes and simply having fun racing with teammates and for the University we all love.
“The team’s goals are to race with strength, power and confidence. Our hopes are to come out strong in the opening races of the meet to set us up with momentum that will lead us to an Irish victory,” Mulquin said.
The Irish travel to Virginia this weekend to take on ACC opponents Virginia Tech and Pittsburgh. They start at 5 p.m. Friday and again at 10 a.m. Saturday from the Christiansburg Aquatic Center.
