In a competition-packed weekend for Notre Dame, the Irish beat Michigan State on Friday before falling to Purdue and Ohio State in a triple-dual meet Saturday afternoon.
The Irish hosted their Pink Meet Friday night to fundraise for River Bend Cancer Services. At the meet, Notre Dame defeated regional rival Michigan State, 158-80.
The Irish won nearly every event behind strong performances from junior Katie Miller and freshman Nicole Smith. Miller and Smith finished with times of 4:23.61 and 4:30.70, respectively, in the 400 individual medley. Senior Lindsey Streepey led the way for the Irish in diving with a 1-meter score of 294.00 and a 3-meter score of 332.80. The Irish also dominated the relays, with the A-team of juniors Catherine Mulquin and Danielle Margheret, senior Catherine Galletti and freshman Sofia Revilak posting a time of 3:46.78. The B-team of freshmen Alice Treuth, Meaghan O'Donnell and Nicole Smith and junior Elizabeth House finished second with a time of 3:51.63.
The Irish jumped right back in the water Saturday to compete against the Boilermakers and Buckeyes in a triple-dual meet, hosted by Purdue. Despite the Irish's strong performance Friday, Purdue edged the Notre Dame with a 169-123 victory, while Ohio State finished ahead of both teams, 176-113.
"It was an important weekend for us to learn how to properly respond to back-to-back competition," Notre Dame head coach Mike Litzinger said. "We matched up well with Michigan State and were able to take a lead, then be confident in building it. At Purdue, it was the opposite. Ohio State and Purdue came out of the gate very strong, and put early pressure on us. The response was varied, and we climbed back a bit, but we needed to step forward with more confidence."
Despite the pair of losses Saturday, the Irish had good performances across the board. Mulquin finished second in the 100-yard backstroke (55.76) and fourth in the 100-yard freestyle (51.56), while Treuth placed second in the 200-yard backstroke with a time of 1:59.56. Revilak followed suit with a fourth-place finish in the 50-yard freestyle (23.92) and second-place time in the 100-yard butterfly (56.00). Streepey also had a strong diving performance for the Irish, finishing third in the 1-meter with a score of 283.20 and second in the 3-meter with a score of 300.35.
"I really enjoyed watching Lindsey Streepey compete in her diving events," Litzinger said. "She has the potential to do well for us down the line. Catherine Mulquin and fellow junior Katie Miller stepped forward and [also] raced well this weekend. Freshman Alice Treuth is poised to do well, as she is consistently putting some great backstroke swims together."
The Irish next head to Christiansburg, Virginia, where Notre Dame will participate in a two-day meet against Pittsburgh and Virginia Tech. The meet is set to begin Friday at 5 p.m. and then open Saturday morning at 10 a.m. at the Christiansburg Aquatics Center.
