Notre Dame's dominance over Utah this weekend was not limited to a victory on the football field. In a convincing performance, the Irish rolled past the Utes 185.5-112.5 Friday at the Rolfs Aquatic Center.
Notre Dame earned 11 individual wins and one relay victory during the final dual meet of the year. Sophomore diver Jenny Chiang earned two gold medals in the 1-meter and 3-meter dives, while senior Samantha Maxwell also took two golds in the 100-yard and 200-yard breaststroke. Sophomore Kim Holden rounded out the victories with a pair of golds in the 100-yard and 200-yard backstroke.
The bleachers were entirely full for the meet, as fans for both Utah (3-1) and Notre Dame (2-3) came out in strong numbers to cheer on their respective teams. Maxwell that she enjoyed swimming in front of the enthusiastic crowd.
"Having the stands absolutely packed made a fun racing environment, and it was awesome to be able to pull out a win on parents' weekend," Maxwell said. "It helped bring the level of competition up a notch."
Maxwell was encouraged by the progress shown by freshman Lauren Stauder, who earned second place in the 100-yard breaststroke.
"I was so extremely impressed with Lauren Stauder's swims against Utah," Maxwell said. "She came into the meet and dropped a lot of time from her in-season performances so far this year. It's always awesome to see a teammate's hard work pay off at a meet."
The Irish compete next in the U.S. Nationals in Columbus, Ohio, from Dec. 2-4. Maxwell believes that the win over Utah positioned the Irish well for the nationals invitational.
"I think each swimmer on our team was able to learn something from this meet that will help them individually at Nationals," Maxwell said. "The meet against Utah also helped put us on a high note going into Nationals, which is always a plus."
