Notre Dame swimming and diving collected three school records en route to a 16th-place finish in the 43-pool schools in the NCAA Championships. The Irish scored 55 points over the course of the weekend to obtain the highest finish in school history in the perennial college swimming event in the IUPUI Natatorium in Indianapolis, Ind.
Sophomore Emma Reaney led the team's efforts throughout the weekend, earning four All-America citations and finishing fifth in the 200-yard and 100-yard breaststroke events.
"I think that [our finish] shows a lot about the girls that were there and how far determination and hard work can get you," Reaney said. "We really wanted to prove ourselves on the national stage and I think we're beginning to do that."
Reaney was the only Irish swimmer to reach the finals, which feature the top eight swimmers in an event, and she did so in both the 200-yard and 100-yard breaststroke.
In the 200-yard breaststroke, Reaney placed fifth with a time of 2:06.77, which broke her previous school record set earlier in the season. She became just the third Irish swimmer or diver in program history to finish in the top five of an event at the NCAA Championships.
On Saturday, Reaney also took fifth in the 100-yard breaststroke with a time of 59.19, just 0.05 seconds behind third place.
"We have been working on the little things a lot and so I made sure to keep all those things in mind [during the race], Reaney said. "I've been counting strokes a lot more often than normal and consciously thinking about turns."
In addition to receiving All-America honors in those two events, Reaney also received All-America citations in the 200-yard individual medley and 400-yard medley relay.
Senior Kim Holden closed her Irish career by reaching the consolation finals in both the 200-yard backstroke and 400-yard medley relay. In the backstroke event, she placed fifth with a time of 1:54.29, good for 13th place overall. Her finish earned her Honorable Mention All-America honors, the first such accolades in her career.
Junior Kelly Ryan also earned All-America honors in the 200-yard backstroke with a 16th place finish overall in the event. In addition, she was a part of the 400-yard medley relay squad.
On the diving side, senior Jenny Chiang reached the consolation finals of the 3-meter diving event and finished 12th to receive the first All-America honors of her career as well.
After finishing second in the Big East to Louisville, and 16th out of 43 schools at the NCAA Championships, the Irish hope to continue their momentum going forward into next season.
"As far as recruiting, it will bring a lot of very fast girls to look at the team and school that probably wouldn't have otherwise," Reaney said. "It's great to watch this program grow and to be a part of it."
Contact Matt Unger at munger3@nd.edu
