Notre Dame swimmers look to finish their last home meet of the season on top as the Irish host the Shamrock Invitational on Friday and Saturday at Rolfs Aquatic Center.
The Irish welcome Wisconsin, Grand Canyon University, Nebraska, Missouri State and Clemson for the invite.
The Irish have momentum going into this invitational after learning more about themselves from last week’s meets in Indianapolis, according to head coach Mike Litzinger. The Irish are coming off of a close loss to No. 7 Louisville while also picking up two victories over IUPUI and Indiana State.
Litzinger told his team that this invitational will be a rehearsal for what it can expect when it competes for both the ACC and NCAA championships.
“The Shamrock Invitational will have three meets in 24 hours [Friday night, Saturday morning and Saturday night] and we’re going to use this invitational as a rehearsal for the upcoming ACC and NCAA championships,” Litzinger said. “Our goal is to continue to be competitive in each meet and build up confidence going forward.”
Litzinger will be keeping a close eye on a pair of freshmen women swimmers as they will be one of the keys to success in the Shamrock Invitational.
“Freshman Abbie Dolan from Minnesota is one swimmer to keep an eye on,” Litzinger said. “Abbie will be tough to face in the 200 freestyle and I expect her to do well.”
“Another swimmer to keep an eye on is Irish freshman Kelly Jacob. Kelly will also be involved in the freestyles as well.”
Jacob was a two-time USA Swimming Scholastic All-American at Lake Country high school back in Oconomowoc, Wisconsin.
For the men’s team, Litzinger is excited to see how the freestyle relay team does in this invitational.
“The guys in the freestyle are lightning fast and will be tough to compete with,” said Litzinger. “They are the fastest group on our team and will also be one of the keys to our success in these meets.”
Litzinger also stated the team learned many valuable lessons from its last outing in Indianapolis and will look to build on those lessons in the Shamrock Innovational.
“I was saying that our team needs to gain confidence and not be intimidated by the teams that we face,” Litzinger said. “We need to race hard and be very competitive in each meet that we’re in.”
Notre Dame will look to start off on the right foot at the Shamrock Invitational on Friday at 5 p.m. at Rolfs Aquatic Center.
