NOTRE DAME, Ind. — It’s a new era in the pool for the Irish, as Chris Lindauer takes over as the new Peterson Family Head Swimming Coach for Notre Dame this winter season alongside third-year diving coach Mark Bradshaw. Working with Lindauer will be four additional new coaches: Trevor Carroll, Kameron Chastain, Kelsi Dahlia and Josh Stanfield. All five newcomers have ACC experience, and four either swam or coached at Louisville.
In front of Lindauer and Co. is an exciting regular season slate, followed by both ACC Championships and NCAA Championships in March. The schedule was finalized on Friday.
The Irish start the season on the road at Pittsburgh, as the Panthers host both Notre Dame and Penn State for a two-day meet starting Oct. 21.
A home contest against Louisville is next on the list, as Lindauer faces his alma mater for his first home meet as the Notre Dame head swimming coach on Nov. 11. The Cardinals finished sixth (women) and 12th (men) at the NCAA meet last season, so the date will be a huge checkpoint for Notre Dame.
Invitationals are on the schedule just prior to the Thanksgiving holiday; swimmers will head to the Ohio State Fall Invitational in Columbus, Ohio, while divers will travel to Austin, Texas for the Texas Diving Invitational. Those meets will be an opportunity for the Notre Dame swimmers and divers to rest a bit for the first time this season and show their coaches how to adjust heading into the heart of the schedule.
To round out the 2022 calendar year, a group of Irish swimmers will head to the U.S. Open in North Carolina. The event is run by USA Swimming, and more than 30 athletes have already qualified.
Kicking off the new year is a non-conference matchup on the East Coast. Navy will welcome both Notre Dame and Princeton to town for a two-day tri-meet starting Jan. 13. Last year’s schedule had the three teams meeting at Princeton, but it was ultimately canceled.
Next, the Irish will see the Buckeyes for a second time in January, as the annual Tim Welsh Classic is back on the calendar for Jan. 27-28 in South Bend. Iowa State and Akron will also be in South Bend as college swimmers gear up for championship season.
The 2023 ACC Championships — for the men and the women — will be held in Greensboro, N.C., from Feb. 14-18. The women’s team will seek to better its sixth-place finish from last year, while the men are chasing a spot better than their eighth-place finish in March.
After the divers compete in the Zone C Meet in Bloomington, Ind. from March 9-11, the two teams will head to their respective NCAA Championships. The women go first, set to travel to Knoxville, Tenn., from March 15-18. The men follow the next weekend, heading to Minneapolis from March 22-25. Notre Dame had athletes at both meets last season, but both Lindauer and Bradshaw’s goals are to take bigger groups to the final meet and make a big impact.