Nov. 19, 2015
– By Lizzie Mikes
NOTRE DAME, Ind. – The University of Notre Dame men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams will be competing Friday through Sunday, Nov. 20-22nd at the Purdue Invitational. Joining them will be men’s and women’s teams from Missouri State, Southern Illinois and Wyoming, as well as women’s squads from the Air Force Academy, Florida International and San Diego.
“This is a great opportunity for us to compete in an event that features prelims and finals races,” women’s head coach Mike Litzinger says. “Our team has the chance to race against some great competition, and rehearse for our championship preparation.”
“We are excited to pull all of this semester’s hard work together in the pool this weekend,” men’s head coach Matt Tallman states. “We are definitely a faster team today than we were in September. It’s time to show that, and end the fall on a high note. These guys are ready to go.”
In the latest CollegeSwimming.com polls, the Irish women’s team is ranked 37th. After winning their first meet of the season at home, the Irish went 1-1 in their next two dual meets, losing to Florida Gulf Coast 158-104 but beating Michigan State 158-80.
The men’s team, ranked 39th in the CollegeSwimming.com polls, also won the Dennis Stark Relays October 9, and followed up the women’s performance by beating the Spartans 174-69. They lost to Virginia Tech 237-131 but beat Pittsburgh in a double-dual meet, 214-150. They hold a 2-1 record heading into this weekend’s meet.
MEET INFORMATION
Each day, a prelims session begins at 10 a.m. ET, with a finals session starting at 6 p.m. Sunday, the final swimming session begins at 4 p.m. The top 32 swimmers from the morning prelims will advance to the evening finals, with points available to the top 16 swimmers in the A and B finals. In diving, the top eight divers in the springboard events will advance. All relays, platform diving and the 1650 free are finals-only events, taking place in the evening. Live stats for swimming will be available , with scores for diving available here.
PURDUE INVITATIONAL HISTORY
– The Boilermakers are hosting the Purdue Invitational as a co-ed meet for the sixth time in the last decade. It was also held in November of 2005, 2007, 2009, 2010 and 2012.
– Missouri State and Southern Illinois have been regulars at the Purdue Invitational over the last decade. MSU has participated every time the meet has been held, dating back to 2005. SIU missed only the 2009 edition. In 2003 when it was a men’s only meet, SIU and Wyoming were both among the field.
— ND —
Lizzie Mikes serves as Media Services Coordinator at the University of Notre Dame. A 2013 graduate of Johnson & Wales University, she oversees credential management and is the athletic communications director for Fighting Irish men’s and women’s swimming and diving. She has assisted with numerous NCAA postseason events hosted by Notre Dame, and is heavily involved in the day-to-day tasks of the athletic communications office.