Nov. 10, 2011
NOTRE DAME, Ind. – The Notre Dame women’s swimming and diving team closes out its November road trip this Saturday when they dual with BIG EAST rival Louisville in an 11 a.m. meet at Ralph Wright Natatorium.
“We are excited about this meet,” said head coach Brian Barnes. “It is always fun to dual with Louisville. It should be competitive as always. The team will have to stay focused on what they can control and dial in on what they need to do and not worry about the crowd or what Louisville is doing.”
The Cardinals (2-1) have topped Xavier (190-67) and rival Pittsburgh (193-102) on the young season, while dropping a meet to Southeastern Conference member Tennessee.
The Irish (3-2) are coming off a 168-131 loss to Purdue last Friday. Notre Dame picked up six victories on the evening from six different performers. Three talented freshmen continued their strong rookie campaigns as Allison Casareto (3-meter dive), Bridget Casey (200 fly) and Emma Reaney (200 IM) all won events. Also winning events were veterans Jenny Chiang (1-meter dive), Kelly Ryan (200 back) and Lauren Stauder (200 breast).
Reaney has won a pair of 200 IM titles on the season, while Casey picked up her third 200 fly win. Casareto and Chiang have gone 1-2 in the 3-meter dive three times this season, with Casareto taking two victories. In the 1-meter dive, the duo has earned first and second twice, while Chiang has won four times in the event. Ryan remains undefeated in backstroke races this season.
The two teams have a spirited past, as the 2011 Cardinals became the first team that wasn’t Notre Dame to win the BIG EAST crown since 1996. Louisville, swimming in front of its home crowd, totaled 820.5 points, outdistancing the second-place Irish (655.5 points) to win the title. They haven’t met in the regular season since 2010, when the Cardinals knocked off the Irish at Rolfs in a tight meet, 154-146.
Fans will be able follow the meet via live stats, with a link available on UND.com by the day of competition.
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