Jan. 27, 2007
NOTRE DAME, Ind.- The No. 19 Notre Dame women’s swimming and diving team had a solid final day at the Shamrock Invitational on Saturday, Jan. 27 at the Rolfs Aquatic Center. The Irish defeated three of the four invited teams to improve their record to 7-1 this season. Notre Dame defeated Oakland (310-54), Connecticut (293-76) and West Virginia (222.50-147.50) and fell to No. 15 Penn State (213.50-156.50).
Seniors Katie Carroll (Toledo, Ohio/Notre Dame Academy) and Julia Quinn (Evanston, Ill./Evanston), both swimming for the final time at the Rolfs Aquatic Center, exited in style by setting pool records. Carroll smashed her previous pool record by over ten seconds in the 1,650-yard freestyle with her time of 16.27.48. The mark is also the third fastest time an Irish swimmer has ever registered in the event and Carroll’s career best. Quinn also swam well with a new pool record in the 200-yard breaststroke. Quinn’s mark of 2:16.26 broke the previous mark set by Julia Hardy in 2005. The time was also a season-best for Quinn.
The Irish had five second-place finishes on the final day. Carroll finished second in the 400-yard IM with a time of 4:18.71. Christa Riggins (Phoenix, Ariz./Sunnyslope) placed second in both the 100-yard freestyle (51.72) and the 200-yard freestyle (1:51.45). Quinn was the runner-up in the 100-yard breaststroke (1:04.08), while Caroline Johnson (Springfield, Mo./Glendale) took home second in the 100-yard backstroke (56.94).
The Irish 200-yard medley relay team of Caroline Johnson, Quinn, Jessica Stephens (Bloomsburg, Pa./Bloomsburg) and Rebecca Grove (White Plains, N.Y./White Plains) finished third (1:45.16). Teammates Stacey Nedrud (Melbourne Beach, Fla./Cocoa Beach), Vivian Healey (New York, N.Y./Stuyvesant), Ann Barton (Scottsdale, Ariz./Desert Mountain) and Riggins finished just behind them in fourth with a time of 1:48.24. Stephens also had an individual third-place finish for the Irish in the 100-yard butterfly (57.26). The 400-yard free relay team of Caroline Johnson, Riggins, Katie Guida (Alexandria, Va./Georgetown Visitation Prep) and Megan Farrell (Hopkinton, Mass./Hopkinton) also placed third with their time of 3:30.27. Carroll completed her busy meet with an individual third-place finish in the 200-yard butterfly (2:01.93).
For the divers, Natalie Stitt (Holland, Mich./West Ottawa) led the squad with a second-place finish in the one-meter diving event and totaled 260.30 points.
One other performance of note was the West Virginia women setting a pool record in the 200-yard medley relay with their time of 1:43.32, besting the record set by Michigan in 1998.
Next, the Fighting Irish wrap up the regular season and head to Louisville to battle against the Cardinals on Saturday, Feb. 3 starting at noon.