Jan. 12, 2008
NOTRE DAME, Ind. – The Notre Dame women’s swimming and diving team capped off a strong second session with two-top victories at the Notre Dame Invitational on Saturday morning at the Rolfs Aquatic Center.
Freshman Sam Maxwell dominated the field when she won the 100 breaststroke with a time of 1:03.99. The second-place finisher, Valeria Silva of Michigan, clocked in behind the Irish standout with a time of 1:04.28. Maxwell continues to be the top Notre Dame swimming the 100 breaststroke, leading the time with a season-best time of 1:02.48.
“We had a really hard training trip for our team this winter so it was good that I could help out anyway that I could,” Maxwell said. “It was a spark for the team and that was the best part about the race.”
Notre Dame’s second win of the morning came in the final event, the 800 freestyle relay. Claire Hutchinson started the Irish out in the lead leg, maintaining a top position throughout the initial 200 yards. Megan Farrell and Casey Wagner swam second and third, respectively, continuing to keep a lead spot for the Irish. It was during the final leg when Christa Riggins brought the Irish into the lead, winning the relay with a full body length lead on the competition. The Irish ended up taking the title with a time of 7:28.48.
“One of the highlights of the relay was Casey Wagner,” assistant coach Joel White said. “She had surgery on her shoulder this summer and it’s been a long road to recovery. Today you could really see she had some speed and looked back to her old self. That was really fun to see.
“Christa Riggins was so tired going into the race from previous races, but she had the fastest time on the relay. She really found a way to pull it all together and she gutted it out. These girls are really tough.”
The Notre Dame Invitational will wrap up this evening with the third and final session set to begin at 5 p.m. at the Rolfs Aquatic Center.
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