Jan. 18, 2008
NOTRE DAME, Ind. – Coming off a home win last Saturday against Oakland, the University of Notre Dame men’s swimming and diving team will remain in the friendly confines of the Rolfs Aquatic Center as they welcome BIG EAST Conference opponent Louisville on Jan. 18. The teams will hit the water at 5 p.m. (ET).
Notre Dame, who is a 3-4 in dual meets this season, has downed the Cardinals in each of the team’s previous four meetings.
“With both of these meets falling within a 24-hour span, it will be one of the most intense weekends of competition for us so far this season,” said Irish head coach Tim Welsh. “Louisville has had an outstanding season, as they lead the conference with top times in several individual and all the of the relay events. You could make a case in saying that this meet between Notre Dame and Louisville might be as good a men’s meet as there is in the league this season. But dial it up – it’s going to be fast.”
Both the Irish and Northwestern are receiving votes in the latest CollegeSwimming.com poll. Northwestern is coming off a split-squad weekend that saw eight Wildcat swimmers and one diver finish third in their respective events among the four-team field during the Classic at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas, last week. The Wildcats finished the 2006-07 season ranked 6th nationally.
“Our matchups with Northwestern have been very competitive over the past several years,” continued Welsh. “Like most teams, they’re better at home than on the road. The goal for this weekend is to swim fast on Friday, drive to Chicago and swim fast there as well. That’s what we’re going to set out to do, and I know we’ll do it.”
Saturday’s meet between Notre Dame and Northwestern begins at 3 p.m. (ET).
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