Feb. 10, 2017
By Sinhue Mendoza
NOTRE DAME, Indiana – The Notre Dame Fighting Irish have a busy weekend as the women’s team travels south to Atlanta for the 2017 ACC Swimming Championships, while a split squad heads to Columbus, Ohio, for the Ohio State Winter Invitational.
LAST TIME IN THE POOL
Last Saturday, the Fighting Irish took a bus trip down state for a dual meet with Ball State. Notre Dame broke several pool records on its way to a pair of victories. The men defeated the Cardinals, 148.5-82.5, and the women were victorious, 129-108.
2017 ACC CHAMPIONSHIP
After a successful regular season, the Irish women’s squad head to the most important competition of the season, the 2017 ACC Championships in Atlanta, Georgia. The team enters the championship with high expectations after closing the regular season with over 10 victories and a No. 24 national ranking in the CSCAA Coaches Poll.
ACC CHAMPIONSHIP PAGE
http://theacc.co/sdchamps
SCHEDULE OF EVENTS
http://theacc.co/sd17events
LIVE RESULTS
http://theacc.co/sd17livestats
ACC NETWORK EXTRA
ACC Network Extra will cover the 2017 ACC Women’s and Men’s Swimming and Diving Championships on February 14-16. Watch links are listed below for each day.
Tuesday, February 14 – http://es.pn/2jSSLIQ
Wednesday, February 15 – http://es.pn/2jTaxOQ
Thursday, February 16 – http://es.pn/2jAHz2T
ACC CHAMPIONSHIP FAN GUIDE
http://theacc.co/sd17fanguide
OSU WINTER INVITATIONAL
An Irish split squad will compete this weekend in the Ohio State Winter Invitational at the Bill and Mae McCorkle Aquatic Pavilion. The invite will observe the NCAA two-day championship meet format. The meet, which is the last of the regular season, will not be officially scored for team victories but athletes will earn placements. The competition essentially gives swimmers an opportunity to improve their times and offers a “last chance” at improving their qualifying times for the NCAA Championships. The team’s participating include Missouri, Cleveland State, Eastern Michigan, Kentucky, Louisville, Miami of Ohio, Pittsburgh, Purdue, Vanderbilt and Wright State. Saturday’s swimming gets started at 5 p.m. ET and Sunday’s racing begins at 4 p.m. ET.
COACH LITZINGER’S THOUGHTS
His feelings going into the ACC Championships next week?
“The team and our coaching staff feel very good heading into ACC Championships. We’ve done some tremendous work this season and raced almost every weekend. We’ve prepared well and now it’s time to put all of that experience into a great week together.”
On some of the work they put in this week in preparation for championship week…
“Our preparation or `tapering’ schedule is very different. We’ve cut down on the amount of yardage we do, increased our quality and sharpened our skills. The biggest key is getting our athletes rested, which is very difficult to do. Sleep and nutrition play a big role but being a student at Notre Dame is always demanding so finding that balance is important.”
On his expectations for his team …
“My expectations are simple. Perform, it’s what we train to do. I believe we’re a much more confident group and ready for the challenge. We still have some growing to do but we’ll find our place in this league, and of course, qualify as many individuals as possible for the NCAA Championships.”
On what he looks to focus on at the Ohio State Winter Invitational…
“The group heading to Ohio is looking to put a cap on their season with a championship level performance. This is their end-of-season meet and expectations are very high for them.”
FOLLOWING THE IRISH
Fans can follow this weekend’s OSU Winter Invitational through the . Saturday’s action gets started at 4 p.m. EST, while Sunday will begin at 5 p.m. ET.
Irish faithful can follow the team’s run through the ACC Championships in Atlanta through the ACC’s live link. and ACC Network Extra will cover the 2017 ACC Women’s and Men’s Swimming and Diving Championships on February 14-16.
Tuesday, February 14 – http://es.pn/2jSSLIQ
Wednesday, February 15 – http://es.pn/2jTaxOQ
Thursday, February 16 – http://es.pn/2jAHz2T
Supporters can also follow live results of the week’s action on both team Twitter accounts, @NDWSwimDive and @NDMensswimdive, with a complete recap posted to und.com at the conclusion of the meet.