July 13, 2017
By Leigh Torbin
NOTRE DAME, Ind. – Matchups with six of last year’s final Top 25 teams highlight one of the most ambitious Notre Dame men’s and women’s swimming schedules as head coach Mike Litzinger unveiled the 2017-18 slate today. In October alone, the Irish will welcome No. 10 Louisville and Texas A&M (No. 9 for women and No. 22 for men) to the Rolfs Aquatic Center.
The Irish will travel to face Indiana (No. 4 men’s, No. 15 women’s) and Florida State (No. 21 men’s) in addition to competing a pair of invitationals at Ohio State before even getting to the ACC and NCAA Championships.
“This is without a doubt the most competitive schedule Notre Dame has had from top to bottom,” Litzinger said. “It is important for us to compete among the best week in and week out to help us continue our climb as an elite program.”
The Irish will play host to six events at the Rolfs Aquatic Center, beginning with the annual Dennis Stark Relays (Oct. 6) and continuing with Louisville (Oct. 7), Texas A&M and Michigan State (Oct. 13-14), Georgia Tech (Oct. 20), the Shamrock Invitational (Jan. 26-27) and Ball State and Green Bay (Feb. 3).
The season culminates with the ACC Championships in Greensboro, North Carolina (Feb. 14-17 for women and Feb. 21-24 for men) and the NCAA Championships (March 14-17 at Ohio State for women and March 21-24 at Minnesota for men).
Notre Dame aims to build off of a 2016-17 campaign which saw the Irish men finish at No. 19 nationally and the women at No. 24. Of the 17 student-athletes who competed in the NCAA Championships last year for the Irish, 14 return for this upcoming season.
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Leigh Torbin, athletics communications assistant director at the University of Notre Dame, has been part of the Fighting Irish athletics communications team since 2013. A native of Framingham, Massachusetts, Torbin graduated from the University of Massachusetts in 1998 with a bachelor’s degree in sports management. He has previously worked full-time on the athletic communications staffs at Vanderbilt, Florida, Connecticut and UCF.