Sept. 14, 2009
2009-10 Women’s Swimming and Diving Schedule 
NOTRE DAME, Ind. – Notre Dame head coach Brian Barnes recently put the final touches on the Irish swimming and diving program’s 2009-10 schedule. Five home meets and trips to a pair of Big Ten schools highlight the slate.
“The road to the NCAA Championships in March is a process, and all of these meets along with our training trip are part of that process,” Barnes said. “We’ve put together a competitive schedule that should help us achieve several goals, including defending our BIG EAST Championship and sending even more participants to the NCAA Championships.”
Notre Dame opens with the 26th edition of the Dennis Stark Relays (Oct. 9) at the Rolfs Aquatic Center and hosts Michigan one day later.
Trips to Purdue (Nov. 6) and Indiana’s Hoosierland Invite (Nov. 20-22) round out the fall portion of the schedule.
The Irish will head to Hawaii for the program’s annual winter training trip Dec. 28-Jan. 8 but will have little time to rest as Northwestern comes to town on Jan. 9.
Senior Day ceremonies are scheduled for the Jan. 16 home meet against Louisville, and the Shamrock Invitational (Jan. 29-30) is the final meet of the regular season.
The 2010 BIG EAST Conference Diving Championships will take place Feb. 12-14 in Pittsburgh, Pa., while the swimming events run from Feb. 17-20.
Purdue will host the NCAA Zone Diving Championships (March 12-13) and the NCAA Swimming and Diving Championships (March 18-20).
The Irish put the finishing touches on their 13th consecutive BIG EAST title last February to extend the league’s longest championship winning streak in any sport. In all, Notre Dame broke 11 school records at the four-day meet. Notre Dame went 6-3 during the dual meet portion of its 2008-09 schedule and received votes in the final CSCAA top 25 poll.
Barnes was honored as the BIG EAST Coach of the Year and Caiming Xie took away the league’s hardware as the top diving coach. Natalie Stitt was handed the meet’s award as the top female diver after claiming the individual title off the 1- and 3-meter boards.
Samantha Maxwell, Amywren Miller and Stitt represented the Irish at the 2009 NCAA Championships, scoring 19 points as the team finished 31st overall.
Maxwell turned in a top-10 finish during the preliminary session of the 100 Breast at the NCAA Championships. Her 59.73 performance broke her own school record and was the first sub-1:00.00 mark recorded in program history. Maxwell placed sixth in the finals with a 59.44 to reset the school record and earn her first All-America accolade.
–ND–