NOTRE DAME, Ind. – The University of Notre Dame women’s swimming and diving team left campus Monday afternoon, traveling to Greensboro, N.C. for the 2016 ACC Championship meet. The meet starts Wednesday, February 17 and runs through Saturday, February 20 and is being held at the Greensboro Aquatic Center.
“Obviously we want to try and qualify for the NCAA Championships, as many people as we can get,” Irish head coach Mike Litzinger says. “More importantly, I want to win ‘our meet’ – and that doesn’t necessarily translate into winning the ACC meet. What we’ve talked about all year long in terms of execution, race plan, relying on each other as a team, there’s kind of a meet within the meet. And we want to be a breakout team – we may not necessarily be there yet in terms of a top-three finish, but we want to break out of ourselves. The women know what that means, and what it means for us is acting like a team, supporting each others’ performances, and excelling at the highest level that we’re capable of.”
Breaking Down the Irish
* Breakdown by Class: Representing the Irish in Greensboro are four seniors, three juniors, four sophomores and no less than nine freshmen. Led by captains Catherine Galletti (Oviedo, Fla. / Trinity Prep / Management Consulting/Psychology) and Catherine Mulquin (Laytonsville, Md. / Our Lady of Good Counsel / Accounting), the Irish hope to improve upon their sixth place finish at the 2015 meet.
* Stroke Specialists – Part One: Galletti leads a young but fast group of butterfly and sprint freestyle talent for the Irish. Paige Kaplan (Bellmore, N.Y. / John F. Kennedy / First Year of Studies), Ella Moynihan (Denver, Colo. / Arapahoe / First Year of Studies), Sofia Revilak (Mexico City, Mexico / Christa McAuliffe School of Arts & Sciences / First Year of Studies)and Nicole Smith (Munster, Ind. / Munster / First Year of Studies) are all swimming in the first ACC Championship meet of their careers.
* Stroke Specialists – Part Two: With Galletti leading butterfly and sprint freestyle, it would be remiss not to discuss Mulquin, who leads a developed corps of backstroke talent for the Irish. Junior Katie Miller (Copley, Ohio / Firestone / Mechanical Engineering) and freshmen Kyra Sarazen (North Hampton, N.H. / St. Thomas Aquinas / First Year of Studies) and Alice Treuth (Salisbury, Md. / James M. Bennett / First Year of Studies) will all look to advance into evening finals in the backstroke events, and in Miller’s case the IM races as well.
* Stroke Specialists – Part Three: Joining Miller in the IM races is senior Genevieve Bradford (Irvine, Calif. / Woodbridge / IT Management), Kaplan, Moynihan, Smith, and three breaststrokers. Junior Danielle Margeret (Solon, Ohio / Walsh Jesuit / Marketing) and sophomores Sherri McIntee (Carlsbad, Calif. / Carlsbad / Undecided) and Alyssa Storino(Trumbull, Conn. / Trumbull / Undecided) can all score points in either breaststroke or IM events. Meaghan O’Donnell (Wayne, N.J. / Wayne Valley / First Year of Studies) rounds out the breaststroke quartet for Notre Dame.
* Stroke Specialists – Part Four: While all 16 swimmers are capable of swimming middle-distance freestyle races, only two Irish entrants have regularly swum distance races for Notre Dame this season. Freshman Ellie Berdusco (Bradenton, Fla. / Saint Stephenson’s Episcopal School / First Year of Studies) and sophomore Molly Treble (Massapequa, N.Y. / Massapequa / Undecided) will compete this week for a chance to earn points in the 500 free and 1650 free.
* On The Boards: Nearing the end of their Irish careers are a pair of divers that have led the women’s diving team the past three seasons. Seniors Lindsey Streepey (Dallas, Texas / Highland Park / Marketing) and Emma Gaboury (Bloomfield Hills, Mich. / Marian / Science Pre-Professional) are joined by sophomore standout Annie Crea (The Woodlands, Texas / The Woodlands College Park / Undecided) and freshman Deidre Worth (The Woodlands, Texas / The Woodlands College Park / First Year of Studies). All four divers will compete in each of the three disciplines, 1-meter, 3-meter and platform.
Results and daily recaps of the meet will be available on und.com, but for instant, up-to-the-minute coverage of all things Notre Dame, be sure to give the team a follow on Twitter (@NDWSwimDive), Facebook and on the official Fighting Irish Snapchat account, NDIrish.
Swimming news courtesy of Notre Dame Swimming & Diving.