Welcome to 20 Questions, a weekly feature with Notre Dame student-athletes. This week, we sat down with women’s swimmer Lisa Garcia. Lisa is a junior and a key member of this year’s team. Lisa qualified and swam in the 2002 NCAA Championships where she set a Notre Dame record in the 200 butterfly. Her performance last season earned her Honorable Mention All-American honors and she has set her eyes for this season on a return trip to the NCAA Championships and All-American honors.
1. Full Name: Elizabeth Louise Garcia
2. Birthdate: November 10, 1981
3. Hometown: Denver, Colorado
4. Major: Accounting
5. Hardest class: My 8:30 a.m. on the 3rd Floor of DeBartolo.
6. Favorite class: It’s too early in the semester to tell yet.
7. Favorite team to play against: Purdue, we always get fired up to swim them!
8. Biggest game of the season: Purdue, Indiana, and the upcoming Michigan meet (Saturday, February 1, at 2:00 p.m.)
9. Favorite Notre Dame athletic team (other than my own): Football
10. My greatest personal athletic moment: Qualifying for the NCAA’s last year.
11. The area I am working hardest to improve is: My mental toughness.
12. . My most embarrassing athletic moment at Notre Dame is: Freshmen year on the last day of the training trip I could not find my goggles, which were on top of my head so I put another pair on and dove in and started swimming with both pairs on, I still get teased about it!
13. The area I am working hardest to improve is: My mental toughness.
14. What are your plans for life after Notre Dame? I wish I knew! Hopefully an internship which will lead to a full-time job.
15. The thing I miss most about home is: My family and the Rocky Mountains.
16. What are your goals for this season? To be an All-American.
17. When I was younger. . . I sold the best lemonade in the neighborhood!
18. Who is your role model? My hometown swim coach and my parents.
19. If you were a cartoon character who would you be? Areil from the Little Mermaid.
20. What is the best advice that you have been given? Four short words sum up what has lifted most successful individuals above the crowd “A LITTLE BIT MORE.” They did all that was asked of them and a little bit more.
On successes thus far this season. . . Team wise, I think the team has really overcome some huge barriers. Through our loss and the tie against Indiana and Purdue, respectively, we have become more focused and determined to maintain the top status in the Big East. We have had some very fast times from several of the girls already and Big East is shaping up to be a very fast meet for us. Individually, I am very encouraged by season best times and consistent swims in each of my Big East events. I am looking forward to taper time in the next few weeks when I will fine-tune my strokes and sharpen my starts and turns in preparation for the Big East Championships.