Jan. 15, 2015
NOTRE DAME, Ind. – The University of Notre Dame men’s swimming and diving program has met it’s share of Big Ten swim teams this season – first hosting Purdue, then traveling to Michigan State, Iowa and Michigan. This weekend, the Irish close out the road portion of their remaining season with another Big Ten foe, traveling to Madison, Wis. to face the Badgers. Indiana will also be swimming at the weekend meet, but will not be a scoring foe for the Irish.
“Wisconsin is pretty similar to us as a team – they have a good quality guy or two at each position, so this will be a competitive meet for us,” head coach Matt Tallman says. “We don’t have any `safe spots’, we’re evenly matched in almost every event with them.”
Last weekend the Irish were swept by Northwestern and Michigan, but with several of his swimmers battling the flu, Tallman is not concerned about the losses.
“We’re focused on racing, and getting ready for ACC Championships at the end of next month,” states Tallman. “Certainly our depth due to illness will play a role this weekend, but as far as creating a lineup, we’ll see what happens.”
The Irish have six swimmers with NCAA B-cut times already, and five of their six divers have qualified to compete at NCAA Zones in Columbus, Ohio in March. For those swimmers making the trip to Madison, Tallman has one plan for them.
“For our guys that are making the trip, I want them to show signs of life; I want them to show that the training they’ve done, and are continuing to do is paying off,” he explains.
The Irish will start the meet Friday evening at 5:00 p.m. CT, pickup up where they leave off Saturday morning at 10 am. Results can be found on Meet Mobile, and the team’s social media accounts will be updated periodically.
Lizzie Mikes,
Media Services Coordinator
–ND–