Midway through Thursday night’s meet against Notre Dame, the No. 23 Northwestern women’s swimming team was in the lead — and NU coach Jimmy Tierney was not surprised.
But Tierney got a shock when the No. 18 Fighting Irish swept the Wildcats in the 500-yard freestyle, claiming the top three spots.
“That was the worst possible scenario for us,” Tierney said. “That put us in too much of a hole to get back out of. Distance swimmers as a whole weren’t very good today, and I don’t know why. But that wasn’t the only (disappointing event). We had some other close races that we should’ve been able to hang on to but we didn’t.”
With its strong all-around lineup, Notre Dame (9-1) went on to defeat the Cats 154-146 at the Norris Aquatic Center.
Tierney hoped his team’s national talent would counterbalance Notre Dame’s depth. Unfortunately for the Cats (2-6, 1-2), they just didn’t have enough swimmers.
In some races NU entered only two swimmers, Tierney said, so the team couldn’t vie for any extra points (the top five in each event score for their team). The Irish snatched the unclaimed points and placed first in eight races as well.
Complementing Notre Dame’s triumphs in the lap pool was an equally convincing performance in the diving well. This, too, contributed to the Cats’ demise.
“I knew we’d drop back behind with the diving,” Tierney said. “Our divers did a tremendous job, however. We just didn’t hold it up in the middle of the second half of the swimming events.”
NU divers Kristin Ward and Kristen Lorentz both qualified for the NCAA diving zone meet — the competition at which divers can qualify for the NCAA championships.
Despite the loss, NU freshman Erin Swenson said she was pleased with her performance. She tasted only victory against Notre Dame, winning the 100 and 200 free. The Missouri native was an integral part of NU’s first-place finishes in the 400 medley relay and the 400 free relay.
Swenson’s 100 time was her best of the season. Although she wasn’t satisfied with her time in the 200, Swenson said she was happy she swam a smart race.
“I feel (I fulfilled my role) tonight,” she said. “In our meet against Auburn and Tennessee I felt like I let the team down a little because I didn’t place that well. I just knew I wanted to come in here and race to have fun, and then it worked. I’m really happy because I felt like I was getting points for the team.”
Swenson is only one of many outstanding freshmen who have shined for NU.
“They’re super-valuable,” Tierney said. “It’s our deepest class. We can’t be successful without them being strong. We rely on them quite a bit, without a doubt.”
The Cats will have one final chance to improve their times before the postseason as they take on No. 14 Michigan (4-3, 4-1 Big Ten) on Saturday at the Norris Aquatic Center.
