Irish splash past fatigue, win consecutive dual meets
By ANDREW SOUKUP
Sports Writer
If the Notre Dame women's swimming team was tired, they didn't show it.
Just 24 hours after edging No. 23 Northwestern 154-146 Thursday night, Notre Dame turned around and upset No. 14 Michigan 157-143 on Friday afternoon to finish the dual meet season 10-1.
"In all the time I've been here, I don't think we've ever had two meets that tough even within a week," said Notre Dame head coach Bailey Weathers. "To have two meets that tough back-to-back and win both is just incredible."
Junior Kelly Hecking led the way for the Irish with a pair of victories against Michigan in the 100-yard and 200-yard backstroke. Her times of 56.01 seconds in the 100 backstroke and 2:00.32 in the 200-yard backstroke were among her fastest performances of the year.
"I think she's really, really excited about where she is at this point in the season," said Weathers. "Kelly's started to shift her focus from Big Easts to seeing what she can do at NCAAs."
Against Northwestern, Hecking was equally as dominant. She swam a personal best 56.0 in the 100-yard backstroke and a 2:00.47 in the 200-yard backstroke, chopping nearly three seconds of her previous best. Hecking would eclipse the mark a day later against Michigan.
Freshman Marie Labosky also had a tremendous weekend by taking home five individual victories. She won the 1,000-yard freestyle against both Michigan and Northwestern — her time of 10:03.16 against the Wildcats is her best performance of the season.
Labosky also took first in the 200-yard individual medley and the 500-yard freestyle against Northwestern, and she won the 400-yard individual medley against Michigan.
The freshman also took second place in the 500-yard freestyle against the Wolverines — her NCAA qualifying time of 4:53.49 was just five hundredths of a second of first and nearly four seconds faster than her time against Northwestern.
"I think Marie made a tactical error in the 500, one that probably cost her the race," said Weathers. "She went out a little early. But she still had a great race."
Junior Heather Mattingly won all four diving events. Her 324.67 point total against Michigan was an NCAA-qualifying mark. Mattingly has now won six consecutive diving events.
"Heather's been solid for us all year," said Weathers. "When you compete against two Big Ten teams and win four boards, it's a great effort."
The Irish used two completely different strategies to knock of Northwestern and Michigan. Against the Wildcats, they relied on their depth to take crucial second and third place positions away from Northwestern. However, against the Wolverines, the Irish recorded four NCAA-qualifying performances and captured10 out of 16 first place spots.
Notre Dame counted on its depth to stay ahead of Northwestern, especially in the early events. Although the Wildcats took first in the 200-yard freestyle, the 100-yard breaststroke, and the 100-yard butterfly, the Irish managed to secure enough places to still outscore the Wildcats.
In the 200-yard freestyle, Lindsay Moorhead, Brenda Reilly, and Kristen Van Saun took second through fourth place. Laurie Musgrave and Allison Lloyd captured second and third in the 100-yard breaststroke, while Lisa Garcia and Sarah Bowman took second and third in the 100 butterfly.
The Irish dominated Michigan in part because they took the top two places in multiple events, allowing them to build an early lead. Van Saun followed Labosky in the 1,000-yard freestyle, while Musgrave and Lloyd took first and second in the 100-yard breaststroke.
In the 100-yard butterfly, Notre Dame went one-two-three as Amy Deger, Lisa D'Olier, and Garcia picked up crucial points for the Irish. Later, Musgrave also won the 200-yard breaststroke.
"Amy was probably the biggest shock," said Weathers. "She really struggled on Thursday, and then on Friday, two of her races were lifetime bests."
The Irish put an exclamation point on an outstanding weekend by taking the top three places in the 400-yard individual medley when Labosky, Deger, and Tiffany O'Brien secured the Notre Dame victory.
The Irish have three weeks without any competitions scheduled before they travel to New York for the Big East Championships. Notre Dame has won the last four conference titles.
"The key for us now is rest," said Weathers. "We really have to individualize workouts now. You end up every day with a different workout for everyone."
All Sports Stories for Monday, January 29, 2001
