Irish swimmers dominate Shamrock Classic
By COLLEEN MCCARTHY
Sports Writer
It has been hard for the women's swim team to find a competitor it didn't dominate.
At this weekend's Shamrock Classic meet, the swimmers confirmed they were the same Big East champs who crushed opponents for the title last weekend.
Notre Dame used the two-day meet as an opportunity for the swimmers who didn't compete at the Big East tournament.
Carrie Nixon and Shannon Suddarth didn't swim at the Classic. Yet the team captured victories in eight of 18 events on Saturday and all but two events during Sunday's competition, confirming the depth of the Irish squad.
"Generally, we were where we expected we would be in this meet," said Bailey Weathers, women's head swimming coach. "This was an important meet for some of the younger girls. They worked hard this season and I was pleased with their performance this weekend."
Freshman Lindsay Moorhead finished the weekend with three individual first-place finishes in the 200-yard freestyle, 100-yard backstroke and 200-yard individual medley. Taking home two individual titles was sophomore Brooke Davey who posted wins in the 100-yard freestyle and 50-yard freestyle.
"In general, we had some good swims," said Weathers. "This gives us a real good idea of where we are at. We're always trying to improve and we'll end this season like every season, trying to review things and plan better for next season."
The team also used the meet as a way to evaluate strengths and weaknesses heading into next season.
"We tried a number of different things this year and this gives us a better perspective of what worked and what didn't work, where our training is at and what we need to do different in the future as a team. And also what some individuals might need to do differently," said Weathers. "This was the first year that we went home over Christmas and New Year's for a longer time, which we did because of the millennium.
"It's an important time to be with family, but next year I think we need to go back to what we have normally done which is to come back sooner and train as a team."
Although the team had hoped to qualify more swimmers for the NCAA Championships in March, Weathers was pleased to have three members of the team participating in the March event.
"We would have liked to have positioned ourselves better," he said. "However, there is a lot of depth at the national level this year. It's a little disappointing for us, but it's not much different than last year although it's not as big of a team as we have sent in the past."
All Sports Stories for Monday, February 28, 2000
