The visiting Boilermakers barely squeaked out a win Saturday when one event decided their 155-145 victory over the Irish at Notre Dame's Rolfs Aquatic Center.
The meet came down to the 200-meter medley relay, which would have resulted in a tie had the Irish won.
The Boilermakers' strong start in the race was too much for the Irish to overcome, however, and Notre Dame's 1:33.37 time came just behind Purdue's 1:33.04 finish.
"We have been in this situation too many times over the past few years and have ended up on the losing side of things so we really wanted to close the meet with the win," Irish senior Kellyn Kuhlke said. "Everyone was excited, ready to go, and wanted to get it done. We fought throughout the meet to avoid the situation, so we were disappointed we found ourselves in that situation again."
Seniors Katie Casey and Samantha Maxwell led the Irish with two individual wins each. Casey took gold in 100- and 200- meter butterfly. Maxwell came in first in the 100- and 200-meter breaststroke.
The Irish took first place in three other events against the No. 22 Boilermakers. Senior Amywren Miller won the 50-meter freestyle in 23.26 seconds. Sophomore Kim Holden took gold in the 200-meter backstroke after overtaking her Boilermaker opponent in the third 50-meter lap. The Irish also won the 200-meter medley relay in 1:43.40.
"Everyone was engaged and involved in their teammates' performance throughout the entire meet, so we were fighting for the win together as a team," Kuhlke said. "We also had some people swim best times, which is generally atypical at this point in the season."
Kuhlke said the close loss reminded the Irish of how important every race is towards the end of a tight match.
"One of the things we have been focusing on this season is getting more involved in each other's performance, and I think we definitely took a huge step toward accomplishing that goal yesterday," Kuhlke said. "I think we learned how much of a difference it can make and how important it is going forward. It also reminded us that it's a total team effort and every point counts, so from start to finish we need to have strong performances."
Next, the Irish will take on visiting Utah at Rolfs Aquatic Center, this Friday at 5 p.m.
