The No. 24 Irish did not reach the finals in the 2017 NCAA women’s championships at Indiana University Natatorium, but the squad arrived back in South Bend with multiple new school records and an All-American honor for senior Catherine Mulquin.
In the first day of competition, Notre Dame surpassed two current school records in the 200-meter freestyle relay and the 400-meter medley relay. The 200-meter freestyle relay was the first race of the meet, with freshmen Katie Smith, Abbie Dolan, sophomore Sofia Revilak and Mulquin clocking in at 1:28.93 to break the record the four swimmers had established earlier this season. The foursome was one spot away from reaching the evening’s finals, finishing 17th. The 400-meter medley relay record of 3:33.93 from 2014 was bested by the quartet of Mulquin, sophomore Meaghan O’Donnell, freshman Erin Sheehan and Dolan with a time of 3:33.38.
The team’s success carried into Friday when Mulquin received an honorable mention on second day of the NCAA championships. She earned 15th place in the 100-meter backstroke preliminary with a time of 51.72 and then competed in the consolation final later in the evening, clocking in at 51.89 and snagging sixth place. Additionally, Dolan had a top-25 performance in the 200-meter freestyle and Mulquin, O’Donnell, sophomores Nicole Smith and Katie Smith took 18th in the 200-meter medley relay with a time of 1:37.60.
With the third day came another broken school record after sophomore Alice Treuth topped the previous Irish record in the 200-meter backstroke. She beat the 2013 time of 1:53.57 after coming in at 1:53.45. The final Notre Dame relay of the championships was the 400-meter freestyle relay swam by Dolan, Mulquin, Revilak and Katie Smith. The foursome tapped the wall at 3:16.76 and claimed 22nd place.
The No. 19 Notre Dame men’s program will travel to Indianapolis to compete in the 2017 NCAA men’s championships, beginning Wednesday. Eight swimmers will be competing for the Irish.
