By Dalton Ray–

With the regular season winding down, the men’s and women’s swimming and diving team secured two wins against Notre Dame and rival Kentucky. On senior day, the seventh-ranked men defeated No. 22 Notre Dame 171-129 and No. 10 women beat ND 160-140.

Coach Arthur Albiero had mixed emotions on senior day. Louisville celebrated the career of their 19 seniors.

“It was senior day, which is always special, especially with this group and really the four-year impact on a program. It’s hard to overlook that,” Albiero said. “More importantly, it’s bittersweet. These guys are part of our family here and I’m so proud of the men and women they have become and, obviously, as we finish this season here and put some great performances together, they were the leaders today.

“Senior day always brings a little bit of mixed emotions, so I think it took us a little bit to get going. But a win is a win against a good team.”

The women were led by one of the members celebrating their final match in the Ralph Wright Natatorium, Andrea Cottrell. The Ohio native won the 200 medley relay, 100 breast and 200 breast.

On the men’s side, Grigory Tarasevich and Carlos Claverie notched four wins each. Both helped win the 200 medley relay. Tarasevich won the 100 back, 200 back and 200 free relay. Claverie took home the 100 breast, 200 breast and 200 individual medley.

U of L traveled to Lexington the following day. The men defeated UK 176.5-123.5 while the women won 167-133. The win marks the eighth straight year the teams have swept Kentucky.

“We had a tough dual-meet last night against a good conference opponent in Notre Dame, and then to come back-to-back like this and get on the road, it’s a good challenge,” Albiero said. “It’s a good way for us to learn and really take some of the new things and be able to learn from it, and I think this is going to help us going forward to championship competition. This is a team win all the way. It took everybody’s effort.”

Trevor Carroll won three events in the 50, 100 and 200 free. Claverie also won three events in the 100 breast, 200 breast and 200 individual medley. For the women, Cottrell secured another two wins in the 100 and 200 breast.

With two meets left, Albiero enjoys where his team is at.

“The men are really senior heavy, they have been around and they’re experienced. They have lofty goals. We have high standards coming up for the ACC and NCAAs.        We’re aiming to put forward the best season we’ve had here,” Albiero said.

“For the women’s, the legacy last year’s class left was huge, so coming in we had some concerns but this class has stepped up and been great leaders. We have a balance with the women, which means we have a bit of a learning curve but the camaraderie is really great.”

Photo by Dalton Ray / The Louisville Cardinal