Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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BLUEGOLDONLINE.COM MARCH 2025 93 "Everyone is an inspiration to some- one," she said, "whether they know it or not." Humble and selfless, Cronk prefers to recognize the people who helped her reach this place, rather than celebrating her growing achievement list. "My family's support has been one of the most important factors in my development as a student-athlete," Cronk said. "They have never once doubted me. And their support and belief in me has helped grow my own belief in myself." Raised in a household with three older siblings, all of whom swam competi- tively, Cronk needed to sink or swim to keep up when she took to the water for the first time at about age 4. "Their experience and support has helped me immensely," Cronk shared of her siblings. "If I ever feel like I need help with anything, I know I can call anyone in my family and they will be able to help me. Knowing my family is always there is the best feeling. Their support has inspired me more than they could ever imagine." NEW CHALLENGES A long way from home, and in new surroundings — while facing the intense demands of being a Fighting Irish stu- dent-athlete — Cronk freely admits to feeling overwhelmed at times. "It's been somewhat of a roller coaster," she said. And understandably so. A typi- cal busy day in the life starts with a 90-minute swim practice that begins at 7 a.m. Then, it's off to breakfast before classes begin at 9:30 a.m. and continue straight through 1:45 p.m., with only about 15 minutes in between courses. With classes complete for the day, Cronk grabs some lunch and heads over to the Rolfs Aquatic Center to relax with her teammates, or dive into some home- work before an afternoon practice that runs from 3:30-5:30 p.m. After that, there's weightlifting af- ter practice most days, dinner around 7 p.m., more homework, off to bed … rinse, repeat. "The school workload is something I am not used to," she said. "So, having to adjust to that, and also balance my swim schedule took some time." Now in his third season leading the Irish program, Lindauer came to Notre Dame with some rich Texas recruiting ties, which helped lead him to Cronk. From there — and after Cronk's campus visit in the fall of 2022 — a mutual ap- preciation was born. "I fell in love with the school the mo- ment I stepped on campus," Cronk said. "The swim team was amazing. Their love for one another was like nothing I have ever seen before. They shared a love for the school from everyone, not just the swim team. I just knew that Notre Dame was special and I wanted to be a part of it." So, while it would be easy for Cronk to get caught up in her accomplishments and the international attention that has come with those, that's not who she is. Always grounded, Cronk stays in the now and downplays any future Olympic or World Championship pursuits. Though, her coach says to rule noth- ing out with plenty of time to improve before the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. "One thing I know about our program is that we are lofty, and we are dream- ers," Lindauer said. "And I'm not afraid to say that we absolutely have LA '28 on our minds. This is a four-year jour- ney, and Carli is on a great course to get there." ✦ Irish Roundup FENCING The women notched a 4-0 mark and the men went 3-1 at the St. John's Invitational Jan. 19 in Jamaica, N.Y. … The women posted a 15-0 record and the men were 14-0 at the DeCicco Duals Jan. 25-26 in South Bend … The men went 5-0 and the women were 4-1 at the Northwestern Duals Feb. 1 in Evanston, Ill. … The women went 3-2 at the Beguinet Classic Feb. 8 in Durham, N.C., and the men were 5-0 at the Miller Invitational Feb. 9 in Chapel Hill, N.C. WOMEN'S GOLF Opened the spring slate with a 10th-place finish with a final score of 877 (+13) at the FAU Paradise Invitational Feb. 3-4 in Boca Raton, Fla. HOCKEY (9-18-1 OVERALL, 3-14-1 BIG TEN) Fell 2-1 in overtime and 3-1 at Ohio State Dec. 13-14 … Skated to a 3-3 tie with Penn State in the Fro- zen Confines: Big Ten Hockey Series Jan. 3 at Wrigley Field in Chicago, and then lost 3-0 to the Nittany Lions Jan. 5 in South Bend … Split a pair of games with Michigan Jan. 10-11, losing 5-3 before rebounding for a 7-4 triumph … Also split a pair at Minnesota Jan. 17-18, falling 5-2 before winning 4-3 in overtime … Hosted Lindenwood Jan. 24-25, losing 3-2 in the opener prior to battling back for a 4-2 triumph … Swept by Ohio State Feb. 7-8 in South Bend by identical 5-1 scores both nights. WOMEN'S LACROSSE (1-1 OVERALL) The No. 13 Irish opened the season with a 13-10 loss at No. 2 Northwestern Feb. 7 … Rebounded with a 20-7 victory against Central Michigan Feb. 9 in South Bend. SOFTBALL (3-3 OVERALL) Started the season by winning three of six games at the NFCA Leadoff Classic Feb. 7-9 in Clearwater, Fla. … Senior Jane Kronenberger had a walk-off homer to secure a 4-3 win against No. 15 Missouri. WOMEN'S SWIMMING Lost 186.5-113.5 to Kentucky and 182.5-117.5 to Purdue Jan. 10 in West Lafayette, Ind. … Notched a second-place finish at the Tim Welsh Classic Jan. 25 in South Bend. MEN'S TENNIS (8-1 OVERALL) Started the spring dual slate with wins over Duquesne (7-0) and Western Michigan (6-1) Jan. 12 in South Bend, but lost 5-2 to Princeton Jan. 17 … Reeled off six straight home victories, topping Yale (4-3), Saint Joseph's (4-0), Cleveland State (6-1), Illinois State (6-1), William & Mary (7-0) and Northern Illinois (7-0). WOMEN'S TENNIS (9-1 OVERALL) Opened the spring season with five straight home victories, knocking off Ball State (4-0), Illinois (4-2), DePaul (4-0), Western Michigan (7-0) and Butler (7-0) … Continued their winning ways Feb. 1-2 in New York City, edging Maryland (4-3) and Columbia (4-2) … Fell to No. 17 Ohio State (6-1) Feb. 7 and blanked Bellarmine (7-0) Feb. 9.