With seven Big Ten schools ranked among the best women’s swimming teams in the country, the conference championships are shaping up to be highly competitive.
“I think a lot of swimmers around the nation underestimate the Big Ten,” Northwestern sophomore Katie Simmons said. “Last year it turned out to be one of the top conferences in the nation depth-wise.”
The No. 16 Wildcats, outranked in their conference only by No. 15 Wisconsin, have defeated rivals Minnesota, Michigan, Indiana and Illinois in their most recent meets, losing only to Wisconsin in an early November dual meet.
With the close rankings of NU’s conference rivals, the Cats’ fate at the Big Ten championships remains uncertain.
“I think it makes a lot of the teams feel like they have a shot at winning the thing,” head coach Jimmy Tierney said. “It just matters who’s on that weekend.”
Senior Ashley Wagner said that winning the conference title would be a great way to end her final season at NU.
“I think it’s going to be tough, but that is our goal,” Wagner said.
The Big Ten championships, to be held at Michigan Feb. 21-23, will provide one of the last – and best – opportunities for the swimmers to notch NCAA qualifying times.
“I really think (Big Tens) help in getting to the NCAAs,” Simmons said. “I feel like a lot of the top eight people could be making late cuts.”
NAKED TRUTH: It’s Wednesday at 7 p.m. Do you know where your children are?
For many of the Cats’ parents, the answer is obvious: They’re watching TV.
Every Wednesday, the NU swimmers tune their sets to WGN – Chicago’s WB – home of “Dawson’s Creek.”
The Cats even managed to catch the show during their winter training in Miami. Simmons said the hotel where NU was staying did not have the WB on its cable service.
Determined to find somewhere to watch the show, Simmons said the Cats remembered a fraternity they had recently visited that had a satellite dish, so she and 11 teammates piled into a van and drove there to watch Dawson, Joey, Jen and Pacey.
The team has watched the show together regularly for years.
“It’s kind of like a team bonding experience,” Simmons said.
Another “team bonding” activity for the swimmers over Winter Break was a trip to South Beach, where clothing is optional.
“Everybody there just walks around half-naked,” Simmons said.
SENIOR FAREWELL: NU and its coaches are already planning for the final home meet of the season, which will be held Saturday at 1 p.m.
The last home meet each year is Senior Day, when the seniors say good-bye to competitions at the Norris Aquatics Center. An emotional event, many of the seniors’ parents attend the meet, and each senior receives a book that is made up of pages created by coaches and teammates.
Simmons said the pages are collages filled with pictures, inside jokes and anything funny about the seniors that the swimmers and coaches can come up with.
Simmons said the meet was touching for the seniors and their teammates last year.
“It was pretty emotional, just because it was the last four years of their lives,” Simmons said.
