After a season of waiting, Northwestern’s men’s swim team is finally shaved and ready to go.
NU’s swimmers picked up their razors to prepare for the Big Ten Championships, which begin Thursday in Ann Arbor, Mich. The Wildcats are looking to build on last year, when they finished in fourth place for the first time since the 1945 season.
“We don’t know if we can catch lightning in a bottle two years in a row,” NU coach Bob Groseth said. “But we can certainly do well.”
Since the beginning of the season, the Cats have aimed for a third-place finish. NU knows it cannot compete with perennial powerhouses No. 4 Michigan and No. 6 Minnesota, but it hopes to sneak in ahead of the other ranked teams in the Big Ten — No. 10 Wisconsin, No. 17 Penn State, No. 22 Indiana and No. 24 Purdue.
The Cats aren’t in the Top 25, but that doesn’t mean they can’t finish third. Coaches rank the swim teams based on their performances in dual meets, not championship meets.
A couple of strong swimmers can help a team win a dual meet, but the whole team must swim well for NU to finish strongly at Big Tens.
“We don’t have a guy on this team that’s not capable of scoring a point,” Groseth said. “And that’s the first time I’ve been able to say that.
Groseth said he expects junior Tony Swanson and senior Kellan O’Connor to lead the squad at Big Tens. At last year’s championships, Swanson won the 200-yard individual medley and the 200 backstroke. He was voted Big Ten Swimmer of the Championship.
Swanson is poised to defend his titles this year. He was recently named Big Ten Swimmer of the Week for his four first-place finishes against Iowa on Feb. 7 and 8.
O’Connor will try to defend his win in the 200 butterfly. He’ll also look to win the title in the 100.
Freshman Brian Davis, a distance free-styler, should place in the top eight in his events. Against Michigan — the top distance team in the conference — Davis won the 1,000 freestyle.
But it will take more than first-place finishes from Swanson, O’Connor and Davis to lead the Cats to third place.
“The relays are key,” junior Mark Hamming said. “We need to get in the top three.”
NU will need strong individual performances from its other swimmers, such as junior Chris Biedrzycki, senior Mike Shue and sophomore Louis Torres. While the first-place finisher wins 16 points, the top 16 finishers all score. Even the 16th place swimmer earns one point.
NU is especially desperate for depth from swimmers because it knows it won’t get much help from the diving team. While other teams field as many as four divers, NU only has one — freshman Mike Oxman. Even if he finishes first, other teams could still earn more points.
Not only will the Cats be seeking third place, but they’ll also be trying to improve their times. They know that only the fastest swimmers earn invitations to the NCAA Championships.
In order to make the championships, swimmers must earn an A-time, which is roughly equivalent to the time of last year’s eighth-place NCAA finisher.
By now, NU’s dual-meet record doesn’t matter. The swimmers only want to take third and earn A-times.
Senior co-captain Dave Hersh said his team is ready.
“We set a higher standard this year,” he said. “Everything was stepped up and I think that will be apparent.”
Big Ten Championships
Thursday-Saturday
Canham Natatorium,
Ann Arbor, Mich.
Swimmer to watch: Junior Tony Swanson was Big Ten Swimmer of the Championship last year.
