I believe the expression is ‘shaved,’ yes?”

This quote from Shannon Elizabeth’s character Nadia in the film American Pie refers to the foreign-exchange student shaving a small, rather sensitive part of her body.

But for the Northwestern men’s swimming team, the expression takes on a much broader meaning.

In their hotel on Wednesday night, on the eve of their most important meet of the year — the Big Ten championships — Wildcats swimmers will shave their entire bodies in an effort to become more aerodynamic. A close shave could help them trim seconds off their times.

“I kind of feel bad for the other people in the hotel because there’s usually a bunch of half-naked guys running through halls, in and out of everyone’s room,” senior Shelby Clark said. “But it’s good for team unity.”

It’s not that the guys are trying to get in touch with their feminine sides. Rather, shaving leaves swimmers with a much smoother surface: Less hair on the body means less friction through the water, which leads to faster times.

“I don’t even really have back hair, but I’m still going to shave it,” said Clark, a freestyler. “I even shave the bottoms of my feet.”

A lesser known and probably more important reason for shaving, though, is the psychological edge it gives some swimmers.

“It’s even more so a mental thing, because you’re coming along all year and building up to the biggest meet of the year, and shaving just makes you feel that much faster and more confident,” sophomore Brian Davis said.

The team doesn’t discriminate when it comes to deciding which hairs stay and which little guys end up down the drain. Arms, legs, back, chest, face, head. You name it, it’s most likely coming off courtesy of a Bic razor.

“I once saw a couple guys who shaved their eyebrows in high school,” Clark said. “It looked pretty terrifying.”

Some people put stock in the old wives tale — that shaving only brings the hair back thicker and fuller, possibly leading to an embarrassing showcase of back hair at the town pool later in life.

But that doesn’t scare the Cats.

For now, there’s only one thing on their minds: getting their bare asses to the wall quicker than their Big Ten foes.