By Chris GentilvisoThe Daily Northwestern
From the moment his team set foot in the pool in mid-October, Northwestern coach Jimmy Tierney spoke of staying on course for tournament play.
That course will take its final twists and turns beginning today, as the Wildcats head north to face their conference rivals at the Big Ten Championships in Minneapolis.
On the relay side, the Cats are slated to compete in four events, with their strongest being the 800-yard free. Back on Nov. 19 at the TYR NU Invitational, the team of junior Andrea Hupman and freshmen Jenn Kocsis, Emily Wong and Kassia Shishkoff set a Norris Aquatics Center pool record.
“We’ve been decent this year, but I don’t think we’ve ever had a situation where everyone’s been on with the medley (relays),” Tierney said. “Hopefully that will happen here. Anything can happen when you’re racing for a Big Ten title, and the emotions can really raise the level of play.”
Junior Andrea Hupman will look to raise her level from her performance at the 2006 Big Ten championships, which saw her place second in the 100- and 200-yard free and a distant seventh in the 50-yard free.
“It’s the most exciting part of the season because everything comes together,” she said. “You can really see your work pay off.”
Hupman’s work paid off last season. She stood at the end of the conference tournament as the only NU swimmer to qualify for the NCAA Championships.
But this year, one of the best freshman classes in the country stands poised to join the national ranks with the junior All-American. Six of NU’s eight rookies hold top-15 conference times in their individual events.
Along with Hupman, freshmen Emily Wong and Kassia Shishkoff are scheduled to compete in a team-high three individual events each. The duo is well known among Big Ten coaches, as both swimmers hold two top-30 times nationally this season.
“We’re thrilled with the prospects we have in the freestyle events as a whole,” Tierney said. “This is our strongest group in many years. I give a ton of credit to the upperclassmen who have taken them under their wing and guided them through.”
In the Cats’ final meet of the season, pressure was visible, as the team raced to four wins in 16 events against No. 10 Michigan. With a 1-4 regular season record in Big Ten play, NU will face the likes of the Wolverines all weekend long.
But tough competition is nothing new for Tierney’s squad.
Despite four losses to ranked opponents to start the season, the New Year brought renewed energy. The Cats won three of their final five meets, finishing the season two spots out of the top-25.
“One of the motivations during the year is to get some recognition,” Tierney said. “It has no bearing on what we do in the pool, but it helps to compete and get our name back up there. We’re really pleased with that.”
Reach Chris Gentilviso at c-gentilviso@northwestern.edu.