While the average Northwestern student has spent the last several weeks complaining about midterms and the unpredictable weather, the Wildcats have been busy preparing for and focusing on their final and most important conference swim meet of the season: the Big Ten Championships.
Each challenge, whether physical or mental, has led the Cats to the promised land of Minneapolis to compete against the 11 other Big Ten teams. The road certainly hasn’t been straight or narrow for the oft-injured NU team, but after weeks of preparation, the Cats are ready to show the Big Ten how talented and versatile they actually are.
“I believe we’re ready, and if they aren’t, they better get ready,” coach Jimmy Tierney said. “It’s that time. Since the NU Invite, we’ve been able to let the air out a little bit so I think we’ll be more energized and able to perform at peak levels this week.”
The Cats will need to bring their top game to the four-day meet if they have any hope for success. Minnesota, Wisconsin and Indiana are all ranked among the top 20 teams in the nation, and many swimmers have already qualified for the NCAA Championships. The intensity and energy will be much higher in this meet than in any other of the 2012-2013 season, partially due to the venue.
In addition to the more than 300 hundred swimmers who will be competing in the tournament, Minnesota’s University Aquatic Center offers seating for more than 1,000 fans on both sides of the pool, creating the most energetic atmosphere of the season.
According to Tierney, meet officials have often dubbed the Women’s Big Ten Championships as the most spirited and high-energy meet they work, which may perturb some coaches, but not Tierney, who believes that such environments raise levels of performance.
Though the object of any meet is to perform and place well, the Cats have maintained a broader understanding of what this meet means for them.
“The goal of the conference meet is to get swimmers swimming at a high level so they qualify for National Championships meet,” Tierney said. “Though there’s certainly the team competition within the meet, which is obviously very important, there’s also a collective effort to get athletes onto the NCAAs.”
NU already has two swimmers with provisional NCAA ‘B’ qualifying times, Karen Turner and Taylor Reynolds, but the team hopes to advance athletes in a few other events, especially a relay.
“We really want to see a relay to the National Championships,” Reynolds said. “I would say that’s our main goal. Just to have a large, strong presence at the NCAAs would be a huge success for our team.”
While attending the 2013 National Championships meet may be a lofty goal for some of the younger swimmers, senior Katie McCullough simply hopes her teammates return to Evanston feeling like they did their individual bests.
“One thing we want this year is for every single person on our team to swim really, really well,” McCullough said. “We’re honestly expecting some pretty awesome swims from everyone, and the thing is we’re all definitely capable of it, which makes it so exciting.”
Though the team is de-emphasizing overall placement, the Cats are in no way lowering their intensity. Emotions will be high, not only for the outgoing seniors, but also for the underclassmen who are seeing them go.
The Big Ten Championships provides all swimmers the last opportunity to represent themselves, their teams and their schools.
“I expect that when the girls get up there to swim, they’re not only racing for themselves, but they’re racing for their teammates,” Tierney said. “I think if they believe in themselves and they stand up on the blocks with a lot of confidence, they’ll all do really well.”
