The Wisconsin men's swimming and diving team kicks off its 2009 Big Ten Championship meet today at Purdue University.
At last year's championships Wisconsin finished seventh, but instead of going all out this weekend the team is looking at the Big Ten meet as a stepping stone towards the NCAA championships in late March. UW head coach Eric Hansen thinks his team will do fine as long as they concentrate on improving and qualifying for the NCAA's.
I'm not so worried about our finish as I am qualifying guys for the NCAA championships,"" Hansen said. ""I think the team race will take care of itself.""
The Big Ten Championships will challenge the Badgers with some of the nation's top talent over the next three days. The meet gives some of the Badgers the opportunity to prove their skills and possibly take home a Big Ten championship.
Senior Scott Rice is Wisconsin's best chance to make some noise this weekend. At last year's championships he scored in six different events, and this year he comes in the top 200-meter butterfly swimmer in the Big Ten. He also has a shot at the 100-meter butterfly, where he ranks second in the conference, and the 400-meter individual medley, where he ranks fourth.
""I think [his chances] are solid, but we're really looking towards the NCAA championships,"" Hansen said. ""That's where he is going to be at the top of his preparation, [but] I think he'll stack up well against these guys.""
Earlier this December at the Texas Invitational Rice rewrote his name in the Wisconsin swimming record books. He lowered his record times in both the 100-meter butterfly with a time of 46.54 seconds and the 200 butterfly with a time of 1:42.54. His 200 butterfly time is the fourth fastest in the nation.
Two other swimmers to watch are junior Phil Davies and senior Kyle Sorensen. Davies scored in a team-high seven races at the championships last year, fairing well in the 200 freestyle relay and the 400 freestyle relay. This season he is ranked fourth in the conference in the 100 freestyle and fifth in the 50 freestyle. He
also holds the Wisconsin record for the 100 freestyle at 43.50 seconds, which he set in December.
Sorensen, like Davies, preformed well at the championships last year. He scored in six events including four relays, and was sixth in the 50 freestyle. At the Texas Invitational this year he helped the 200 freestyle relay win and individually won the 50 freestyle with a time of 21.01 seconds.
This weekend Sorensen has both team and individual goals, and with this being his last Big Ten championship, as an individual he hopes for a great performance to send him to the NCAA's. He has a similar goal for the rest of the Badgers.
""As a team we just want to surprise people, we want to strive for some really good performances and I think all-in-all send as many people as possible to the NCAA meet,"" Sorensen said.
Hansen knows the major meets, like the Big Ten Championships, require the swimmers to maintain their focus on the task at hand. The atmosphere pushes the athletes to the limit.
""It's exciting, it's definitely loud and there's a lot of electricity in the air, but [we] have to contain it and just follow though with what we're out to do,"" Hansen said.
Preliminary sessions will begin each day at 11 a.m. and the final sessions for the same events will take place at 6 p.m.
Live results will be posted on www.purduesports.com, but if fans want to watch on TV they have to wait until March 7 for a tape-delayed broadcast on the Big Ten Network.
