Fresh off its decisive victories in West Lafayette, Ind., at the Big Ten Quad Duals, the University of Wisconsin women?s swimming team is heading to Columbus, Ohio, to compete in the Big Ten Championships. The team, with an overall 8-1 record, heads into this meet ranked 20th in the nation and unbeaten in any Big Ten dual so far this season.
?We?re really looked forward to the meet,? coach Eric Hansen said during a Monday press conference.
The Badgers are coming off decisive victories at the beginning of the month at the Quad Duals, defeating Purdue 233-136 and crushing Illinois 272-75. Freshman swimmer Maggie Meyer received Big Ten Swimmer of the Week honors for her work that weekend, setting season-best times for Wisconsin swimmers in her winning 100- and 200-yard backstroke races. Moreover, she aided three winning relays: the 200-yard freestyle, 400-yard freestyle and 200-yard medley. Senior Jackie Vavrek earned an NCAA ?B? time and almost broke a Big Ten record for her victory in the 50-yard freestyle race. Also, junior Christine Zwiegers and senior Katie Imhoff-Smith took first and second, respectively, in the 100-yard butterfly. With such success, it?s easy to see why the Badgers are excited for the coming events in Columbus.
?We have one of the best groups of girls we?ve ever had,? Hansen said. ?We?re looking forward to having a good showing.?
The Big Ten Championships, held Thursday, Friday and Saturday, are the last calendar event for the women?s team in February. Hansen is taking a squad of 28 with him to Columbus, consisting of 24 swimmers and four divers. This meet will determine whether the Badgers can remain undefeated in Big Ten meets and whether the Big Ten Championship will be theirs.
Hansen was confident the Big Tens would favor the Badgers.
?On the swimming side, I would say so, but it?s a combined score,? Hansen said. ?It?s swimming and diving. We?re hoping to increase our production over the next couple of years.?
Badger diving has suffered a little recently, being shut out at the Northwestern Triangular late in the fall, failing to secure victories in either the one- or three-meter events at Hawaii, and most recently, getting shut out in platform diving at the Quad Duals.
Although the competition this week will be for the Big Ten title, Hansen said that the team?s main focus will be to gear up for the NCAA Championships taking place at the same facility in Columbus.
?Our primary focus will be the NCAA Championships in a month,? Hansen said.
Despite looking ahead, the competition in Columbus for the Big Ten will not be easy. Wisconsin will be facing higher ranked teams in Minnesota (No. 9), Michigan (No. 11), Penn State (No. 13) and Indiana (No. 19). When asked for swimmers he thought stepped up this season, implying who would need to step up at the Big Ten Championships, Hansen named Vavrek, Meyer, Zwiegers and one other.
?We have Gabby Maddalena, one of our best distance swimmers,? Hansen said.
Maddalena is fresh off of her best time of the season in the 1,000-yard freestyle race, taking second at the Quad Duals. She shaved off four whole seconds from her previous best in that meet.
?I think that we?re really looking forward to the meet. We have one of the best groups of girls we?ve ever had. We have a great mix of really talented freshmen, but we also have some very seasoned veterans in our upper class, so we?re looking forward to a great showing,? Hansen said.
