BOWLING GREEN, Ky.-The Western Kentucky University swimming and diving team returns back home this week, as the team hosts the Hilltopper Invite in the Bill Powell Natatorium.
"We are looking to get some good races, but primarily what we are looking for is to find each individual's third event because at the conference championships you can swim three individual events," WKU head coach Bruce Marchionda said. "Usually the first two are pretty solidified for almost all of the swimmers, so what we are really going to focus on is that third event. We will focus on the strength of the conference, obviously, but also looking at their strengths and weaknesses as an individual.
"So that is what we are really looking for out of this meet. We also want to focus on trying to get up and swim fast when we are really broken and tired because they have been training pretty hard and having some really tough workouts, and in the world of swimming when you are tired, you usually don't swim very well. I always tell them that the faster they can get up and swim when they are tired, the better off we will be at the end of the year."
The three-day meet begins on Thursday, November 15, and concludes on Saturday, November 17. Thursday's prelims will begin at 10:30 a.m. before diving prelims begin at 1 p.m. After the diving finals at 3 p.m., at 6:30 p.m. the final sessions of the day will begin. Friday will have a similar schedule with both swimming and diving competitions taking place, as Saturday will just be swimming events with prelims beginning at 10:30 a.m.
Along with WKU, this year's field consists of Vanderbilt, University of the South (Sewanee) and the University of the Cumberlands.
Last year, WKU swept the competition with the women totaling 1,648.5 points and the men posting 1,838.5 points. The teams combined to break nine school records in 10 different events and one school record while posting three NCAA provisional qualifying times.
The Hilltoppers and Lady Toppers are both excelling this season, as the men's team has taken two wins this season and the women's team with three. Most recently, a few of the swimmers traveled to Minneapolis, Minn., to compete at the USA Swimming Grand Prix, where former WKU swimmer and Olympic gold medalist Claire Donahue won the 100 fly.
"We went to Minnesota with a few of our swimmers and utilized that to get them some great competition as the best in the world were there," said Marchionda.
After the Hilltopper Invite, the WKU swimming and diving team will travel to Miami, Ohio, for some tough competition at the Miami (OH) Invite after the Thanksgiving holiday. The events begin on Thursday, November 29, and ends on Saturday, December 1.
