Dec. 13, 2001
Evanston, Ill. - Spending Christmas away from home can be very lonely for some college students, but when the alternative is a two-week trip to Miami, Fla., with 20 of your closest friends, loneliness is the furthest thing from your mind.
With finals wrapping up this week, the 17th-ranked Northwestern women's swimming squad gets set for its annual trip south for winter training. This year the destination is Miami, Fla., where the team will hold two-a-day practices, preparing for the upcoming championship meets. The Wildcats will also compete against the University of Miami in a nontraditional meet on Saturday, Dec. 15. The meet will combine different events not usually contested in a dual setting.
"The intent of winter training is to challenge ourselves physically and mentally so that we will be able to face and conquer any obstacles that we may face in preparation for Big Tens and NCAAs," said Wildcat head coach Jimmy Tierney. "Our second goal is to strengthen our team bond as well as enjoy some warm southern weather."
According to Tierney, the squad is well ahead of where they usually are at this point in the season. Currently, Carmen Cosgrove (Perth, Western Australia /Nebraska) and Rachel Johnson (Champaign, Ill./Centennial) hold the fastest times in the Big Ten in the 100 (54.21) and 200 fly (1:59.56), respectively. Cosgrove's time is also the fifth-best in the nation, while Johnson's time is 10th. Both have already qualified for NCAAs.
The distance events have been a Wildcat speciality all season. Vicky West's (Redlands, Calif./Redlands) time of 10:04.82 in the 1000 free is third-best in the Big Ten. Northwestern's 800 free relay squad is also tops in the conference and 10th in the nation (7:25.90).
After the 'Cats return home from training they will have a few weeks off before traveling to Tennessee for a double dual with the Vols and Auburn. They also have duals scheduled against Big Ten rivals Penn State and Michigan and nonconferance foe Notre Dame.
The last phase of the season begins with the Big Ten Championships, which will be held in Ann Arbor, Mich., from Feb. 21-23. The NCAAs are set to begin exactly one month after Big Tens from March 21-23 in Austin, Texas.
Meanwhile, the men's and women's diving teams will wait until after Christmas to go on their training trip. Diving coach Tom Michael will bring his group to Fort Lauderdale, Fla., to train at the Swimming Hall of Fame. The divers will be in there from Dec. 27-Jan 5.