While the rest of the school prepares for finals, the Virginia swim and dive teams are gearing up for their version of a "midterm" - the U.Va. Invitational, a three-day meet starting Thursday at the Aquatic and Fitness Center that will close out their fall season. Following the event format of NCAA Championships, the meet will pit Virginia against Washington and Lee, West Chester and American on both the men's and women's sides, as well as Kansas on the women's.
The Cavaliers have typically performed well in the Invitational. Last year, the men's and women's teams combined to break 11 pool, four school and two ACC records, and Virginia coach Mark Bernardino expects nothing less this time around.
"[Performing as well as we did in this meet last year is] the critical goal that we have to achieve," Bernardino said. "If we leave the weekend without having every athlete achieve two seasons' best times up to this point, then it's an unsuccessful season. I don't see why every athlete on this team can't achieve that goal."
So far this season, Virginia has done just that. After a tough loss to top-five team Florida, the Cavaliers have gone on to score blow-out victories against Virginia Tech, Kentucky and Penn State. Part of the team's early success has come from the way the Cavaliers have handled the large proportion of freshman on the team, something that was a concern at the beginning of the season.
"I think the coaches are really pleased with our team dynamic and the way we're interacting with each other and the way the [freshmen] have become a part of the team," junior Claire Crippen said. "There's not class separation and we're all united and I think they're really excited about it."
In addition to improving team unity, the 21 freshmen on the squad have already made an impact in the pool. Freshman Lauren Perdue was named ACC Performer of the Week Nov. 10th, and freshman Christine Olson has won multiple events in every meet.
"Our first-year women have performed very well," Bernardino said. "I think our first-year men are still struggling to find their identity and realizing that it's a major step from high school to college swimming."
In preparation for this weekend, Virginia coaches have shaken things up in practice. Before the last meet against Penn State, Virginia coaches emphasized speed training, which meant more time spent practicing at race-like speed. This time around, however, they have toned sets down a bit.
"For this particular meet, we have reduced our yardage - rested down just a little bit for the last couple of days," Bernardino said. "I don't want them to start the meet exhausted. I want them to have energy and enthusiasm, and spunk, and vigor."
Part of the reason for the reduced practice time is due to the fact that swimmers will have to compete in each of their events twice this weekend if they perform well - first in the preliminary rounds, and then again in the finals. This is a valuable test because it shows who performs better at night versus in the morning, and who has the stamina and concentration necessary to compete twice - both things Bernardino is looking for.
"I think we've done the physical preparation, now they have to mentally prepare," Bernardino said. "They have to believe in their training and believe that it's going to carry them to their best swims thus far this season."
For what it is worth, the Cavaliers appear to have taken their coach's message to heart.
"This year I feel like it should be just as good as previous year," Crippen said. "Everyone's been performing really well so far so they're all getting really excited, which is getting us excited about it, too"
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