 "Photo: Daily file photo")
It was a productive winter break for the Wildcats, who traveled to the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs for their annual training trip, smashed Austin College and Colorado College in a dual meet, and still mustered up the spirit to give back to the less fortunate members of Colorado Springs.
Northwestern women's swimming is after its first Big Ten championship since 2008, and its last trip to the state-of-the-art facilities was in the 1990s.
"Usually it's nice to take a group to a warmer climate, but everyone was very behind the plan," coach Jimmy Tierney said. "It's a great environment for training because there are a lot of other athletes out there who are working hard. You have a pool, a weight room, and a cafeteria all together so you're kind of living the athletic environment."
A competition was held against the Kangaroos of Austin College and the Tigers of Colorado College in which the Cats won all 10 swimming events. Although the meet was an exhibition and an clear mismatch between an accomplished Division I side and two Division III sides, the Cats showed they aren't ones to get complacent over any competition, friendly or otherwise.
"We were out there to train at a real high level and put in a ton of work," Tierney said. "We didn't expect to have fast times, all we asked them to do was to race really hard. Being in altitude, they were not exactly acclimated, and the other thing was we had already practiced twice that day which we would never do before a Big Ten meet. Their skill was good, they finished really hard. We just wanted to see the aggression and they accomplished everything we wanted them to."
After practices the swimmers focused their energy to the wider community of Colorado Springs. At the local Ronald McDonald House, where ailing children are assisted, they babysat and read to the youth in need. On a different night, they attended a dance party at a local retirement home, where the presence of younger dance partners was much appreciated.
Whatever experience the individuals gathered from the journey they will take to NU's next meet in Ann Arbor, Mich. on January 14th against Michigan and Notre Dame. Tierney said NU still has some work to do before then.
"There are certainly things that we need to clean up," Tierney said. "One thing we have to do for the next month is to fill up the relay spots and we have to decide before the championships. Determining those individuals in the next month will be big for us."
hong@u.northwestern.edu
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