Swimming and diving releases 2009-10 schedule
June 16, 2009 | Men's Swimming & Diving
Five home events against in-state rivals and Big Ten Conference competition highlight the University of Wisconsin men's and women's swimming and diving program 's schedule for the 2009-10 season, which was released Tuesday.
The Badgers will host dual meets against conference foes Iowa and Minnesota, as well as UW-Milwaukee and UW-Green Bay, while also playing host to the annual Big Ten Quad Duals at the UW Natatorium.
'We're extremely excited to expand our home schedule this season, ' said head coach Eric Hansen, who will begin his 11th season at UW. 'To be able to host such a large portion of our conference schedule in our own pool is really beneficial to our team and offers our fans a chance to see some great competition, as well. '
The season begins with back-to-back home events, starting with a dual meet against UW-Milwaukee on Oct. 9. The Badgers then open conference competition a week later by playing host to Iowa on Oct. 16.
A trip to the SMU Invitational, hosted by Southern Methodist in Dallas, Texas, follows for the UW women's team Oct. 23-24, before both Badger squads welcome Border Battle rival Minnesota to the Natatorium for another conference dual meet on Oct. 30.
The dual marks the first time since Hansen became coach in 1999 that the Badgers and Gophers will face off outside of their traditional matchup in the Quad Duals.
Another tough test follows a week later, as the Badgers head to Tucson, Ariz., to take on Arizona and UNLV on Nov. 6. The Wildcats, who won both the men's and women 's NCAA titles two years ago, will host the Badgers for the ninth-consecutive season.
The Badgers then travel to Evanston, Ill., to take on Northwestern in a Big Ten dual on Nov. 13. On the women's side, Hansen is a perfect 10-0 against the Wildcats in his career at UW.
The Badgers' divers then split off to compete in the Arizona Diving Invitational from Nov. 20-22, while UW's swimmers return to the pool Dec. 3-5 at the highly-competitive Texas Invitational in Austin.
'I like our schedule because we will see some great competition in teams like Minnesota and Arizona before the season really gets going at Texas,' Hansen said. 'We have had a lot of success in Austin over the years, and that meet really provides us with a good picture of where we're at heading into winter training. '
Once again, the Badgers will spend their winter break training in the Hawaiian islands, concluding their stay with a Jan. 9 dual against Hawaii in Honolulu.
The dual-meet season then concludes with a pair of events in Madison, beginning with a dual against UW-Green Bay on Jan. 23 and the annual Big Ten Quad Duals, which are set for Jan. 29-30.
The Badgers last hosted the Quad Duals, which includes competition against Illinois, Minnesota and Purdue, in 2006.
Championship season begins with the Big Ten women's championships Feb. 17-20 in West Lafayette, Ind., followed by the men's conference meet in Columbus, Ohio, from Feb. 24-27.
The Badgers' swimmers also will use Minnesota's annual Gopher-It Invitational events as a final chance to chase down qualifying times for the NCAA championships. The women's meet will be held March 7 in Minneapolis, with the men 's competition following on March 14.
The divers will have their chance at NCAA qualification March 12-14 at the NCAA zone diving championships in West Lafayette.
The NCAA championships return to Big Ten territory for 2010, with the sites used for the conference meet also playing host to the national championships. Purdue will host the women 's championships in West Lafayette from March 18-20, while Ohio State hosts the men's championships in Columbus from March 25-27.
Between the men's and women's squads, the Badgers return six of their eight All-Americans from last season. A total of 16 school records fell in 2008-09, and the Badgers secured a total of four individual Big Ten championships.
