Swimwomen go after Michigan at Big Tens

By LAWRENCE R.V. POTTER
Collegian Sports Writer

There's an old saying that nothing lasts forever, and 10 of the 11 Big Ten women's swimming and diving teams are hoping that saying is true.

As the conference championships begin today in Indianapolis, 10 teams are hoping this will be the year Michigan's eight-year winning streak ends. The Wolverines have four Big Ten champions from last year returning this season.

Penn State Coach Bob Krimmel thinks the other 10 teams will have to wait a little longer. Krimmel believes the championship race will be very competitive -- from second place on down.

"Michigan is the definite frontrunner," said Krimmel, who is taking his team to the championships for the fourth time. "But in the last three years, there have been some sensational battles for second place. Most people are thinking we'll be fifth or sixth -- I think we could finish anywhere from second to eighth."

Krimmel predicted that, on paper, the top six teams would finish like this: Michigan, Northwestern, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Ohio State and Penn State. Of course, no one can perfectly predict what will happen when the swimmers and divers actually hit the water.

For example, in early November the Lady Lions defeated Wisconsin 183-114, but Krimmel said the Badgers have improved greatly since then and "are riding high."

Penn State also had a heart-stopping 151-149 win over then-No. 10 Northwestern less than a month ago. Regardless of Penn State's 10-1 overall record and 6-1 conference record, anything can happen when all the Big Ten teams are in the same pool.

Last season, the Lady Lions finished fourth -- only 2.5 points ahead of Wisconsin, but 52 points behind Ohio State. In order to remain at or improve on that position, the Lady Lions need to place more swimmers in the final heats.

That might be difficult, since Penn State has only five returning place winners and the rest of last season's top six finishers have at least eight returning place winners.

"Last year, we put two and three people in the final event of a couple of races, but we need to do more in other events to have a chance to do really well in this meet," Krimmel said. "But these kids have prepared extremely well. The last couple of weeks we've had some of the best practices we've had."

Practices aside, the Lady Lions will bring a very balanced team to the championships. With five seniors and two strong freshmen in Carmen Kondra and Liz Rossi, Penn State has a good mix of youth and experience.

"It will be my first trip to the championships and I'm very excited," Kondra said. "I can't wait to get there. The older swimmers have all been great. They have told us in detail what to expect and offered some advice -- they've helped us get ready."

Getting ready should be no problem for senior Regan Stacey, who will attempt to defend her 1,650 freestyle title. It also shouldn't be a problem for senior Deni Rudy and Kondra, who faced last year's Big Ten Champion in three events (100, 200 and 500 free) Kim Paton from Northwestern last month and fared well. Rudy beat Paton in the 100 free and Kondra was only one-hundredth of a second behind Paton.

Note:

-- Penn State diver Erika Georgs, who cut her toe 11 days ago during the Lady Lions' last dual meet and did not dive that day, will compete in Indianapolis.