To place a heavy burden on one swimming meet is not often the thinking among swimming coaches in terms of their programs and swimmers -- even if it is the NCAA Championship meet.
"It's a benchmark, it's something you look at to show consistency in a program, but it also shows the talent and ability of individual swimmers," Penn State swimming and diving coach Bill Dorenkott said. "You can't get wrapped up in it because you don't want to make too much of one meet. It's a gauge, it's an opportunity."
The NCAA Men's Swimming and Diving Championships take place this weekend, today through Saturday, at the Lee and Joe Jamail Texas Swim Center at the University of Texas in Austin. For the Penn State program it is a great opportunity to end one career on the same high note that it has carried for the past four years and to reveal the promise of a career that has only just begun.
Senior Eugene Botes will be swimming in one of his last meets as a collegian, and, while competing in the 50- and 100-yard freestyle and the 100-yard butterfly, he hopes to wrap up a decorated four-year stint as a Nittany Lion. Freshman Mike Alderman is the other representative for the Lions, and will participate in the 1- and 3-meter dives.
Botes came to Penn State as a Pennsylvania state high school champion in the 100-yard freestyle and 200-yard individual medley, and he has undoubtedly forged his name into the annals of Penn State swimming lore.
In the 2000-01 season, Botes took first place in the 100-yard butterfly and the 400-yard freestyle relay at the Big Ten Championships. At NCAAs he swam in the 100-yard butterfly, 50-yard freestyle, 200- and 400-yard freestyle relays, as well as the 200-yard medley relay.
Last season, Botes was the Big Ten champion in the 100-yard freestyle and captured a pair of seconds in the 50-yard freestyle and the 100-yard butterfly.
This season, Botes scorched a game Big Ten field to win the 100-yard butterfly in a Big Ten meet and pool-record time of 47.40. He also swam very competitive times of 44.09 and 23.29 in the 100- and 50-yard freestyles, respectively, all of which bettered the qualifying times for participation in the NCAA meet. Botes also holds the school record times in the 100 freestyle and the 100 butterfly.
"If you've ever met [Botes's] family there's no mystery about why he is who he is. Other than the fact that he's genetically gifted, he comes from an unbelievably strong family," Dorenkott said. "He's a polite, humble, conscientious person with a blue-collar work ethic. He very much personifies a Penn State student-athlete."
The accolades and success have come as no surprise to Dorenkott, though Botes isn't letting the success and expectations go to his head.
"I'm excited to be going," Botes said of his trip to the NCAA's. "I've been training all year long for moments like this. I've just been trying to lift right, eat right, and just prepare myself to do the best I can."
As one swimming sensation gets ready to depart the Lions swimming program, another one appears on the cusp of stardom -- enter freshman diver Alderman.
The pressure of a freshman performance is something that needs to be subdued for optimum performance, especially in front of the collegiate swimming nation.
"I've just got to do my best to relax and focus on my own diving and go in with confidence," Alderman said.
Just making NCAA's is an achievement that could springboard Alderman to future success. Pressure and expectations should not really be a factor, considering his freshman status and inexperience at high-profile NCAA meets.
"I mean it was a goal of mine that I wanted to reach, but I wasn't expecting it," Alderman said. "It wasn't a definite lock. I just trained my hardest, and apparently it paid off."
Dorenkott is enthusiastic about his two swimmer's prospects.
"We've left something in the tank," Dorenkott said. "We're looking for some lifetime bests."
This weekend may not be a focus of importance for the Lions swimming program making a national statement, but it is a celebration of the program's consistency -- as one door closes on the past and another opens to the future.
