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Will Julia Smit break any of her 2010 American Records at NCAA Championships?

03/17/10

Tomorrow, I’ll head to Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana to cover the Women’s NCAA Swimming (and Diving) Championships for Swimnetwork.com. I’ll be providing tweets and blogs and interviews. Check back here for coverage all weekend.

Heading into the meet, here are 5 big questions that need to be answered:

1) Will Julia Smit break her 2010 American records? No doubt that Julia Smit is the favorite in each and every one of her events she swims this weekend (possible exception: 100 freestyle, but only because in the 100 freestyle, anything can happen). She’s already set two American records in 2010 – becoming the first woman to break 4 minutes in the 400 IM (3:58.23) and breaking her own NCAA/American record in the 200 IM (1:52.31) – and one wonders just how much more time can Smit drop? Stanford will need those first place points in Smit’s three events to have a shot at the title. Which leads us to our next question…

2) Will Stanford’s lack of depth hurt them? Bringing 12 people to the NCAA Championships is no little feat, but is it enough to bring home the title? Compare the numbers to the other favorite in the meet – Georgia – who is bringing 17 swimmers. Will those extra 5 pay off in Georgia’s favor? No doubt that Stanford, on paper, is the front-runner. But if a couple of Stanford’s swimmers have a few off-swims, Georgia’s Extra 5 might be the difference-maker.

3) Auburn’s X Factor 400 Medley. No doubt that each and every year, Auburn brings it. They always deliver when it comes to relays – and in this meet, relays are the most important priority. On the first day, Stanford has an opportunity to set the momentum for the next two days in the 400 Medley Relay. They have a chance to win it. The only team that stands in their way? The Auburn Tigers. Auburn Coach Brett Hawke is a Relay Guru and always unleashes his swimmers when it counts. Look for Auburn to shoot for victory in that 400 Medley Relay over Stanford. And if that happens, watch the momentum slowly start to shift away from the Cardinal….

4) What will Arizona do? No other team quite brings the message board controversy like this year’s Arizona Wildcats. Why? Because no one knows what they’re going to do. That’s part of the horrors of pre-picking event winners before any preliminarys have been swum. Partly because, no one REALLY knows what a team is capable until shave/taper time. But when heading into this meet, you CANNOT ignore last year’s runner-up. By sheer numbers, the Wildcats bring the most swimmers into this meet (18) and they should all potentially have the ability to get into those “waveless water” heats. I’ve always felt when going into a championship that sometimes it’s ideal for teams to swim in the slower heats. Fresh water. Dominate a heat. Build confidence in your race while you swim. Generally speaking, races hurt less if you’re out in front. And if the Wildcats hit their taper, you can expect some big drops in the early heats that could prove to be some trouble for Georgia and Stanford. Watch for them to disrupt.

5) Will I fall asleep during diving? Just kidding. I love diving. But I’m not going to cover it, since I don’t know anything about it. So anyone who wants diving coverage and is planning on sending me grumbling emails or hateful messages about my lack of diving coverage, just head over to Divenetwork.com.