Arizona women’s swimming hosts Boise State on Saturday at noon at the Hillenbrand Aquatic Center. The meet will overlap with the Arizona Diving Invitational, where 11 teams will be competing, including Boise State and Arizona.
The UA women’s team is3-1 this season, having lost only to USC, 133-167, on Nov. 9.
The men, who have only competed in three dual meets this season, do not have any other meets before the Texas Invite.
“Our guys are still going to be ready for Texas,” said interim head coach Rick DeMont. “We are time-trialing them before the meet on Saturday to get them fired up for the invitational.”
Sophomore Emma Schoettmer, who will compete on Saturday, has won each of her individual breaststroke events so far this year. She completed the 200-yard breaststroke in 2:11.98 against USC, almost three seconds ahead of senior opponent Stina Gardell, who finished in 2:14.13.
“I’m pretty confident [in the breaststroke] right now,” Schoettmer said. “I’m extremely happy that my times are where they are.”
Schoettmer’s biggest competition from Boise State will be junior Heather Harper, who won the 200y event against Wyoming on Nov. 16.
Schoettmer is among three UA women swimmers who have swept every event in their strokes. Senior freestyler Margo Geer and sophomore backstroker Bonnie Brandon have also won all of their individual events. Brandon has also competed in and won the 500y and 1000y freestyle. Her only individual loss has come from losing to Geer in the 200y freestyle in their dual meet against UNLV on Oct. 25.
DeMont said he is interested to see how the meet on Saturday will go because it is not a traditional NCAA dual meet. Instead, the meet is more sprint-oriented, including 50y sprints in all four strokes.
“I don’t think there is even a 1,000y freestyle event,” DeMont said. “I’ve personally never coached a meet like this. It should be fun.”
The meet should serve as a good time indicator for sprinters like seniors Geer and Gracie Finnegan, who regularly compete in sprint events.
“I think I’m doing two fly events and the 200y freestyle, so it will be nice so that we aren’t as tired and get to do events we don’t normally do,” Finnegan said. “I’m personally just focusing on a chance to do more racing.”
DeMont said the team’s main focus is still the Texas Invitational the week after Thanksgiving. So far, the Wildcats are on track to have their best performances in Austin, starting on Dec. 5.
Until then, Schoettmer said she is taking it one meet at a time.
“My goal is to approach every meet like how my high school coach said to: Swim it like I want to swim it, when I want to swim it,” Schoettmer said.
—Follow Nicole Cousins @cousinnicole