Badgers set to battle defending national champs
October 31, 2008 | Men's Swimming & Diving
UW Men's Notes | UW Women's Notes | Arizona Notes
The Wisconsin swimming and diving program is no stranger to the desert, with Arizona an annual destination for the Badgers over the past seven seasons.
This time around, however, both the Badger women and men will be battling defending national champions.
Arizona swept the team titles at the 2008 NCAA Championships and returns 12 All-Americans from that squad as the Wildcats host the Badgers in their season-opening meet at 4 p.m. Friday at the newly-renovated Hillenbrand Aquatic Center in Tucson.
The Arizona women begin the season ranked No. 1, while the Wildcats' men's team sits at No. 3 in the season's initial CollegeSwimming.com Poll. The UW women are No. 23, with the Badger men just outside the poll in the 26th spot.
The UW seeks its first win in the series on the women's side, while the men look to repeat their 2002 victory over the Wildcats, but the Badgers' main focus is on continuing to improve in the young season.
"We always look forward to our annual dual with Arizona," said UW head coach staffid=145"> --> Eric Hansen , who spent three seasons as an assistant at Arizona before taking over in Madison in 1999. "It's obvious what we're up against with them being the defending national champions on both sides, but we're looking to be sharper every week and this week will be no exception."
The Badgers enter the meet after strong performances over the first three weeks of competition, owning the top time among Big Ten Conference schools in nine separate events.
The UW women have posted the fastest time of any conference team in the 200 freestyle, 400 freestyle and 800 freestyle relays, as well as the 400 medley relay. On the men 's side, the Badgers rank second in conference in the 200 and 400 free relays, as well as the 400 medley relay.
Individually, senior athid=5593&deptid=194"> --> Jen Illescas is among the Big Ten's top three times in three events. She owns the top time in the 200 freestyle (1:49.31) and ranks second in the 200 butterfly and third in the 500 freestyle. Illescas' mark in the 200 free ranks her 14th nationally in the event.
Sophomore athid=6650&deptid=194"> --> Maggie Meyer has the Badgers' only NCAA qualifying performance so far this season, with her 'B' cut of 54.42 seconds in the 100 backstroke good for the top time among Big Ten competitors and ranking fourth nationally.
Also leading the Big Ten are freshmen athid=7385&deptid=194"> --> Beckie Thompson in the 50 freestyle (23.42) and athid=7386&deptid=194"> --> Ashley Wanland in the 200 breaststroke (2:15.91). Thompson's time ranks her 16th nationally, while Wanland is ninth on the NCAA top times list.
Also, junior athid=6044&deptid=194"> --> Gabby Maddalena ranks third in the Big Ten in the 1,000 freestyle.
For the UW men, senior athid=5586&deptid=132"> --> Scott Rice leads the conference in the 200 individual medley (1:52.71) and is ranked eighth nationally in the event.
The Badger women took part last week in the SMU Classic, finishing fourth in a field of six teams each ranked in the CollegeSwimming.com Top 25, while the UW men had a week off from competition.
In their last dual meet, the Badger women defeated Iowa to improve to 2-0 on the season, while the men's team suffered its first loss to the Hawkeyes in 10 years and owns a season record of 1-1.
