Swimming and diving releases 2012-13 schedule
June 05, 2012 | Women's Swimming & Diving
June 5, 2012
MADISON, Wis. -- The Wisconsin swimming and diving teams released their 2012-13 schedules Tuesday, and are highlighted by trips to California and the Ohio State Invitational, with the men making an additional visit to Stanford.
“Overall the schedule is much stronger than last year,” head coach Whitney Hite said. “I’ve learned that if you want to be the best you have to seek out the best. We want our athletes to be race-ready, so we’re going to go out there and race against the best. Everything is really geared toward preparing us for the Big Ten championships and ultimately NCAAs.”
The season kicks off during the last weekend of September with visits to Big Ten rivals Michigan State (Sept. 28) and Michigan (Sept. 29).
“This is the first time I have ever started a season with meets in September,” Hite said. “We’re excited about that, and I’ve always thought that the sooner you can start racing, the sooner you can start working on your race strategy.”
After the early start, Wisconsin opens its home season with dual meets against Milwaukee on Oct. 12 and Green Bay on Oct. 13. The following week the Badgers hit the road taking the border battle to the pool, squaring off against Minnesota on Oct. 26.
Wisconsin heads out to the Golden State as the men take on Stanford, Nov. 2, before both the men and women race against the defending national champions California Golden Bears on Nov. 3.
The Badgers return home on Nov. 8 for a dual meet against Northwestern, followed by a trip to the Ohio State Invitational on Nov. 30-Dec. 2.
“We’re mixing it up a little bit with going to the Ohio State invite, which is something we’ve never been to before,” Hite said. “We’re going to get a lot of top competition there, Ohio State’s men and women are very good. Florida and UNC will be there too and both their men’s and women’s teams are very good.”
After the Ohio State Invitational and a short winter break, the Badgers will head out to Hawaii for their annual conditioning trip. After training, UW will race against the University of Hawaii on Jan. 5 before stopping at USC for a dual meet on Jan. 12.
Wisconsin makes its first trip out to Virginia for dual meets against the University of Virginia and Virginia Tech on Jan. 25-26.
The Badgers close out the regular season by hosting the annual Big Ten Quad Duals at the Natatorium on Feb. 1-2.
The Big Ten championships for the women will be held Feb. 20-23 in Minneapolis, while the men’s Big Ten championships will be held Feb. 27-March 2 in Bloomington, Ind.
