BY KASSIDY FRANZ
UW Athletic Communications
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Championship season is officially in full swing for the No. 12 Wisconsin women's swimming and diving program, which is set for four days of competition at the Big Ten championships.
The meet begins Wednesday with finals of the 200-yard medley relay and 800 freestyle relay and then continues on through Saturday at the Boilermaker Aquatic Center on the Purdue campus in West Lafayette, Indiana.
The battle for the conference championship will be no cakewalk for any team, as four other Big Ten squads are ranked in the Top 25 of the season's final coaches poll. Michigan leads the Big Ten at No. 6, followed by the 12th-ranked Badgers, No. 15 Indiana, No. 20 Minnesota and No. 22 Ohio State.
One senior who is looking to make a splash at her final Big Ten meet is Chase Kinney, who is individually seeded second in the 50 freestyle and fourth in the 100 free.
"This is my last Big Tens so I want to leave a mark," Kinney said. "This is the team that I want to remember when I'm done swimming, so that's pretty cool and I just want to go out with a good note."
Kinney has been the headline freestyle sprinter for the Badgers the past two seasons. She has cemented her place as the freestyle specialist in both the 200 and 400 medley relays and is the all-important lead-off swimmer for the 200 and 400 free relays.
So, despite holding high seedings in her individual events, Kinney prefers to focus on the team aspect of the Big Ten championships.
"That's my favorite part about it, that it's not just individual because that would make me really nervous," Kinney said. "I love the team aspect of it and that I know that me swimming is going to be more than just me, and that it's for the team.
"Relays are my favorite because I think it's just fun to be able to be a part of a team."
Kinney won't have to wait long to race, as she's slated to compete in the 200 medley relay final at 5:30 p.m. (CT) on the first day of competition.
"I'm just really excited to race because this team is super awesome and I think we're all going to swim really fast," she said.
The relays will be an important source of points for the Badgers as their season-best times in the events will help to keep them toe-to-toe with their conference rivals.
The team is currently ranked second in the 200, 400 and 800 freestyle races, while also coming in seeded third in the 200 medley and fifth in the 400 medley relays.
But before Kinney emerged as the Badgers' go-to sprinter, the spotlight was on former Badger Ivy Martin, who graduated when Kinney was a sophomore.
"It was pretty cool being able to train with Ivy and to be on the team with her for two years, but then she was also training with me for another year after because she was training for the Olympics," said Kinney. "It was cool to still have her there for support, but then I was kind of the one on the team that was the sprinter that people looked up to.
"I know how much I looked up to Ivy, so I wanted be someone that the underclassmen can look up to, too."
That role could certainly place added pressure on Kinney, especially considering the degree to which her performances could affect the team standings. However, Kinney plans to keep relaxed and focused on racing.
"I'm not going to put a lot of pressure on myself to win my individuals, but I just want to race the people next to me and go best times," she said. "I guess I only have two more chances to be a part of a team with this meet and NCAAs, so I'm going to try and soak it in."
