Four months from now, when the Denison swimming and diving teams are tapering for the NCAA Division III Championships, there will be question marks. Is everyone healthy? Are the freshmen ready for the four-day national championship pressure cooker? Above all else, are the swimmers and divers peaking at the right time?
One thing that will not be in question is Denison's level of preparation. A key piece in laying that groundwork lies within the schedule and no one at the Division III level competes against a better schedule than Denison University.
The Big Red opened its season at Michigan State, swimming against the Spartans and NCAA Division II opponent, Grand Valley State. Not only did they take on larger foes in terms of enrollment and NCAA division rank, they did it in a challenging environment, swimming outdoors, in a long-course pool...in October...in Michigan! Those conditions are a far cry from the ideal temperatures inside Denison's state-of-the-art Trumbull Aquatics Center.
That opener at Michigan State was an appetizer for a gauntlet of a schedule that features this weekend's two-day, double dual meet against Ohio State and Princeton. DU will also compete at the Miami University Invitational in early December against a host of Division I competitors. In January, Denison's men will clash with the Buckeyes one more time while the women host Ohio University. Both programs will also host the Pittsburgh Panthers in January.
Parini agrees that the season schedule is just one big piece to a puzzle that culminates in March.
"Everything we do in our program is geared to elicit the highest level of performance among our swimmers and divers," said Parini. "We're committed to providing our student-athletes with the highest quality athletic experience – one that will yield maximum growth and improvement. And competing against top-flight competition like Ohio State, Princeton, Pitt and Michigan State is part of that commitment. That these teams will compete against us on a regular basis is a very positive reflection on the quality of our program and our student-athletes."
It has become evident that Denison's reputation in the pool is ringing loud and clear, across the nation. There are 82 student-athletes on the Big Red roster and they hail from 25 different states and three countries (Bermuda, Australia and The United States). This speaks well to Denison's nationwide reach among top-ranked liberal arts institutions.
This weekend's meet at the McCorkle Aquatic Pavilion in Columbus will be split in half. Tonight, Denison's men and women will compete in the 200 free relay, the 200 freestyle, the 100 backstroke, the 100 breaststroke, the 200 butterfly, the 50 freestyle, the 200 individual medley, the mile and the 400 medley relay. On Saturday, the three teams will swim the 200 medley relay, the 400 IM, the 100 freestyle, 200 backstroke, the 100 fly, the 500 freestyle, the 200 breaststroke before closing with the 400 free relay. Friday's meet will start at 5 p.m. and Saturday's events will begin at 11 a.m.
Denison's next home meet will be on Saturday (Nov. 15) against conference-rival, Kenyon College at 11 a.m.
