NU swimmers taper off season with easy practices in preparation for Big Ten Championships

The process of preparing for a big meet in swimming is a science.

Coaches know exactly what types of workouts they need to create for their swimmers. The swimmers, meanwhile, can pinpoint where their focus needs to be both in and out of the pool.

It's all about making sure their hard work throughout the season has paid off to give them that perfect last race.

The Nebraska women's swimming and diving team is getting ready to do just that as it prepares for the Big Ten Championships.

"Taper is like music to a swimmer's ears," NU senior captain Caroline Shea said.

For a long season that started in August, it all comes down to this last week of practices before the championships, which are Feb. 12-18 in Iowa City, Iowa.

"We peaked in our anaerobic volume about a week ago, and now we are starting to come down on that," NU coach Pablo Morales said.

While Morales has designed complex practices to push his swimmers throughout the season, his practices now only consist of two parts—warm-up and fast swimming.

"Practices now are more self-directed," Morales said. "We need to see that sharpening now and focus on the details."

A veteran swimmer such as Shea realizes just how important those details can be to a race.

"We are fine-tuning those things that can be detrimental to a race if not executed right," Shea said.

While these components are critical to a race, the other skill that the Husker swimmers are working on during their practices is probably the most important: sprinting.

Although Morales says that he wants his swimmers to get full recovery from these taper practices, he is still working on getting them at their peak.

"During our practices we are getting our mind and body prepared for a race," Shea said.

In addition to this sharp focus during practice, the Nebraska swimmers also have a lot to remember outside of practice.

"The rest they get outside of practice is the most important," Morales said.

While the Huskers' workouts are still filled with sprinting, they aren't as difficult as they were earlier in the season. Because of this, Morales says they need to reduce their caloric intake.

All of these preparative measures will be key for the Huskers coming into the Big Ten Championships.

In the format of this meet, all swimmers competing in a certain individual event will race in the morning, and the top-24 will qualify to swim in finals that night, and the top-16 swimmers in the finals score points for their squads.

With the Huskers moving to the Big Ten, they will go from competing with a total of six teams in the Big 12 to 12 in the Big Ten. This means that there will be more competition to make that top 24 and back to finals.

"No matter what conference you are at, there is a premium of where the top times are at," Morales said.

Although this means that the top times between the Big Ten and the Big 12 will be about the same, the Huskers still need to on the top of their game during the morning sessions.

"If they aren't good enough in the morning, they aren't going to make it back at night," Morales said.

As a senior, Shea's goals continue to remain the same.

"Just like with any big meet, it would be great to have some of my personal bests," Shea said.

Nevertheless, it will be a new experience for all of the Huskers as they get ready to compete in the Big Ten and make a name for themselves.

"We're going in there with that blank slate and are going to work it to our advantage," Shea said.

angelahensel@

dailynebraskan.com