The men’s and women’s swim and dive teams will travel west next week to compete in the Big East Championships meet at the IUPUI Natatorium in Indianapolis, IN. The meet will begin on Wednesday, Feb. 28, and events will continue until Saturday, March 2.
Villanova is one of seven teams that will be competing for the conference champion title, alongside athletes from Butler, Xavier, Seton Hall, Georgetown, Providence and UConn.
Challenging non-conference opponents have strengthened the team ahead of the Big East Championships. Both the men and women’s teams fell to Penn State on Feb. 2 in their last dual meets of the regular season.
Both the men’s and women’s teams have been training throughout the last several weeks of practice in order to prepare for the intense competition that lies ahead.
“We had three days in a row that we were really excited and impressed with where the whole squad was,” head coach Rick Simpson said. “I thought at the end of [Saturday’s] practice we were all very, very excited about where we are and kind of turning that corner towards the big meet next week.”
The 2023–2024 regular season was a successful one for the ‘Cats, as they are entering championship weekend undefeated in the Big East and holding an overall record of 5-4-1.
“The success you have all year kind of sets the tone,” Simpson said. “This year, I think we were much better in-season, so it makes life a little bit easier in terms of confidence. It definitely plays a role in having a more positive mindset going into the meet.”
Another exciting aspect of the meet is the Natatorium location on the Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis campus.
“It helps the mindset when you walk into such a great place like, ‘Hey, this is the big deal. This is why we’re here,’” Simpson said. “[The team is] really fortunate that the Big East has made that investment to put [its] championship in by far the greatest permanent facility in the United States.”
As 10-time returning champions, the women have high hopes of leaving Indianapolis with an 11th straight win.
“The Big East has become such a tight team battle,” Simpson said. “Looking ahead to next week to say that Villanova is guaranteed is not the case at all. You’ve gotta walk in there, and you’ve gotta earn it from day one.”
Although each event is individual or with a smaller cohort in a relay, a win at an event of this caliber will be dependent on the contribution of and commitment from each swimmer.
Performances across the Villanova roster have been fairly consistent throughout the season.
“The bottom third of the times and the point-scoring lists are probably better than what we have seen from the bottom third in a number of years,” Simpson said. “This is a year where you look down our roster of 18 men and 18 women, and any of those people could pull something off. It could be anybody, which is exciting.”
