Select members of the Cornell men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams will head to Ithaca College this Saturday at 1 p.m. to participate in the Red’s final regular season meet. With the team beginning to taper and prepare both mentally and physically for the Ivy League Championships, this weekend will be the last chance for the squad to improve upon its previous performances in a real racing environment.Earlier this season, the Red came out on top in the Ithaca College Bomber Invitational. The men earned a final score of 837.5 points while Ithaca College placed second with just 1080.5. The women were also successful at the Invitational with a 1648-point win over Colgate. The teams are looking forward to seeing where they are in their taper and hope to have the opportunity to swim in an environment that will simulate the Ivy League Championships. “This meet gives us all a good feel about how our taper is going and what final changes can be made to ensure fast swimming at Princeton and Brown,” sophomore swimmer Bethany Douglas said. Sophomore Nicole Jibrine added that members of the team are excited to try out new events.“The team is really excited about the Ithaca College Meet. Some of us get to choose our events that we don’t normally swim,” she said. “The people who are swimming at this meet are definitely using it to see how fast they can swim before Ivy Championships. It will be a great indicator to see how taper is working.”This meet will help the Red understand what it needs to continue to do to be successful. The teams understand that in addition to beating Ithaca College, this meet will help members improve their times and place better at the Championships. “This meet is about our team swimming to reach our own personal best times — just using the competition to help us achieve this goal, rather than worrying about the score,” Douglas said.The squads, however, said that they have adequate time for recovery and rest before the big meet ahead, though.“For the Championship season, we have started resting and tapering. Everyone loves this part of the season because practices become shorter and easier, so you can rest your muscles and focus on racing,” Jibrine said.With practices shortening and the season coming to an end, the Red aims to have a good last push in its 2012-13 season. “Eating right, sleeping more and befriending the TCAT are enabling us to rest up for Championships,” Douglas said. “It’s a mental game, but we’re much more confident than last year. We’re ready.”
Original Author: John McGrorty