Swimming and diving team prepares for final meet of season

Coming off a weekend split against the University of Idaho and Washington State University, the Boise State swimming and diving team is getting ready to host their final meet before the Western Athletic Conference Championships (Feb. 25-28) in San Antonio, Texas.

The Broncos beat the Vandals for the first time in program history Saturday, Jan. 24, setting a new team record in the 200 relay.

“It was fun,” head coach Kristin Hill said. “We went in there expecting to win, but knowing we were at their facility, with their crowd, they definitely have a home-pool advantage.”

“We’re at the West Boise Y, and we don’t train there every day, so we don’t get that true home-pool advantage,” Hill said. “But we do get the home crowd, which is nice, and they run a great competition out there for us, so we’re thankful for that.”

Boise State hosts the Oregon State Beavers Saturday. The Beavers are coming off a close win against the Washington State Cougars, who beat the Broncos 138-63 Jan. 25.

Boise State faced the Beavers in a head-to-head meet in 2006, losing 79-123. Hill hopes for a different outcome this time.

“Oregon State is a strong Pac-10 team, and they are well coached,” Hill said. “We are so much better than we were two years ago when we swam against them for the first time. It’s going to be really exciting to see the difference. The level of achievement our team has had over the last two years has been really great.”

Hill said the team started resting swimmers in anticipation of the upcoming WAC Championships. This might result in a mixture of performances in Saturday’s contest with some athletes feeling sharp and rested, and others needing more rest before they perform at their best.

The meet will feature the “Big Splash,” where members of the Boise State football team compete in relay and diving events. Two teams of four will face off in a relay contest during the first break of competition. Three offensive linemen will take on three defensive linemen in a diving competition during the second break.

“It should be fun,” Hill said. “Last year was the first year we’ve done it, and we’re excited to see the same crowd turnout and have the same intensity.”

The team is looking forward to the WAC Championship and will try to improve their seventh-place finish from last season. Hill expects the team to contend with the top teams in the WAC, and finish as high as fourth in the nine-team competition.

The Broncos hope to continue to get big contributions from freshman Amber Boucher, who was named WAC swimmer of the week for Jan. 19-25. She swam the butterfly leg of the record-setting relay, and finished first in the 50 free and the 100 fly.

“Amber is one of our strong freshman,” Hill said. “She is a fighter, and gets in there and races and loves to race, but she also works hard in training, so it’s a great combination.”

Boucher and her teammates hope to continue their success this Saturday.

ANDREAS KREUTZER
Arbiter Journalist

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