The ASU swim and dive teams take a break from the traditional dual meets to compete in the seasons’ first championship style events this weekend.
The dive team will be in Tucson for the Wildcat Diving Invitational, while the swim team will travel to Long Beach, Calif., for the Toshiba Classic.
UA’s invitational will host 88 divers from 18 different schools including UA, Brigham Young, Southern California, Hawaii, and Stanford.
The format will be different than anything the dive team has been exposed to so far this season, but it will mirror the format of the championship meets later in the year.
“It’s a unique challenge for us,” said ASU dive coach Mark Bradshaw. “It will be our first championship experience in terms of having to go through waiting a lot between each dive. I just want to see what we can do at this point.”
While his main focus may be to get his team comfortable with the championship format, Bradshaw also believes his team can have tremendous success this weekend.
“Everybody can final in every event,” Bradshaw said.
While expectations are high, Bradshaw feels his team is ready, even though the events will feature many talented divers.
Among the elite competition is BYU junior Brandon Watson, a diver Bradshaw considers possibly the best springboard diver in the zone.
Similar to the divers, the ASU swim team will also compete in a championship format at the Toshiba Classic.
“This is our first opportunity to do a full three-day [meet],” ASU coach Dorsey Tierney-Walker said. “I think it will be a great opportunity to practice our routine for the Pac-10 Championships and the NCAA Championships because it is the same order of events.
“We’re basically going to do a dress rehearsal for our championship meets.”
ASU senior Katie Haron believes the team has bonded and is ready for the challenge.
“I’ve never seen a team click this well since I’ve been here,” Haron said. “We just had a goals meeting. We know what we want to do, we just have to do it and remember what we’re working for every day.”
There will be great competition for both the men and women, Tierney-Walker said. Air Force, who already beat the ASU men earlier this month, will take part in the meet.
ASU will also swim against Stanford, UC Santa Barbara, the No. 24 UCLA women, the No. 5 California women, and numerous other California schools.
While this meet is obviously not the Pac-10 or NCAA Championships, the ASU swimmers understand that if they swim as if it is a championship meet they will be better prepared in the future.
“We do everything the same way just so when it comes to Pac-10’s we feel ready and confident,” Haron said.
The weekend may not be the easiest, but ASU is anticipating positive results.
“It’s a pretty intense type of weekend, but I think we’re ready for it and I’m looking forward to it,” Tierney-Walker said.
Reach the reporter at william.boor@asu.edu
