Swimming and diving to face ranked teams at Maryland

Head coach Matt Barany has ensured the women's swimming and diving team won't be competing against any Atlantic 10 Conference teams until the championship so the team can compete against teams ranked higher.

So, do the Spiders get discouraged swimming against superior teams all season?

Barany said the Spiders weren't the disheartened ones.

"It's discouraging for the rest of the A-10 because they only see us once a year."

And for the past seven years, that one sighting has proved ineffective in conquering the Spiders, who have taken home the A-10 trophy every year since 2002.

"We really don't talk about [our record] that much," said Barany, who has been coaching the swim team for four years. "Today in practice was the first time we talked about it."

And the Spiders have been training for 12 weeks now, practicing six days a week and twice a day three times a week.

"A lot of our success right now is us compared to ourselves," Barany said. "We want to win every relay. In an individual sport like ours where we don't expect someone to block for us or pass us the ball, for the team to say that it wants to win all five relays and break A-10 records is the biggest form of teamwork it can display."

Last year, the Spiders won four of the five relays, which include the 200- and 400-yard medley and 200-, 400- and 800-yard freestyle. During the 2006 to 2007 season, it won all five.

"Living up to our own expectations is a big challenge," Barany said. "As a group, we're extremely driven, but there are always hazards. We have the roster to win the championship, but I don't ever want the team to be complacent or assume."

At the University of Maryland Terrapin Invitational Nov. 20 to 22, Barany said the Spiders could come in first or 10th, but the main goal was to train for the A-10 Championship in February in Buffalo, N.Y.

The key to the Spiders' winning streak is working a different muscle system the two weeks before the championship, said junior Katie Sieben, who is captain along with seniors Lauren Beaudreau and Cara Smaniotto. The team swims its fastest at the championship because it has built a base all season and works a different energy system in the practices leading up to the championship, Sieben said.

"We're fully rested and fully trained so we can swim much faster than we do at other meets," said Sieben, who ranked 26th in the Olympic trials this summer and is one of the top butterfly swimmers in the country, Barany said.

The Terrapin Invitational is one of seven meets this season and includes 10 top-ranked teams, which will help the Spiders learn how to swim smart, sophomore Natalie Lewis said. Lewis, whose specialty is freestyle, swam a personal best at the season opener against Pennsylvania State University on Oct. 24.

"After that first meet at Penn State," Lewis said, "we were able to work more cohesively. At the William and Mary meet, no one sat down; we were cheering the whole time."

Freshman Charlotte Brackett took home the A-10 Swimming Rookie of the Week award after she came in first for the 50- and 100-yard freestyle relay at the Spiders' Nov. 7 meet against William and Mary. Though her time in the 50 free was the seventh-fastest in school history, Brackett said her goal was to swin the race in less than 23 seconds.

Brackett is one of seven freshmen on the team of 17.

"It usually takes us until January or February to see positive development from the freshmen," Barany said, "but they've taken ownership of the season."

Lewis agreed: "The freshmen are bringing the heat. They're all talented and have the opportunity to make a huge impact."

For Barany, an eighth-straight win at the championship won't ease the 20 hours of practice each week.

"After we win a championship, we always feel like there is still more to do," he said.

Contact reporter Jenn Hoffman at jenn.hoffman@richmond.edu