Diamondback Online - The University of Maryland's Independent Daily Student Newspaper

The Terrapin men's and women's swimming and diving teams will hit the pool for their first competition of the season this weekend in the Red-Black Invite at the Eppley Recreation Center Natatorium.

The Terp swimmers will compete against club teams sponsored by United States Swimming on Friday and Saturday. No other collegiate programs are participating.

There will be no official scoring, but first-year coach Sean Schimmel said the meet will be a good opportunity for the Terps to race against other swimmers.

"We're all very excited," Schimmel said. "They're chomping at the bit to get on the blocks and start racing."

The Terps' first regular season meet is scheduled for Oct. 24 against Johns Hopkins, and this weekend's meet is meant to be a major step in getting the Terps prepared for their regular season schedule.

Schimmel said he will be looking as much at how his swimmers prepare themselves mentally for this meet as he will at the times they record in the pool.

"For the second week of October, we're in a pretty good spot for now," Schimmel said. "But we've got a long season ahead of us, and a lot of growth and progression to go through."

The Terps men's team finished eighth at the ACC Championships last season, while the women's team placed ninth.

schimmeldbk@gmail.com

Article Tools