Conference USA Swimming Heading Into Homestretch

By Jaecey Parham, Swimming World College Intern

The seven teams of Conference USA swimming have made it to December with success already under their belts. Based on these teams’ performances so far, the conference championship will undoubtedly shape up to be exciting.

Though preparation for the end of season has been ongoing, the holiday break will pose a greater opportunity for teams to prepare for the end of the season. Three C-USA coaches chime in on their team’s holiday prep.

North Texas

Photo Courtesy: North Texas Athletics

Training trip to San Diego, Calif. Jan. 5-10. The Mean Green will duel University of San Diego in a shootout type format as well as have an exhibition training session with San Diego State and Boise State.
Coach Brendon Bray said he is “hoping for some great training and hopefully some time where the girls can just relax, train, and not have to think or be so concerned with their academic success.”
North Texas has had a history-making start to its season. They are 3-1 for dual meets, which is the best the program has ever seen.

Rice

Photo Courtesy: Rice Athletics

The Owls will first compete at the Incarnate Word Holiday Invitational in San Antonio, Texas, on Dec. 19-21. Later in the break they will head to San Diego, Calif., for a training trip where they will compete against San Diego State and University of Nevada, Reno.
Coach Seth Huston said the team is hoping for San Antonio to swim their best thus far this season. He said, “The break is about building momentum for the rest of the season. Getting faster and building team unity are priorities.”
Rice has shown steady improvement throughout the season, seeming to improve as the season progresses. Coach Huston said he has been surprised particularly by the underclassmen who have shown great progress an contributed nicely to the team’s success.

Western Kentucky

Photo Courtesy: Western Kentucky Athletics

Two week training camp, Jan. 4-10, in Weston, Fla. The Lady Hilltoppers will compete at the Florida International Relay Invitational.
Coach Bruce Marchionda said the training trip could make it or break it for the team’s end of year results. He said the team is “looking to build upon our already strong team chemistry and unity, be in warmer weather, and train hard and efficiently.”
WKU has had a remarkable start to their season thus far. As a team they are 3-1 for dual meets as well as being ranked number one in the conference according to collegeswimming.com. According to Coach Marchionda the team has “been able to race very well in the first semester, which should give them a lot of confidence going into the second semester.”

Jaecey Parham is a freshman sprinter at Rice. Prior to enrolling at Rice, Parham trained with the Lubbock Swim Club since she was nine years old. She also competed at Monterey High School, where she was a Texas state champion.

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