For the men's and women's swim teams, the ACC championships marks the end of a long season of hard work.
It may also mark the beginning of better times ahead.
"We're really excited," swimming head coach Robert Thompson said. "It's been a long season. We started training Aug. 30, we went two workouts a day until about the 11th or 12th of February. We've taken a couple of weeks of resting. We're looking good and swimming fast. Our expectations are high."
The meet will be held in Tallahassee, Fla., at the Bobby Leach Recreation Center. The diving portion of the tournament was held over the weekend, and the swimming events are set for Feb. 23-26.
Both the women's and men's teams from North Carolina are favored to win the meets. The Tar Heels have won three consecutive women's championships and four of the last six men's titles.
While the Duke women's team (6-3 overall, 0-3 in the ACC) has had one of its strongest seasons ever, the men (2-7, 0-3) are hoping to finish on a high note after struggling at times during the regular season. Both teams are hoping to get some solid individual performances, especially from their seniors, that may lead to some team success.
"For the women's team, Kim Robertson has been our outstanding swimmer for three years and she's looking good," Thompson said. "Pam McMains has just gotten better and better for us. We expect her to have a really good senior meet.
"As for the men, Chris Kirby, Scott Kammer, and Chris Cowger all have done a great job preparing for the guys. Chris Cowger looks exceptionally good. All three of those guys can make an impact in this meet."
Thompson appreciates the contributions that these swimmers have made to the program and hopes they finish their ACC careers with a quality performance.
"This has been a great senior class," Thompson said. "It was a very talented class when they came in as freshmen. We've lost a few along the way, but the ones that have stayed for four years have been so committed to this thing. You're talking kids that have given us four years of 100 percent."
With solid performances in their final ACC championships, those seniors can help establish a swimming tradition for the underclassmen to carry on in subsequent years. Over half of the men's team is composed of freshmen, while the women have only seven upperclassmen on a 27-person squad.
"We're a young team," Thompson said. "The women's classes are freshmen and sophomores. Our guys team is mostly freshmen. The exciting thing for the guys team is to see what these guys are going to do, because they are going to be different swimmers than they were all year. They've come a long, long way."
The swim teams may be wet behind the ears, but that youth has Thompson bubbling with hope for the future. Duke has perennially placed last in conference meets, mostly due to the fact that swimming is not a scholarship sport at Duke.
Because of this, the team struggles against the many ACC schools that grant scholarships and can attract a number of quality swimmers. Thompson is hoping that this meet can be the beginning of the end of that domination.
"We have been kind of the goat of the league for so doggone long, always being in last place," he said. "Things are beginning to change a little bit. Our women's team has just gotten so strong. And this class of freshmen guys shows the beginning for a much stronger men's team than we've had in the last two years.
"We think we can really do well in the conference meet this year. We know we have individuals that are going to do well. I really think for the first time as a team that we can start to make an impact."
In defining the word "impact," Thompson is quick to point out that the Blue Devils won't be a threat to a power such as UNC. But he does feel the Blue Devils may be able to leapfrog several other teams on both the men's and women's side.
"I'd love to see our guys be able to beat Georgia Tech and Maryland," Thompson said. "I think that's a realistic goal for us. We have to swim well to do it.
"For the girls, we think Maryland is beatable. I'd like to be there with some of those other guys, like Florida State and Clemson. I think we've got some really outstanding girls who can do some things that they haven't done in the past. We can surprise some people."
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