Beginning with two meets this weekend, the men's swimming and diving team starts a grueling stretch: four meets in nine days.
The team's first meet is in Indianapolis on Friday where it will compete in a double dual meet against Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis and Western Illinois University. The second double dual meet is at home on Saturday in Lewellen Pool at 1 p.m. against Xavier University and University of Illinois at Chicago.
A double duel meet is different than a tri and dual meet, head coach Bob Thomas said.
"Everyone swims together, and each team is swimming against each other," Thomas said. "In a tri meet you would have a first, second and third place. A double duel is two wins, two losses or a win and a loss."
The four meets in nine days is a deviation from the schedules of the past, but the congestion can benefit the Cardinals later in the year, Thomas said.
"It's unusual. I like to have one meet a weekend on Saturday," he said. "It is a lot easier to focus that way. It works into our routine better. It should not have any bad effects on us. It may help us get ready for our conference meet, which is three days in a row."
Thomas said the outcomes of the coming meets would depend on the mental and physical strength of his team.
"My philosophy is that the people that are tough can handle it and will do better because of it," he said.
According to Thomas, this is an excellent opportunity to see where his team is unstable.
"You find out where their weaknesses lie real quick," he said. "If they are not conditioned enough, or if they are mentally weak they won't handle those days very well. I just see it as a way to find out where we are lacking at this time."
With the grind of the four meets closing in, Thomas said it would be necessary for other swimmers to up their level of performance.
"It will be a tough next two weekends with all the competitions," he said. "I want to see who is ready to step up and take it one race at a time, one meet at a time."
Thomas said that IUPUI could give the Cardinals some trouble in certain events, but the Cardinals should win easily.
"I don't expect much difficulty winning the meet," he said. "There will be some races that will be very competitive, and I am expecting that. I have looked at it as a whole knowing that the outcome is in our favor at this point, unless I do something to screw it up."
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