The women's swimming team has its first meet today againstIllinois State at Lewellen Pool, and the 7 p.m. match should proveto be a competitive.
Ball State has beaten Illinois State four years in a row. Thelast time BSU lost to the Redbirds was during the 1999-2000 season,when they squeezed by the Cardinals, 152-148.
"Ball State and Illinois State are pretty much the same,"co-head coach Laura Seibold-Caudill said. "Both teams are verycompetitive, so I think we will match up with them very well."
"We have beaten them a few years straight, and I would reallylike to continue in that tradition," co-coach Bob Thomas added.
While BSU is opening its slate, Illinois State has alreadycompeted this year at Notre Dame, where it finished second out ofeight teams.
"Obviously the anxiety is there," Thomas said. "This is ourfirst meet of the season, and we are taking on a very competitiveIllinois swimming team. However, we know what to expect out ofthem, and I think we will be able to 'one up' them."
Siebold-Caudill likes the matchup because it sets the pace forhow her team performs the rest of the season.
"We could practice forever and ever for this meet," she said,"but we also have to talk about it a lot, and we do.
"It all comes down to who wants it more. It comes down to howmuch these girls want it."
Both the Cardinals and the Redbirds have their respectivestrengths in certain events. Illinois State's primary strength istheir diving. The lady Cardinal's specialize in the backstroke,breast stroke and the butterfly. However, both teams are very fastswimmers.
"We both have really fast teams," Siebold-Caudill said. "We aregoing to have to swim better then we have been. We are either goingto swim really hard and fast, or we are going to get so anxiousthat we are going to slow down, and that's not what we need."
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