Feb. 8, 2007
Junior Elizabeth Stowe sat down with RamblinWreck.com and discussed the upcoming Women’s Atlantic Coast Conference Swimming and Diving Championships, Feb. 14-17, in Chapel Hill, N.C.
How is the team training going with the ACC Championships just a week away?
Taper is really kicking in now and everyone is getting excited about ACC’s. Now it’s all about fine-tuning everything and getting mentally prepared. We’ve also been making signs, practicing cheers, and getting everyone pumped up to swim fast.
What has been the biggest difference for the team this year compared to last, or is there a difference?
We had a large freshmen class come in this year. They have been an important aspect of practices, meets, and I expect them to perform well at ACC’s as well. We have also really worked on being more spirited and all-around supportive of each other.
What has been the state of the team’s mind heading into ACC’s and is there a redemption motto after last year’s performance?
We definitely feel the need to show the other ACC teams the hard training we’ve put into this season. Some teams may have put us out of mind after last year’s performance, but we look forward to surprising some of them.
Only you have a NCAA ‘B’ cut so far this year, but many of the girls have swum in-season best times. Is NCAA cuts deceiving going into the conference championship due to training or not?
Anything can happen at ACC’s. ACC’s is our main focus and everyone has put in the work they need to succeed. That hard work has helped some achieve in-season best times. With taper, I think everyone is capable of swimming best times, which will hopefully lead to some more NCAA ‘B’ cuts for our team.
What are the team’s expectations heading into the ACC Championships?
Our goal is to have a top five finish at ACC’s. We all feel this goal is within reach. We’d also like to represent Georgia Tech at NCAAs again this year.
Your expectations?
I feel good about ACC’s. I’d like to make NCAAs again in the mile and get my ‘B’ cut in the 500 Free.
When the season is said and done, what would make a successful end?
Reaching our team goals would be a good end to the season. At ACC’s we’d like to finish top five, with as many individual NCAA ‘B’ cuts as possible. We’d also like to see some girls qualify for the NCAA Championships and our divers final at zones. We’ve already gotten some good girls signed for next year, but we’d like to continue our recruiting and sign more quality swimmers.
