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Men's swimming and diving heads into toughest competition

Saluki swimming and diving head coach Rick Walker knows what kind of competition the team will face this weekend.

"It's big programs, big money, and it's us," Walker said. "We're going to go in there and do our best against some very good programs."

But Walker also knows that if you want to be the best you have to go up against the best.

The men's swimming and diving team will head to Indianapolis Saturday to compete against Big 10 foes Iowa, Purdue and Indiana.

"We're going against teams where we want to be, not necessarily those that we can handedly beat," Walker said.

Both Indiana and Purdue are ranked in the top 20 nationally. Walker sees the team's best chances of close competition against Iowa.

Though Walker expects the competition to be tough, he also expects his swimmers to not back down.

"These guys, in my history with them, have been guys who always stood up to the competition," Walker said.

Senior Adam Gangl said SIU is coming off a good trip at the Northwestern Invitational and feels that the Salukis' chances are strong going into the meet.

"You just got to go out and race the guy next to you and get the best time possible," Gangl said.

The men are coming off a fourth-place finish at the Northwestern Invitational two weeks ago. So far, their only win has come against Evansville at the beginning of the season.

Although the competition has been tough, many of the Salukis have earned wins individually and also earned provisional spots for the NCAA Tournament at the end of the season.

Those who qualify in the standard spot earn an automatic berth to the NCAA Championships. A swimmer who qualifies provisionally will go to the NCAA Championships if not enough swimmers meet the standard qualifications.

At the Northwestern Invitational, Marcelo Possato beat his personal record in the 100 and 200 backstroke. In addition, he qualified provisionally for the 100 and 200 backstroke.

Freshman Antonio Santoro won the 200 freestyle and butterfly at the Northwestern Invitational. Santoro also set a pool record and qualified provisionally in the 500 and 200 freestyle.

The Salukis are using each meet as a chance to prepare for the Missouri Valley Conference Championship, as well as the NCAA Championships.

"It is a great opportunity to have a good race and to get some of my best times," Santoro said. "Everybody wants to swim their best and beat the teams to prepare for the championships."

Freshman Gareth McGee is out with a broken hand along with Brandon Birchak, who has a back injury. But Walker sees strength in the whole team and said everyone has made strong improvements throughout the young season.

"You can go right down the line and each one of them have stepped up," Walker said.