A handwritten sign on the wall at Webster Pool reads: ‘Five weeks until the Big East Championships — ONLY!’

With time running down until the conference championships, the Syracuse swimming and diving team is upping its urgency heading into Saturday’s meet against Connecticut, SU’s first home meet since Oct. 19.

It’s only the second Big East dual meet of the season for Syracuse, and UConn is expected to be much more competitive than West Virginia, who lost to the Orangewomen but beat the Orangemen last weekend.

The divers will compete at 9 a.m., and the swimmers will start at noon at Webster Pool in Archbold Gymnasium.

Syracuse has been practicing at home for about two weeks since its training trip to Puerto Rico, where the team swam in a long-course pool measuring 50 meters. Once the swimmers returned from Puerto Rico, they hopped back in a 25-yard pool at WVU. Webster Pool is also 25 yards.

‘It was hard to transition from one pool to the other,’ junior Elyse McDonough said. ‘We just came off the hardest training of the season, so we were a little tired. This weekend should be a lot better.’

The Huskies have a more challenging lineup than WVU. Even after last weekend’s win, SU coach Lou Walker reprimanded some of the Orangewomen for slacking in their workouts and performing poorly in competition. And after the Orangemen’s disappointing loss to the Mountaineers, they’ll need to clock some faster times to measure up to Connecticut.

‘UConn has a lot more depth than any team we’ve swam so far,’ McDonough said. ‘And they also have a few select swimmers that are pretty fast and are going to really get to us.’

‘It really comes down to some good races where our times are comparable,’ Walker said. ‘They’ve got a couple spots where they’re faster than we are, and we’ve got some spots where we’re faster than they are. And it comes down to those events.’

But Syracuse will have the home-pool advantage this weekend, something it has missed for the last three months. Since SU’s last home meet, it has traveled to Maryland, North Carolina and West Virginia. The trips were marked by early mornings, rushed meals and canceled flights.

This time, it’s UConn that’s looking forward to a five-hour bus ride.

‘Traveling really takes a lot out of you,’ McDonough said. ‘It’s easier when it’s in your pool. Plus, you know your pool better. You know the walls; you know the blocks.”

Syracuse will also take on Seton Hall and Villanova at home before the Big East Championships, so a win against Connecticut would boost SU’s momentum.

‘It’s coming down to the end of the season,’ freshman Lisa Wittich said. ‘We really need to get focused and get together as a team so we can swim fast and perform the best we can.’

Published on January 22, 2003 at 12:00 pm