For the six Vandal swimming seniors and the lone Vandal senior diver, Saturday represents the last time they will compete in front of the Idaho faithful at the UI Swim Center.
Cortnee Hanson, Katherine Kubancik, Amanda Morrow, Amanda Nerbovig, Nicole Schuh, Mandy Stone and Amanda Watson joined a fledging program and leave it on the cusp of bigger and better things.
"All of our seniors joined the team as 18 year-old girls and will leave 22-year-old women ready to take on the world," said coach Tom Jager, as the Vandals prepared to take on Washington State University at the UI Swim Center at 11 a.m. "The one word I would use to describe this senior class is resilient."
It was that resiliency which rubbed off on the rest of the team that led the team to wins over San Diego, Seattle and Nevada.
Jager said the group of seniors may not have been the most talented but they were certainly the toughest.
"Every time this group got hit they got right back up no matter how hard the hit was," Jager said. "This is a strong-minded group and I am proud of every one of our seniors."
What really made this batch of seniors special was its ability to handle adversity, Jager said.
"This group shows that if you keep working hard for all four years good things will come,' Jager said. "All of our seniors are having the best year of their college career and that is because of the hard work that has been put in."
Jager said it is important the day not be treated as a sad one but something that is fun and worth remembering.
"It is the last time these girls will get to go out and swim as Vandals so they are going to want to do something memorable," Jager said. "They have been lucky enough to swim in one of the greatest environments and the place will be rocking once again."
Since it is the seniors last home meet there will be extra energy in the air which will help the team compete and build on last week's showing, Jager said.
"We are playing another really good PAC-10 school and we feel like we can beat them," Jager said. "You hear the football team saying they want a chance to play WSU, well we are lucky enough to have that shot."
Jager said a win over WSU would be a perfect way to head into the WAC tournament at the end of February.
"Our ultimate goal is to win the WAC championship but to gain some momentum by knocking off WSU would be huge," Jager said. "It is a chance for us to knock off a local rival and close the career for our impressive seniors."
If the team can win a few of the close races it lost against Oregon State, it can beat WSU, Jager said.
"Like I said, this senior class is resilient and there is no better way to prove it than by going out and helping the team beat WSU," Jager said. "I just want the time to go out, have fun and be competitive for one last home meet."
