Swimmers dive north for Clan Cup Invite

 A special liter of water will be traveling with the swim team to Burnaby, B.C. this weekend. Contained in a one liter Gatorade bottle is a symbolism of the dominance the Huskies have enjoyed at Husky pool, the enthusiasm the team has displayed in recent weeks, and the hard work the Husky swimmers have put in through the season.

Last week after a winning all but one event at the Husky Relays, each captain took a scoop of water from Husky Pool to take with them this weekend in attempt to capture whatever "magic" the pool has had for Husky swimmers.

"The men's team has a new focus and enthusiasm the last few weeks for what we're doing and this women's team is the best I've seen come through here," said coach Mickey Wender.

After sweeping Simon Fraser in all but one event last weekend at the Husky Relays, the Husky swimmers are ready to travel across the Canadian border to compete in the Clan Cup invitational.

Also competing in the event will be Seattle University, the University of British Columbia, the University of Victoria and other smaller teams.

"Our goal is to win the meet, but SF will be improved from last week and U. of B.C. is always tough," Wender said.

The last time the event was held, B.C. took the meet defeating the Huskies and NCAA champions Stanford. B.C. claims much of last year's Canadian Olympic team, according to Wender.

The Clan Cup Invitational is the team's first away meet of the year, and first trip away from the Husky Pool.

"I'm looking forward to what I can do," said freshmen freestyle and backstroke swimmer Jim Wolfe. "It's our first meet where we are racing against other teams in individual events."

There will be some difference in this weekend's invitational that the Husky swimmers are not used to. All races will be measured in meters instead of yards, and teams will only be scored for their first place swimmer in each event.

"The scoring system doesn't serve us well because it doesn't give us as much of a chance to use our depth," Wender said.

The most dominating swimmer and co-captain on the women's side, Kim Harada, could miss the meet with a shoulder injury. Harada is a key to the team's success in sprint events.