Revenge of the relay

At Pavilion Pool, the chalkboard had a countdown to the Pac-10 championships, which begin today for the Husky women's swim team (10-5). Each day, the team erased a number, coming ever closer to the revenge of the 400-yard freestyle relay.

Last year the relay was 11th of 13 teams to qualify for the national championships (NCs) until the time trial later in the evening. After earning a spot, a few schools dropped time, which jostled the order and left the UW's 400-yard free relay as the first alternate.

"We were so close to making NCs. I thought we were going and then we were bumped out by a few 10ths of a second," said junior Liya Liu, who was on the relay last year.

They swam in what swimmers call the "smoker" -- lane six, which gets the wake from the lanes toward the middle of the pool. Sharon Olson, then a freshman, had already swam the mile before the relay event. Coach Mickey Wender is considering moving the relay to early Saturday to avoid a repeat of last year.

"The qualification for NCAA swimming, I hate it," Wender said of being without a chair in the "musical chairs" of berths to nationals. "As an athlete you don't know whether you made it until the Thursday after [Pac-10s]."

The Huskies know the rules won't change. Lineups will not be determined until the day of the race, but Wender is always with his stopwatch in practice and he has an idea of who is on top of her training.

"Everyone wants to be a part of that relay; we have to show the coaches who's the fastest," Liu said. "In the morning there is no time to spare, that is when the coaches pay attention to who is hot."

In addition to Liu and Olson, junior Desiree Johnson and freshman Brittany Epperson have been the components of the relay this year. Each has had a tremendous split at some point in the season, Epperson and Liu have recorded their quickest 100-yard free all season as a leg of the relay.

Yet, as a unit, the relay team's best time is 3:28.56 in the Penn State dual. The Husky record was set by last year's version, which included Olympic hopeful and Husky assistant coach Kim Harada, in a time of 3:21.71. In essence, this relay will have to be faster to make sure it has its four chairs waiting at nationals when the music stops.

Wender has entertained the possibility of using senior Melody Staubitz, who swam the relay last year and has been to nationals, or sprinter Lisa Fanning.

But what it really boils down to at this point of the season is who is "tapering" better. Wender said the nature of swimming only allows athletes to be their best a couple times a year. Tapers are a gradual reduction in volume of training substituted for "high-intensity, race-preparation training."

"It's about 40 percent science, and 60 percent art," Wender said of the taper, which is individually crafted to each swimmer.

To swimmers it is like working all year for two weeks of paid vacation.

Liu said she "felt" her taper the morning before the departure to Long Beach, Calif., for Pac-10s. Swimming is different than baseball, in which players take endless swings in the cage before games.

The extra energy piles up, the aerobic capacity is enhanced and, physically, the swimmers are faster because of the shave-down. Before leaving Seattle the women swimmers showed off their leg hair, which some have been growing since August.

It is how they pay homage: sacrificing beautification rituals to enhance the taper. The shave and taper strategy has only been around since the early 1970s, Wender said.

"Even as early as 1972, swimmers weren't shaving their bodies. Mark Spitz won his seven gold medals with a full mustache," the coach explained.

Every advantage is controlled and harnessed. The team aspires for the national championships in some events, but collective goals are at the top of its list. The 400-yard free relay has revenge on its breath and, like every other event, it must now use the taper and go a little faster.

"Typically we make some huge time drops at this point of the season," Wender said of the relay's chance to set things right. "We are not near the cut yet, they will have to swim out of their minds. Can they do that? Absolutely."