NCAA Weekly Preview #9: Which College Meets to Watch This Week

There are oftentimes too many meets to focus on in one week of the NCAA season. With all of the racing going on across the country this week, zone in on a few big ones that should produce fast swimming, great races, and more intrigue.

The weekly preview is meant to highlight big meets of the week, including any key races to watch, people coming back from injury or time off, or anything else you need to know. Let us know in the comments about other meets we didn’t talk about here, and why we should pay attention to them!

Note that these are just several meets that piqued our interest, and this is not a comprehensive preview for every single meet happening this week.

MICHIGAN V. INDIANA

• Date – 1/17
• Hosts – Indiana

Why you should pay attention: This is the most highly-anticipated Big Ten dual meet of the year. With both Indiana and Michigan men and women performing so well the last few seasons, this is a truly great showdown between two of the top teams not only in the Big Ten, but in the entire country. The Michigan women and Indiana men have the upper hand on paper, but conference rivalry meets always bring out the best in swimmers. The distance races, in particular, should be fantastic, as well as the breaststrokes (including Olympic champion Lilly King).

MINNESOTA V. OREGON STATE V. USC

• Date – 1/18
• Hosts – USC

Why you should pay attention: Minnesota is traveling back to the cold from their training trip and dual meet in Hawaii, but they’ll be stopping in LA for a match-up with USC and Oregon State (W). We haven’t seen the Trojans race yet in 2019, and there are some questions looming, most importantly– where is Courtney Caldwell at speed-wise? A healthy, on form Caldwell has immense (and positive) implications for the Trojans come NCAA season, but we haven’t seen her swim much and she’s been well off of her times.

UNC V. NC STATE

• Date – 1/19
• Hosts – NC State

Why you should pay attention: UNC is not the team it once was, but the Tar Heel women, in particular, may be able to steal away a few wins. Freshman Sophie Lindner had some impressive dual meet performances in the first semester. Meanwhile, breaststroker Rafal Kusto of Poland was supposed to join the Wolfpack men this semester. He’s not on the roster as of yet — will he show?

OHIO STATE V. MICHIGAN

• Date – 1/19
• Hosts – Michigan

Why you should pay attention: Ding, ding, ding! Another Big Ten rivalry meet! This one figures to be a tighter match-up for the men than the women, but there should be plenty of great races to watch on both sides. The Buckeyes will be hungry to surprise the Wolverines, who may be a bit tuckered out from their big meet with Indiana two nights before.