The Stanford women’s dive squad is set for its confrontation with Brigham Young today while the No. 2 swim team will have to wait an extra day before facing off against No. 8 Cal on Saturday at 1 p.m. at the Avery Aquatic Center. Stanford has so far accumulated wins against San Jose State, Washington, Arizona, Arizona State, UCLA and USC while suffering only one loss at the hand of No.1 Georgia.

This weekend’s meet against Cal could be a huge momentum booster for the Cardinal women going into the Pac-10 Championships (Feb. 27-Mar. 1) at Long Beach.

“Our meet against USC was a successful in-season meet,” junior Fiona O’Donnell McCarthy said. “We went into the meet without much rest and we’re focusing on the details of our races and less on the times. We are in a good position going into our final dual meet against Cal and the postseason meets.”

Stanford has high hopes to win the NCAA title this year, with its core relay (sophomore Julia Smit, junior Caroline Bruce, sophomore Elain Breeden and senior Brooke Bishop) team back from last year.

The team lost last year’s MVP Cassidy Krug to graduation after managing a fourth place overall finish last season. And while most other teams would be overjoyed with a fourth place finish in a Division I sport, Stanford was admittedly disappointed with its performance. A large part of the championship team had faster times at the conference finals than at the NCAA meet, leaving plenty of room for ‘what-ifs.’

“I think Stanford has a very legitimate shot at winning the championship this year,” Breeden said. “We have an incredibly talented team and we have more depth than we had last year. We are going to have more people in the finals and more swimmers scoring, and that’s what it takes for a victory.

“Every team member plays a crucial role in that they have a responsibility to step up and perform,” she added. “The competition is intense and the pressure is high, but we have worked hard all year and we will be ready.”

Stanford has a strong chance to win the title this year and the freshmen class will definitely have a major impact for the women. Last year’s top recruit in the nation, freshman Elizabeth Smith, has added depth to the team in the breaststroke and IM events while freshman Kate Dwelley is one of the nation’s top freestylers with a legitimate chance to earn an Olympic spot.

Freshman Meg Hostage has already asserted herself as one of the nation’s top divers along with freshman teammate Hallie Ivester. Further adding to the freshmen’s accomplishments, Kerry Kraemer adds depth to the breaststroke and IM events. Freshman sprinter Julie Smith will add points for the Cardinal in the 50, 100, and 200 freestyles.

In terms of its training, the swim team has entered the ‘shave and taper’ portion of its schedule, the time when practices are shorter and swimmers cover less yardage, focusing instead on more specific skills such as reaction time and turns. The purpose of the taper is to rest the athletes for the big events while maintaining stroke form and technique in order to get the best swims to qualify for NCAA cuts.