Jayhawks Kick Off 2013-14 Season with Annual Intrasquad Scrimmage

LAWRENCE, Kan. –The Kansas swimming and diving team will kick off the 2013-14 season with its annual Crimson and Blue intrasquad scrimmage in Robinson Natatorium Thursday at 3:30 p.m.

The 15-event meet is a way to help the swimmers and divers get back into competition mode. It will also be a way for the freshmen to learn how competitions work at the college level.

“It’s really a low-key start to the racing year,” head coach Clark Campbell said. “Most of our athletes haven’t competed since July or August, so it’s a chance for them to knock the rust off and see where they are at. We also have a lot of freshmen that haven’t competed as college athletes before, and a bunch of them are vying for relay spots. We need to get an idea of how they compete.”

The meet will consist of traditional events such as the 200-yard medley, as well as non-traditional lengths such as the 150- and 600-yard freestyle. The coaches chose to do these distances to ensure their athletes are ready to compete in their first official meet later this month.

“Our thinking behind the decision of events was that because we race so much this fall, we don’t want to waste that competitive effort,” Campbell said. “It’s more about going through the process of competition and setting the right tone.”

The intrasquad meet is a way for the team to prepare for the upcoming season. Campbell said that it is a dry run of how he wants his team to approach the rest of the meets this season. He expects to see a very competitive atmosphere.

“In the grand scheme of things, this is probably the least important meet they will ever compete in this season, but it kicks things off and sets a tone for the rest of the year,” Campbell said. “They’re going to get out of it what they put into it. If they want to be high-level athletes, they need to approach this how they would any other competition and not blow it off. It’s a chance for people to step up and really compete.”

The Jayhawks will travel to Colorado Springs, Colo., for their first official meet of the season to take on Air Force on Saturday, Oct. 12, at 1 p.m.

The team will be back in action at home when they host Nebraska-Omaha and North Dakota Nov. 2 at 1 p.m., in Robinson Natatorium. This meet will serve as Senior Day for the Jayhawks, as well as breast cancer awareness day, where fans are encouraged to wear pink.

KUAthletics.com: The official online source for Kansas Athletics, Williams Education Fund contributions, tickets, merchandise, multimedia, photos and much, much more.