The last time a team other than Michigan won the Big Ten championship in women's swimming, the cast of "Beverly Hills, 90210" was still in elementary school.
If Michigan can win this weekend's Big Ten championship in Indianapolis, the Wolverines will have captured the conference title for the 11th consecutive year.
Sure, that streak may not be as famous as Cal Ripken's consecutive-games-played streak, but no team in Big Ten history has had that long of a run.
While this may seem impressive to most, Michigan coach Jim Richardson does not put much stock in it.
"Honestly it doesn't mean anything," Richardson said. "We try to simply go there and swim the best we can."
This season's championship meet may be the toughest in years for the Wolverines, who have had lackluster showings in their recent meets, including a loss to Northwestern two weekends ago.
Over the past 11 seasons, the Wolverines have compiled a dual-meet record of 59-3 against conference opponents. However, since one of those three losses came in Michigan's last meet, there is reason to believe that the Wolverines could be in for a run for their money this weekend.
Richardson said, no matter the outcome, the Big Ten championships is not the most important meet of the year.
"Anytime you go into (the Big Tens), the meet is certainly important," he said. "But we look at it as a stepping stone to the NCAA."
A Little R&R: Last weekend was the calm before the storm for the Wolverines.
After training hard almost daily since Thanksgiving break, Richardson gave the Wolverines a weekend to relax. A light workout Saturday morning was the only time they were in the pool.
"We tried to get some of the swimmers the rest they needed," Richardson said.
The swimmers welcomed the break but found being outside of the pool a little uncomfortable.
The rest "was nice, but it was kind of weird to sit there and watch a race," senior captain Anne Kampfe said in reference to the predominantly high-school Michigan Open meet held at the Canham Natatorium last weekend.
"The rest was helpful more mentally than physically."
The relaxation ended yesterday, however, as the Wolverines worked out in preparation for the Big Ten championships.
Today, the swimmers will practice when their class schedules allow, then leave for Indianapolis. They will use Wednesday to get accustomed to the pool there before the three-day event begins.
No need for alarm: For four seasons, Michigan was undefeated in Big Ten dual meets.
That streak ended two weekends ago, when the Wolverines fell to Northwestern in Bloomington.
As Michigan prepares for the Big Tens, Richardson said that the loss to the Wildcats is no cause for panic.
"Some people look at the loss to Northwestern and say 'it was the first loss in a dual meet since the ice age,'" he said. "But there is a lot that goes into it that they don't see. We lost that meet because Northwestern simply swam a very fast race."
Against the Wildcats, many of Michigan's top swimmers were tired from full workouts during the week. In fact, Richardson says Michigan is not concerned with the results of its dual meets.
Instead, he gauges his swimmers on how well they preform at practice.
"As long as I'm seeing day in and day out people swimming (well in practice), I think we'll be where we need to be," Richardson said.