The Michigan women's swimming and diving team will end its California holiday travels this weekend with meets against No. 1 Stanford tomorrow and No. 16 California on Sunday.
The Wolverines' travels included a two-week training session in Coronado, Calif., and a practice meet against UCLA and California-San Diego.
"Our goal with training in Coronado was to get two weeks of training with no compromises to develop the workload we'll need to succeed in the Big Ten and NCAA meets," Michigan coach Jim Richardson said.
With a meet against the top team in the nation, one would think that the Wolverines would devote a lot of time to competing against the Cardinal.
But, this meet will be used as a warmup for the heavier competition that lies ahead in February and March.
"We did not set time aside to prepare for the meets, because we were at the point where we needed to put in two solid weeks of work," Richardson said. "The meet will be important, because it will show how well we race when we are tired and fatigued.
"Nobody will give a hoot in February about who won at Stanford, and even less people will care at the NCAAs in March."
Despite the lack of emphasis that is being put into winning the meet, the Wolverines are looking at it as a challenge and an indication of where they stand among the nation's elite.
"Stanford is Stanford, and they are the No. 1 team in the nation," Richardson said. "It will be a lot of fun for us and give us a feel for where we stand."