The prospects for the Big Green women (4-7, 1-6 Ivy) are not promising despite some strong individual performances this season.
The team lacks the depth required for success, but can look for some strong individual performances.
Despite not being in contention for the Frank Keefe Trophy, which goes to the winning team at the end of this weekend's competition, the Dartmouth swimmers are preparing for the meet and are in positions to set personal records.
"We started tapering two weeks ago and resting our bodies so our muscles could recover from a tough season," captain Melissa Kern '07 said. "So this weekend we are well-rested and ready to post personal bests."
In addition to tapering, the Big Green should shave seconds off their times by shaving their legs and arms before the meet.
"A lot of girls haven't shaved since the start of the season, and the whole team officially stopped shaving around Christmas," Kern said.
"We will all shave the night before the meet," she continued. "Different coaches have different opinions about how much time it takes off, but swimming races are decided by tenths of a second and a hundredth of a second and it could make the difference between making it to finals and not."
The Dartmouth women's only win in the Ivy League this season was against the Cornell women. The Big Red hold a record of 0-7 in the Ivy League and 1-9 overall.
"Last year we finished seventh at the championship and this year we would definitely like to improve in the standings," Kern said.
Kern added that she believes the team is significantly stronger this year than it was last year, and hopes for a strong showing this weekend.
Princeton, which has claimed six of the last seven Ivy titles, finished the regular season with an undefeated Ivy League record of 7-0 and an overall record of 9-1, is expected to do well in its home pool.
The Dartmouth women last swam against Princeton in a dual meet on Sunday, Jan. 28, and were defeated 219-74. Although the Big Green garnered several individual wins, the Princeton team's depth secured the Tigers' huge margin of victory.
Dartmouth's Lizzie Rippe '07, the second place finisher at last year's Ivies, had a strong performance against Princeton, clocking in at 25.92 seconds for a win in the 50-yard fly two weeks ago.
Kern also suggested watching Heather Jankins '09 this weekend.
"Heather has had a great season and could finish very well," Kern said.
In addition to Princeton, Harvard's (7-2, 6-1 Ivy), Yale's (8-2, 5-2 Ivy) and Penn's (10-3, 4-3 Ivy) women each boast a winning record in the Ivy League this season.
The Ivy league championships has the potential to produce unexpected results. Because it is not a dual meet, it will have eight competing teams that could make the competition for top point scoring positions fiercer.
"The Ivy championship is different tha a normal meet," Kern said. "We should all swim considerably faster because we have tapered for it and it is a three-day meet, so we won't know how we stand until Saturday."
