CollegeSwimming.com has released its first Division III poll of the season, and the Wabash swimming and diving team has been picked sixth overall.
The rankings are based on each team's dual meet lineup as judged and submitted by participating teams. Rankings are announced four times throughout the year — November (pre-invitational), December (post-invitational), February (pre-conference meets), and March (post-conference meets).
The Little Giants have opened the 2006-07 season with dual meet victories over Transylvania, Illinois Wesleyan, Carthage, DePauw, Rose-Hulman, and Wittenberg, in addition to winning the eight-team Wabash Invitational two weeks ago.
"This ranking is a tribute to our swimmers and divers," Coach Peter Casares said. "They've worked hard and stayed focused. They have performed well all semester, and have always believe they were competitive with the best in the nation.
"We do need to realize that many teams have not yet competed when this first ranking was compiled. Each conference has its own starting dates. However, it is not unreasonable to assume we are a top-20 program right now, and will continue to be once every team has submitted their results."
Wabash will split its team this weekend, competing in three different events. The divers will remain in Crawfordsville, hosting the annual Wabash Diving Classic Friday and Saturday night. Part of the swim team will travel to Kenyon College Thursday, Friday, and Saturday to compete in the Nike Cup, while the remainder will head south to Greencastle to compete in the DePauw Invitational.
"We've known our times to date could have knocked off some perennial top-10 programs," Casares said. "Now others know too. Simply put, the bulls-eye has never been bigger than it is now. This weekend's competition becomes even more important. It is our first official test as a nationally-ranked program."
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