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Swimming teams head into training period The men's and women's swimming teams are coming off the Ohio State Invitational, an event that featured four of the nation's top 20 teams and is an annual measuring stick for the Boilermakers as they head into the December training period. "I'm really pleased with how the fall has gone," women's coach John Klinge said. "A lot of times in swimming, you are resting for certain meets. For the dual meets, we wanted to do well but not sacrifice for the Big Ten meets. In swimming, everything rides on how we do at the Big Ten (meet) and NCAA. It is absolutely critical that we are ready to go at that time." Winter break began on Dec. 16, starting both team's important three-week stretch over the holidays focused almost exclusively on training. Both teams headed to Hawaii. It's a chance to continue building towards those crucial meets in March. "We are light years better right now than we were at this point a year ago," men's coach Dan Ross said. "We have goals of finishing in the top three in the Big Ten this year. That's never been done before here at Purdue. We finished fifth last year, and we want to win a Big Ten championship, but that means going through the defending national champion in Michigan. How far we go will depend a lot on our work ethic." When both teams return to West Lafayette in January, they will return to Big Ten competition, hosting Michigan and Michigan State in a pair of dual meets. Those meets should provide some insight into whether the Boilers' time in Hawaii was beneficial, especially for the men who will face the defending national champion Wolverines. "This is really a critical time training-wise," Klinge said. "The main focus is on these three weeks of training before school starts again. We want to see really good, consistent training during that period. We do a lot of training over the break. "The No. 1 thing we want to see is a real consistent training from everybody." — Brandan Alford 86 IllustrateD volume 24, issue 3 onship appearance last spring swimming in each of the Boilermakers' freestyle relay teams. She has picked up this season right where she left off, collecting nine individual victories through the season's first two months and being named Big Ten Swimmer-of-the-Week twice. That success reached a peak on Nov. 24 when Mercer broke the school record in the 100 freestyle at the Ohio State Invitational. Her time of 48.43 seconds bested Ariel Martin's previous record that was set at the 2011 Big Ten Championships. "It's awesome," Mercer said. "To be honest, I hadn't even realized I had broken the record until one of my teammates came up and told me I had done it. It was a great feeling to take down a name and put mine up there. Ariel is someone I look up to, and that was really exciting. "It's something that has always been in the back of my mind, but not something that I was completely focused on. I just want to get as fast as I can and breaking that record was just a bonus." Tucker setting a standard When Tucker returned to Purdue this fall, he did so with the distinction of having accomplished something no other Purdue swimmer had ever accomplished. Competing at the U.S. Open over the summer, Tucker won the 100 freestyle, becoming the first Boilermaker to ever win an event at the U.S. Open. That success, along with what he has accomplished in his first three years at Purdue, has given the senior from Naperville, Ill., plenty of leadership cache with his teammates. From being an example at meets to establishing a vocal presence at preseason workouts, Tucker has established himself in the Purdue program. "I think it's huge," men's coach Dan Ross said about Tucker's accomplishments. "The difference with Danny is that there are a few things he struggles with in the pool, but he never complains about it. "His credibility is that he's a racer and he doesn't let anything affect him. Whatever he has to do in the pool to get there, he doesn't complain about all the things he doesn't like. He doesn't complain about those things because it is a conduit to getting to the Championship." Four years ago, even Ross didn't know what he would have in Tucker. Even as the Boilermaker coach staff recruited the Naperville Central athlete, Ross admitted that Tucker wasn't a priority recruit for the program. f