How does this year's team differ from last year's championship team? It's a very different team for sure. The nice thing is we've got our three seniors, and a strong group of juniors and sophomores who all went through it last year and experienced a tough meet. That experience is helpful for our freshmen, who are a big part of what we are going to do this week.

How much are you going to rely on your upperclassmen in terms of leadership for a freshmen-heavy team this year? They definitely set the tone and they'll share their experiences with everyone. They're experienced and they've been at big meets before.

What do you expect from your freshmen? We expect them to swim lifetime bests and if they do that, then we can't do much better than that. The nice thing about our sport is that we can objectively see from the scoreboard based on times if we've done our best or not. If we do our best, we'll be happy with how we do.

Compared to last year's diving group going into conference, how does this year's group stack up? Every year we go through ups and downs. Lex Geiger had a great year as a freshman and her experience wil lhelp her this year. Chelsea Jackson dove as well as she could and missed out on winning by a couple of points. Carlye Townsend has a lot of confidence after doing well last year and our freshmen have built confidence throughout this year and they are feeling good about what they are doing.

How do you evaluate the divers in the conference as a whole? I think by far we have the strongest diving team, but UNC has a diver who has come on strong this year and she'll be hard to beat. New Mexico State has a diver who has been injury free this year and last year she wasn't. There are going to be a lot of good divers, but we have the most depth.

What has the last month of training been like? Vegas (on Jan. 31) was a good meet to see how we were going to deal with pressure. We're going to be a little more relaxed and calm next week. The last month, we've down a lot more with our turns and our starts; more technique work. Coach has been motivated to keep us going during practice and he's been supportive. It keeps us wanting to do more.

What has the team camaraderie been like this year? We have grown a lot stronger and we're a lot closer. The seniors last year taught us to make sure that every girl on this team feels important. We all have different personalities but we balance each other out. Our freshmen have stepped up and they don't even seem like freshmen anymore. We're all very excited.

What did you learn from last year's championships that you can use to be even better this year? What I learned from last year is that I need to go in and trust our training, my coach and my teammates. It's easier knowing that you have four or five other girls around you doing the same thing you're doing and that we're one team. We train for conference and at this time, it's about putting it all together, everything we've been working toward. It's about putting it together in the spotlight.

It's been an up and down year for the divers, so what does it say about the unit that you've all been able to put it together heading into conference? All of us have been able to overcome every obstacle we've faced this year. That's who we are and that's how our team is. We're more than teammates, so it's easy to overcome things when you have a sister standing next to you on the board.

What are your emotions like heading into your last conference meet? I'm feeling competitive. It's going to take a lot of drive and heart to pull out another championship. Also I just want to have fun. The last few years I've stressed about a lot of things, but with this being my last year it's important for me to enjoy the experience with my team rather than worrying about my times or what place I might finish in. I want to be competitive and have fun.

As one of three seniors on the team, what are you looking for what yourself and the other seniors to guide the team's freshmen into their first conference championship? A lot of it will be leading by example. We've all been swimming for years, but conference is a meet like no other that the freshmen have never experienced before at the collegiate level. If we can show how to be confident in themselves and carry themselves with the right poise, then everyone will do great.

How are you feeling mentally and physically heading into conference as you hope to build on last year's success? Physically, I feel really good this year. I've improved a lot consistency-wise. I've gained a lot of muscle so I've been jumping higher and I feel really good about that. Mentally, the last few meets haven't been as great but I've been working hard the last few weeks so I'll be ready to go.

What have you been able to teach Alyssa (Loeffelman) and Emma (Simmonds) as they prepare for their first WAC Championships? I've told them what to expect and I've told them it's really fun. It's a super pumped up meet and that they need to relax and have fun. We've all worked so hard and improved this season and I can't wait to see everyone dive at conference.

How are you feeling going into your first conference meet? I'm really nervous, but I'm also really excited. This has been my first year swimming with a team and so far it's been great. Conference will be another level and it'll be great to have the team support. The coaches have said it'll be better than anything we've experienced before so I can't wait.

As one of nine freshmen on the team, what have you learned from the upperclassmen that will help you this week? In the water, they've told us about our turns and techinique. They've pushed us every day. Also from their experience, they've taught us how to deal with the pressure and how the meet is going to work.