As the Dual Meet Extravaganza approaches for the swimming and diving squads, continual improvement is on the mind of the Saluki coaching staff.

The Dual Meet Extravaganza takes place at the University of Illinois in Champaign. Seven teams will converge in Champaign to compete.

The Saluki men’s squad will face Southwest Missouri State, Missouri, Kansas, Cincinnati and Northern Illinois. The women’s squad will square off against the same schools with the exception of SMSU. The women will compete with University of Illinois instead of SMSU.

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Last year, the men came away with three victories at this meet while falling to Illinois and Northwestern University.

The women’s squad lost to Illinois and Missouri, but defeated Cincinnati, Northern Illinois and Illinois State.

This is a meet where we need to take a step up, women’s coach Mark Kluemper said. I tell the swimmers that each dual meet is a stepping stone along the way.

Kluemper said this is a meet where the team needs to move closer to what it wants to do at the conference meet in December.

It is a pivotal meet for us, Kluemper said. They (the squad) are going to have the chance to do a lot of swimming over the span of the entire weekend. I think it is important that we go up there determined to take a step forward.

Competing in the Dual Meet Extravaganza can bring on different ways of preparation for veterans of Saluki swimming and newcomers on the squads when they face five teams in competition.

Going to a meet like this where you have four meets in a less than three days, it is a little easier as a senior to know what you are going to do than it is as a freshman, senior swimmer Mark Wehner said. We try to give the freshmen an idea of what it is like going to a meet like this because by the last day you are pretty exhausted, he said. The most important thing we as a team have to get out of this weekend is the race experience.

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Wehner said that, as he reflected on past seasons, the intensity has to be greater during the dual meets where the squad competes with four or five other squads in order to stay at a high level of competitiveness.

He also noted that mental preparation is a main factor to contribute to the intensity needed.

I don’t know if you can really prepare them (freshmen) for a meet like this, Kluemper said. I think it is something they have to experience and adjust to as they go along.

We’ve got to compete in a three day championship format the first weekend in December for the Missouri Valley Championship, he said. This is good preparation for that.

The freshmen have been in similar situations like this weekend, but this will be the first time this year (for this type of competition), men’s swim coach Rick Walker said. It is definitely a character builder and I know these guys are up to it.