A well conditioned University of Denver men’s swimming and diving team is headed to Oakland, Mich., today for the 2004 National Independent Conference Championships with hopes of finishing in the top four and beating rival Florida Atlantic University.

“In the last week the men’s team has looked better than they have all year,” said Head Coach Jim Henry. “We are at a fatigue point, but that is where we expect to be.”

The team finished the season strong with a meet against the Colorado School of Mines and a top performance at the Air Force Diving Invitational.

It was at the Air Force Diving Invitational where senior John Conyers broke the school platform dive record with a score of 243.70.

“It is nice to have a good last meet, but that does not mean success at the NIC championship is guaranteed,” said Henry.

Last year the Pioneers finished seventh with 230 points in their first appearance at the NIC Championships.

Henry expects the outcome to be slightly different this time around.

“I foresee the team being a whole lot faster at the championships,” said Henry. “Our goal is to beat Florida Atlantic and take fourth place.”

If the team expects to finish in fourth, the relays are going to have to contribute more than last year, he said.

“We are looking to get more out of our relays,” said Henry. “Last year two out of our five relays were disqualified. But it is definitely going to have to be a total team effort.”

This meet will be extra difficult because there are numerous swimmers from other teams who hope to qualify and compete in the NCAA Championships.

“It’s going to be a little stronger of a meet,” said Henry. “It’s definitely going to take a team effort from all classes.”

Henry leads the team to Michigan with a regular season record of 10-9 and a 3.55 grade point average. After his first season as head coach, Henry recalled a swim that left him in awe and reflected the hard work and spirit of the team.

“Craig Jolland’s 1000 yard freestyle swim at the Florida Atlantic Invitational was awesome,” said Henry. “Especially since it came off a week of tough training.”

The NIC Championships begin Wednesday and run through Saturday.