With the regular season winding down, it’s time for the men’s and women’s swim team to gear up for the WIAC Conference meet.

This year, the Warhawks had one of the largest turnouts with 80 swimmers participating.

Coach Joel Rollings said he is impressed with the way the freshmen swimmers have competed. He said the underlcassmen have contributed a lot of points.

“It’s a very young team,” Rollings said. “I like the direction that they’re going. The freshmen bring a lot of energy to the team. They’re used to training year-round so they’re pushing the upperclassmen to do the same.”

The Warhawks can only bring 36 swimmers to conference, but Rollings said it helps the competitiveness during practice and the team because it knows that competing on a high level is critical.

Senior Megan Kohnke said the freshmen on the team have helped the team grow. Freshmen Joe Devroy qualified for an NCAA Division III “B” cut with a time of 1:52.66 at the Wheaton Invitational.

The ’Hawks have competed against top teams in Division-I and Division-II like UW-Green Bay and St. Cloud State.

According to Rollings, the team has competed well because of their practice habits.

“We have combined practices,” Rollings said. “They compete against each other and push each other. Traveling meets, our training trips and everything brings the team together.”

Over winter break the team made their annual trip to San Diego for a two-week training trip, which is something that helps the team bond, Kohnke said. She added that combined practices help team chemistry and it makes for a good atmosphere.

“Everybody’s supportive of everybody because we know we’re all one team,” Kohnke said. “We’re like a family. Everyone’s included.”

Going into Saturday’s meet at UW-La Crosse, Rollings said that the men’s team had a very good chance of beating the Eagles.

“On the women’s side UW-La Crosse is probably one of the top 15 teams if not higher,” Rollings said. “We want to see how we stack up against one of the best in the country.”

On Saturday, both teams fell short with scores of 130-113 for the men and 157-82 for the women.

The Warhawks have a week off before they head to the WIAC Championships Feb. 16-18 at the Schroeder Aquatic Center in Brown Deer, Wis.