Daily Skiff

The men's swimming and diving team practiced for Saturday's meet versus Centenary College with a major theme in mind: taper time.

To break the monotony of training for primary strokes, head coach Richard Sybesma said Horned Frog swimmers would swim in off-events in Shreveport, La.. This "taper time" consists of a less rigorous competition and workout schedule and is intended to give the team a chance to rest before the Mountain West Championship meet at the end of February.

The H2O Frogs' larger focus centered on next week's meet against the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, Sybesma said.

The men's team will swim for the MWC dual meet title against UNLV on Feb. 6. That Saturday will be the last time seniors and team captains Josh Bagby and Ben Biefnes will compete in their home pool.

Bagby, a short-distance sprinter, holds four out of five record times for TCU in the 100-yard freestyle for the H20 Frogs. Bagby said the momentum TCU had with athletics this year, including the appearance of the football team in the Fiesta Bowl, enhanced the experience of his last season. Sybesma called Bagby an emotional swimmer and said he would rise to the occasion in the last home meet as the team's anchorman.

TCU received a nudge up in the College Swimming Coaches Association of America (CSCAA) ranking, claiming the No. 30 spot. Both TCU and UNLV swam the 2009-2010 season undefeated, with records of 5-0. TCU has not secured a win against UNLV for the MWC championship.

"It's gonna come down to a winner takes all meet," Sybesma said.

Biefnes, who swims the breaststroke, said he would tailor his focus on the newer members of the team, ensuring freshmen think of the UNLV meet just as any other. To the veteran, however, the meet signifies more than just another race in a pool.

"Since it's senior year, it's pretty much everything right now," Biefnes said. "Just to be Mountain West champions has been the goal from the very beginning, and it would be cool to end on that note."

Biefnes did not yet know which event he would swim at Shreveport, but Bagby, in lieu of his usual 100-yard freestyle, will swim the 100-yard butterfly.

TCU vs. Centenary College

When:1 p.m. Saturday

Where: Shreveport, La.

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