One year ago, the ISU women’s swimming and diving team scored 377 points and finished fifth at the Big 12 Championship, putting it fifth out of six teams.

This year, swimming coach Duane Sorenson’s has a similar goal for his team.

“Our goal is to score 325 to 350 points,” he said. “I feel they can accomplish that, even considering our competition.”

Both Sorenson and diving coach Jeff Warrick said they feel their toughest competitors will be Texas and Texas A&M, especially since it is the Aggies’ home pool.

After the Big 12 championships, the swimmers can still look forward to the NCAA championships, and Sorenson said he hopes to have a few swimmers qualify for that meet.

He said he believes only three of his 15 available swimmers can do it — junior Maggie Peterson, senior Brita Benson and sophomore Lauren Breunig.

All three have advanced in prior conference championships.

“We’ll need to step up and race our best,” Sorenson said. “But the team is really starting to come around with how they look in the water.”

If no one makes the guest list for the NCAAs, then the Cyclone swimming season will be over. The divers, on the other hand, have a different opportunity to make the NCAAs.

“I haven’t felt better about a team going into the conference championships before more so than I have with this one,” Warrick said.

“I honestly feel if they dive really well, all three [divers] can get into the finals in all events. But they are going to have to have some very good performances.

“I want to use it as a preparation for the NCAA Zone championships since it’s putting them in a good simulation for what they’ll be facing there. That will be our biggest meet of the year.”

After the meet is the NCAA Zone Qualifying meet, also in College Station. All three divers have already qualified.

Once there, divers participate in three events, and the top finishers for each event are selected to go to the NCAA championships.

Warrick said the number of divers who qualify in each event this year is around 10, up several from last year.

Warrick said he would like to see all three of his divers make the finals for each event.

At the same time, he said he wants to have a diver finish in the top three in the finals and make the All-conference team. Linda Wagner, a senior from last year’s squad, was the first Cyclone ever to make the team.

As for seniors Gail Olson and Katie Herman, the platform will be their toughest event. Herman’s best event is the 1-meter springboard.

She made the finals in that event a couple years ago.

“We had a smooth week of practice last week,” Warrick said.

“They’re in a good mindset, they’re positive and both mentally and physically prepared. They just have to put it together over three days.

“Realistically, if they dive well and are on, and they’ve shown that in some meets already this season, we should have some divers in the finals.”

The Big 12 championships begin Wednesday and last through Saturday. Preliminary swims begin at 10 a.m. with the finals for each event slated to start at 6 p.m.