Between a long plane ride and bonding talk of television shows and weddings, Illinois swimmers found time to power into the 2012 AT&T Winter National Championships and secure season-best individual times across the board.

Because only eight Illini traveled to the meet in Austin, Tex., the athletes were able to utilize the time spent traveling and over the course of the meet to improve the team’s chemistry.

“There are four freshmen here, and I’ve gotten to know them a lot better just because they’re in the dorms, so we don’t really see them as much as the rest of the team,” junior Courtney Pope said.

Three days of competition can be taxing, but head coach Sue Novitsky thought ahead and started tapering her competing swimmers three weeks prior. The way her athletes responded this weekend will give her some foresight regarding the amount of rest her team will need heading into the Big Ten Championships starting Feb. 20, 2013.

“What Sue wanted to get out of this meet is how much rest you need. I think it depends on the person,” Pope said. “Typically, two and a half weeks of a taper, not three (is what I like) ,,, but it was a good experience to see just how much we needed.”

Instead of Novitsky, assistant head coach Steve Farnau traveled to nationals with the competing swimmers. He said a meet like nationals changes the energy level because of the limited swimmers who traveled. The swimmers, he added, handled changes in energy and team chemistry of the small group well.

“I think the biggest positive is that they’ve really gotten to see what its going to take to be ready to go in the morning at a Big Ten meet, and I think this was a great preparations for that scenario as we look forward to the end of the season,” Farnau said.

Another thing Illinois gained, or regained rather, was the return of junior Jessica Holz, who suffered a ligament tear in her right shoulder in early September. Farnau said she showed a lot of progress in the meet and that she is ready to take her performance to the next step this season.

“For the injury, I think that I’m at a pretty good spot,” Holz said. “Obviously, I want to continue to get better and get back to where I was at the end of last year.”

The Illini may not have come away from the meet with any placing victories, but they did not leave empty handed. Farnau said Pope, from her past experience, provided a good, calming presence for the freshmen during nationals, and that they, too, would now have collegiate experience in large meets that they could share with others.

Pope also said she wanted to reiterate to the swimmers at home how close the season-ending Big Ten meets are.

“For some people, it can get pretty hard because these next weeks can be pretty tough,” Pope said. “It’s a good reminder that its not that much more hard work, but also a wake-up call that we only have two more months to be the best that we can be.”

J.J. can be reached at [email protected] and @TheWilson9287.