The end of the 2012-13 season draws near for Illinois swimming and diving, but the team has one more shot to put up its best performances at the Big Ten Championships.

From the start of the season, head coach Sue Novitsky has kept her swimmers exhausted from the constant intensity of practice, hoping to raise them to peak performance shape for the finale.

“We have to break them down in order to build them back up,” Novitsky said.

Illinois is 1-3 this season in head-to-head matchups against other Big Ten schools, winning over Michigan State in the meet’s final race. A close scrape between Northwestern may present hope that a more-rested Illinois team has what it takes to come out on top.

With last year’s 10th-place finish over Nebraska and Michigan State, it is no secret the Illini are looking to finish higher this year.

While Novitsky said her team’s ultimate goal is to record best times, she also said how her team finishes at the Big Tens will reflect how hard the squad has worked this season.

“It’s a different team that we bring each year,” Novitsky said. “It’s just about the veterans having more experience (than last year) and the freshman being able to step up and perform in a challenging environment.”

Junior Courtney Pope and other upperclassmen have done their part to help the team’s younger swimmers prepare for what to expect at the Big Tens, sharing their experiences from previous years.

“Sue just reminds us that it’s just any other meet and that we’re here and worked hard and are ready to race,” Pope said. “We’ve got a lane and a block. It’s the same old thing.”

While swimmers work out the nerves of not having competed in three weeks, senior diver Darragh McDermott said experience from the Minnesota Challenge two weeks ago has the divers in a different state of mind.

“We’re excited and comfortable,” McDermott said. “Everyone’s feeling confident because we were on the boards recently and comfortable with the pool and boards.”

McDermott is one of nine seniors — six swimmers and three divers — who will compete for the final time with the team. But she said excitement triumphs over the nerves heading into competition.

“You always look to them for the leadership because it’s their fourth time here,” Novitsky said of her seniors. “You want to see them go out with a bang and, for some of them, it might be their last races and to just let it go and have some great ones.”

Novitsky’s intense training strategy for her swimmers will get a chance to prove its worth.

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