When the horn sounds tonight (March 8) at the IUPUI Natatorium, it will mark the start of the 43rd annual men’s and 25th annual women’s NCAA Division II swimming and diving championships.

Of the three Divisions in the NCAA, Division II is the smallest, but also the most unique.

For one, its longer – featuring four days of racing instead of the traditional three. Division II gives distance swimmers their due with both the 1650 AND the 1000 freestyle.

There’s no ‘B-Cut Blues” in Division II. If you make the cut, you’re in, simple as that. Finally, it’s co-ed, meaning the best men and women will come together four days of great racing.

Truman State leads the women’s field, having won five consecutive championships. Should they win, the Bulldogs would move past Texas, Stanford and Oakland for the second-longest championship streak in NCAA women’s swimming.

Across that state, Drury University will look for its second-consecutive championship. The Panther men return a pair of individual champions and will bring the largest team of the meet.

Indeed, on paper, the only thing that separates the two Missouri schools from a pair of championships in Indianapolis is the state of Illinois. The meet isn’t swum on paper, though, so look for Cal-State Bakersfield, North Dakota, West Chester and UC-San Diego to each vie for one of the team trophies awarded to the top four teams.

Truman State’s strength is its depth. With only two swimmers ranked in the top three, the Bulldogs will rely on a full squad of eighteen swimmers to collect points wherever they can.

Backstrokers Whitney Wodstrchill (seeded first in the 100) and Emily Greenwood (seeded third in the 200) lead the way, while Whitney Jensen has been a part of three national championship relays.

As much as Truman relies on depth, UC-San Diego and West Chester feature star power. In Sophie Levy (200, 500 and 1650 free) and Emily Harlan (50 and 100 free), the Tritons boast the top seeds in every freestyle event except the 1000 free.

West Chester’s Tammy Leanne holds the top seed in that event and in the 400 IM, where she is the defending champion. Expect a tremendous battle between Leane and Levy and Drury’s Anita Galic in the distance freestyles.

Kathrin Dumitru of West Chester owns the fastest times in five events (100 and 200 breast, 100 and 200 fly, 200 IM). Fortunately for the rest of the Division, she’ll only be able to swim four of them, but look for her to make a run at the Division II records in the 100 fly (which she set earlier this season) and 100 breaststroke.

Drury would like to think it doesn’t play second fiddle to anyone, but second is where the Panthers find themselves ranked in six events. Mariana DeOliveria and Galic will challenge the UC-San Diego freestylers, while Janell Slattery is seeded second in the 100 backstroke and 200 butterfly.

North Dakota will likely round out the top five. The Fighting Sioux are led by Lauren Mickelson in the mid-distance freestyles. Two other teams that might not play a role in the team race will have a race all their own. Tampa’s Chelsea Hastings returns to defend her 200 IM and 100 and 200 backstroke titles, but she’ll be challenged by Ouachita Baptist’s Sarah Watson, who heads to Indianapolis with top-three times in both backstrokes and the IM’s.

The men’s side witnessed the departure of several big names including UCSD’s Kurt Boehm, North Dakota’s Rodrigo Cintra and Farnando Alves and Drury’s Henrik Weible. Combined, the four accounted for a dozen individual titles in their careers and their departures will open up opportunities for new champions.

On the men’s side, Drury boasts size and strength. The Panthers are dominant in the IMs where they boast three of the top four swimmers, including defending 400 IM champion and record-holder Jakub Jiracek. Jiracek also looks to repeat his winning performance in the 200 breaststroke, and event where his toughest opponent will be 100 breaststroke record-holder Artem Sloudnov.

If the name Sloudnov sounds familiar, its because Artem’s brother Roman was the first man to go under one minute in the 100m breaststroke. Tomas Kuzvard and Topher Rowenhorst are additional weapons in the IMs, while Michael Lewandowski is a top competitor in the distance events.

Expect Cal State Bakersfield and North Dakota to match each other event for event. Bakersfield has finished in the top two for twenty of the past twenty-one years, while the Fighting Sioux, with a second-place finish, could match their best finish.

UND’s Rodrigo Ferreira has already broken his Division II record in the 100 backstroke twice this year and is seeded a full two seconds over his nearest competitors. Ferreira will also be a factor in the 50 and 100 freestyle, and ensure that UND is in the hunt in every relay.

Also look for Pedro Pereira (breaststroke) and Dan Zabler (butterfly/ distance free) to see significant podium time by the weekend’s conclusion. Zabler’s role takes on added importance because he’ll be squaring off with a pair of Bakersfield’s best in Alexey Belyy (distance) and Sampo Sissla (butterfly).

Sprinter Piotr Gegotek will also be a relay workhorse for the Roadrunners, but will also be looking to regain the form that led him to Division II titles in the 100 and 200 freestyles in 2004.

Beyond the Big Three, the point totals flatten out significantly. Ouachita Baptist looks to be best positioned for its first trophy. Chris Achey (backstroke), Vicente Condorelli (distance) and Valery Ladrat (IM) will make their presence known, but the question will be if the Tigers relays can break through to another level.

Cole Tedhams, who enjoyed significant success at the University of Indianapolis, will attempt to defend his 50 and 100 freestyle titles wearing the University of Tampa colors this season. Henderson State is led by 200 backstroke record-holder Emre Celik, while Wayne State’s Guilherme Veiga is seeded second in the 1000 and 1650 freestyle.