For Alabama men’s swimming and diving head coach Eric McIlquham, this is the season for his team to win a championship.

With 31 players on the Tide’s roster, the bulk of their success has come from how well they compete against not only other teams, but the clock as well. Alabama has now turned its attention to the NCAA Championships. The meet will be held inside the Weyerhaeuser King County Aquatic Center in Federal Way, Wash., today until Friday.

McIlquham said his team will be competitive in the NCAAs this year.

“We have a young but very talented team,” McIlquham said. “Our goal is to win a national title but also build on our expectations as a team. I like the way our guys compete and get after it every day. Our strategy in this meet is to stay focused mentally and compete well.”

“This is the hardest meet in the world to qualify for,” McIlquham said. “This year, you had to be one of the top 18 swimmers in the nation to earn an invitation, which is just amazing.”

McIlquham said the team’s leadership will help the Tide in this meet. Alabama has two determined leaders, sophomore Alex Coci of Bai Mare, Romania and sophomore BJ Hornikel of Boblingen, Germany.

Coci is in his second season for the Tide, competing in the 100 and 200 butterfly events. In his first season competing in the butterfly, Coci placed sixth overall in the championships and made the Freshman All-SEC team. He ranks second all-time for the Tide in the 100 butterfly and currently has the fastest 100 butterfly time on the team. He is second behind teammate BJ Hornikel in the 100 freestyle.

In another emailed statement, McIlquham said, “Alex has made some big strides this season and continues to improve week-by-week. He has a chance to make some real noise in the butterfly events.”

BJ Hornikel is also in his second season doing freestyle events for Alabama. In his first season, Hornikel was a Freshman All-SEC selection. As a freshman, he placed 16th and eighth in the 50 and 100 freestyles in the SEC Championship, respectively. This season, he earned runner-up in the 100 and 200 freestyles and second-team All-Southeastern Conference honors at last month’s Southeastern Conference Championships.

“I am really looking forward to this meet because I will be competing against a ton of great teams,” Hornikel said, “especially Southern California, Michigan and other west coast teams that really have a lot of talent. My strategy in my meets is to swim as fast as possible and finish in the top eight. This is the biggest meet of the year and I am ready for it.”