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Home-pool advantage will never compare to the edge of a home field or court. Fans can't distract a swimmer by waving pompoms behind a backboard, after all. And they can't cheer so loud that a swimmer misses the quarterback's snap count.

Intimidating chants are also less effective when an athlete is underwater.

But home-pool advantage will mean a lot to the Plano West swim team today when it takes on Southlake Carroll. Maybe it's because this will be Plano West's first home meet in school history.

BRANDON THIBODEAUX/Special Contributor

Flanked by members of the Plano West swim team, Allison Murphy threw water into the pool at the Tom Muehlenbeck Center during a ceremony celebrating the pool's opening Nov. 18.

"It's good to say we have a home," said senior Timothy Juhn.

That home is the Tom Muehlenbeck Center, a $23 million city of Plano recreational facility that includes a jogging track, exercise areas and a double gymnasium. It's also next to the Plano West campus and includes a pool for the team's training and meets.

Until this year, Plano West trained and competed at the Plano Aquatic Center, a city facility a few miles away that it shared with Plano.

"I always felt like I was coaching at somebody else's pool," Plano West coach Kris Jones said.

That's because the Plano Aquatic Center is on the campus of Plano.

"That's our biggest rival," Juhn said. "Not just for swimming, but in any sport."

It was a little awkward when the Plano swimmers would arrive as Plano West was finishing its practice. Many of the Plano and Plano West swimmers are friends, West senior Allison Murphy said, but "there was definitely some tension."

"You could feel like they thought it was their pool and we were just using it."

The other benefit to Plano West's new home is that swimmers can sleep in later. At the Plano Aquatic Center, the West swimmers started practice at 6 a.m. so they could be out of the pool before Plano's practice at 7:30.

West now practices at 7, and one hour later means a lot. Jones said he's seen a big difference in how alert the swimmers are at practice.

And maybe there's a psychological benefit.

"Now we get to get up as the sun comes up," Murphy said, "instead of before it comes up."

mwixon@dallasnews.com

YEARBOOK MOMENT: During this week six years ago, the DeSoto football team lost a coin flip and needed a 10-hour bus trip to play its playoff game at the Sun Bowl in El Paso. But the long trip didn't seem to bother DeSoto, which clobbered El Paso Del Valle, 56-28, to advance to its first Class 5A regional final. DeSoto lost to Euless Trinity, 31-21, in that final.

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SKYLINE'S DOMINATION: The mind-set of the Skyline defense, linebacker Spencer Reeves said, is to "shut down an opponent and then shut them out." Skyline did the first part of that on Saturday, and nearly the second, in a 49-7 win over Rowlett. Maybe this will make Rowlett feel a little better: In the nine games since a 17-7 loss to Arlington Bowie, Skyline (11-1) is allowing four points per game.