The Gustavus Men’s and Women’s Swimming and Diving teams are excited to hop back in the pool and dive into the 2009 season. Since practice began Thursday, Oct. 1, the Men’s and Women’s teams have been working hard to return to a regular routine in order to prepare for the fast approaching season.
Just this past weekend the teams participated in their annual Alumni and Intrasquad Pentathlon in the Lund Natatorium. “We usually have about 70-80 alumni come back. I think it’s good to keep a connection between this year’s team and the history of what makes Gustavus swimming what it is today,” Jon Carlson, Head Coach of the Men’s and Women’s Swimming and Diving teams, said. “[After the meet] I have the alumni speak to the current swimmers to give advice and words of wisdom. It turns out to be a really great day for Gustavus swimming.”
Despite being MIAC Champions of the 2007 and 2008 seasons, the women are hoping to reclaim the MIAC Championship after losing to Carleton last year. “I think we have a good team this year, so I’m excited to see how well we can do. [We can] take back our title. There is always room for improvement. We will have to work really hard, but I think we have a lot of potential,” Senior Jonna Berry said. Berry specializes in the 200-meter freestyle, the 200-meter backstroke and the sprint freestyle.
“I feel really good [about the strength of our team] because I think there are a lot of fast girls that will help us beat Carleton,” Senior distance swimmer Carrie Gunderson said.
With one of the largest athletic teams on campus, there is a large emphasis on team bonding and welcoming the first-year swimmers. In order to facilitate this process, every senior is appointed as a captain and assumes a leadership role. “We break up into a lot of training groups [in order to learn everyone’s names]. We spend at least 12 hours a week in the pool so we can meet people really quickly,” Gunderson said.
Putting in the time and effort now might be pivotal to the team’s success throughout the season. “We’ve got a lot of new [first-years], and we lost a lot of our top swimmers last year, so I’m excited to see how our [first-years] do and how the rest of our team steps up to fill the voids [left] by graduation,” Carlson said.
The men are also looking to bounce back this season after a tough loss to rival St. Olaf at the MIAC Championship last year. Despite their second place finish, the Gustie men will settle for nothing less than the MIAC crown. “[I’m looking forward to] topping off my four year career here at Gustavus and finishing up strong,” Senior swimmer Andrew Michelson said. Michelson specializes in the butterfly and freestyle, while dabbling in breaststroke. “[I just want to] swim fast and improve my times,” Michelson said.
The Swimming and Diving teams have the unique aspect of competing as individuals but also as a team. The teams also practice together but in three different training groups—sprint, middle distance and distance. For these reasons, they motivate each other and work together in order to ensure everyone improves. “We put a big emphasis on team and what we can accomplish as a team,” Carlson said. “We work [hard] to make sure everyone feels as though they are an important part of what we try to achieve as a group.”
Michelson also expressed optimism about the strength of the team going into the season. “I think it’s nice to have both fast Men’s and Women’s teams because we feed off each other and are able to motivate each other in the pool during practice,” Michelson said.
Carlson expressed more of a cautious optimism about the upcoming season. “I think that it’s a different year in that in the past there have been two or three teams [that could] win the Conference title. This year I feel there are up to five different teams that could come away with the title,” Carlson said.
No matter the outcome, the teams will devote countless amounts of time and effort to improve their own times and motivate teammates to do the same.
After the Alumni and Intrasquad Pentathlon this past weekend, the Men’s and Women’s teams will travel to Northfield, MN to compete in the MIAC Relays at the end of October. “The MIAC Relays are different from every other relay. There are a lot of random events. It’s more to have fun and cheer on your teammates,” Berry said.
Even with the Alumni and Intrasquad Pentathlon and the MIAC Relays, the Gustavus Swimming and Diving teams will not get their first real test until November. “[Our] first insight as to where we stand as a team is Nov. 6, 2009 at Mankato State,” Michelson said. Both the Men’s and Women’s teams will undoubtedly be ready to dive off the starting block as Nov. 6, 2009 approaches.