Autumn Zierman – Staff Writer

The Gustavus Adolphus Men’s and Women’s team opened their practice and pre-competitive season this last Saturday, October 9 in the Lund Center with an intrasquad meet that invited alumni. Alumni and students were invited to partake in either a 50 of each stroke or the 100 IM, or cheer on Gusties old and new from the sidelines. Turnout for the alumni was high and the alumni present represented various classes in each of the past 4 decades from ‘91 to ‘21.
“It’s always a pleasure to see the faces of those who have helped shape the program into what it is today. It was an added bonus to be able to invite families and spectators back into the stands for the first time in over a year and a half during Family Weekend at Gustavus,” Head Coach Jon Carlson said on the Gustavus Swim and Dive Facebook page.
“I think we had almost 30 alumni come back and swim with us at that meet, which was awesome because some of them were teammates that I swam with in previous years, but there were also some I’ve never met before, so it was just an overall cool experience and opportunity to interact with people that are still passionate about the program.” Senior Ella Benoit said.
While the competitive season for the teams doesn’t start until Oct. 30, with a meet against Morningside University taking place at the Gustavus Lund Center, the team is still hard at work practicing.
“It felt so nice to come back to GAC after being away for the summer. It’s a totally different mindset from summer work, but it feels good to be back in the rhythm of things. It especially feels good to be back in the pool. We started official practice the last week of September…. It’s been a tough few weeks of training, but it feels good to be doing it with the whole team again.” Senior Lillie Ortloff said.
Even with the tough practice schedule, the team will be rewarded in the competitive season when fans are allowed to return to the stands to cheer them on— a change from the previous year of COVID-19 policy.
“We just started our lifting program last week, so I’ve been majorly sore, but it feels good to be back at it. Our first meet on Oct. 30, against Morningside at home! I know my parents are especially excited to be able to watch meets in person again,” Benoit said.
The intense practice is building up to a hard and long competitive season; all of November consists of meets against MSU Mankato, UW Stevens Point, St. Olaf, Hamline and other schools both in and outside of the MIAC. The return of the Swim and Dive season to a more normalized schedule also means more competition.
“The biggest change this year competitively will be having have more teams to compete against. Teams like Macalester and St. Olaf didn’t have seasons, so now we have more competitors! And we get to travel this year to Grinnell and Stevens Point for overnight meets again,” Ortloff said.
A strong upcoming competitive season will not deter the Gusties though. If anything, they are more determined now to run a strong season and finish off at Conference.
“Personally, in the pool I’m hoping to make it back onto our Conference roster since we’ll be having that meet at the end of the season for the first time since 2020. I’m also looking forward to getting to know my teammates more. With the pandemic last year, we were always so split up. Team bonding should be even better this year,” Ortloff said.
The team is taking advantage of being all back together again after a summer apart and a past year of number restrictions and individual emphasis.
“My favorite motto from the team is, “swim smart, swim with all your heart, swim as a team and swim to inspire”, because it is the phrase that our coach, Jon Carlson, says to us before every single meet. I think that team unity is as strong as ever going into this season. We’re a tight-knit group, you get close with each other quickly when you are swimming and lifting for multiple hours a day. It feels great knowing that there are nearly 100 teammates who have my back,” Benoit said.
With another upcoming intrasquad meet, and a packed competitive season, the swim and dive team dedicate themselves to their motto. With restrictions lifted on observation this year, Gusties will be there to cheer them on as they do.