Women's swimming springs for six titles

Some things never change.

The leaves have fallen, the temperature has dropped and the women's swim team is again defending its National Championship.

Just like the year before, and the year before that, and every year since 2001, the women are again looking to add more hardware to the Pershing trophy case.

"They definitely have the talent to do it again," head coach Mark Gole said.

For the women to repeat their success, they will have to overcome some obstacles. Several key contributors to last season's squad, like the graduated trio of Diana Betsworth, Micaela Osborn and Sarah Dance, have left the program. Replacing the three national champions puts the team under more stress.

"I think there is a lot more pressure than in the past years," senior Whitney Jensen said. "We've lost a lot of good seniors, but I think we can definitely pull it out."

Change on the roster isn't the only change for the Bulldogs' swimming program. Last year's head coach and three- time CSCAA National Coach of the Year, Colleen Murphy, and her husband, assistant coach Joe Fanthorp, left the program last spring.

Gole, the former assistant coach at Wayne State University (Mich.) takes the helm along with new assistant coach Karyn Schachinger.

"I like Mark and Karyn a lot," sophomore Jon Strom said. "They seem like they really know what they are talking about and seem to get along pretty well with us as a team. I don't think we will miss a beat from Colleen and Joe. Seeing where we are at already, I think we are still on the same track."

After taking over a men's team that took 10th at nationals, including a five-time national champion, it would seem that Gole and Schachinger wouldn't change anything. Yet they have already changed how the 'Dogs are practicing by including more running and more stroke work than the past regime.

"I think that there have been a lot of differences so far," Gole said. "Where I came from, my background at least, the training has been more challenging than these swimmers are used to. And they're adjusting to it slightly."

The new training methods already have been on display for the women. They began their quest for six championships in the Pershing Natatorium in a meet against Div. I University of Kansas. Competing against Div. I schools is not something new for the women.

"We swim a lot of Div. I teams, and they obviously don't want to lose to a Div. II team," Jensen said.

In the meet the 'Dogs fell 127-78 to the Jayhawks. However, the women did manage to win three of 11 events. Jensen took home first in the 50- and 100-yard freestyle and sophomore Whitney Wodstrchill in the 200-yard back. Junior Lija Kaleps-Clark took second in the 200-yard IM. Both Wodstrchill and Kaleps-Clark already qualified for nationals.

Not to be lost in all the talk about the "six-peat" is the men's squad. After a 10th-place finish last year at nationals, the men look to improve on that standing, or at the very least not lose ground.

"It's going to be a challenging year," Gole said. "We are really going to have a hard time trying to stay right there. I think we lost quite a bit, but I think the guys are up to the challenge."

The men also had to deal with several losses because of graduation. A lot of the swimmers and national qualifiers are returning, but some relay talent is gone. Gole said the freshmen will have to contribute as well as senior Josh Otis and junior Robert Fletcher, who were both national qualifiers.

"Once you make that national cut, it makes it that much easier to get it again," Gole said. "They always say the first cut is the hardest, and that is what the freshmen and sophomores are facing right now. And they can look to Robert and Josh for a little leadership to get them there."

If the freshmen can learn from Otis and Fletcher and make an impact, the men hope they can match the women's performance.

"This off-season we have been training a lot harder than we ever have before and have done a lot more stroke-orientated work than we ever have before," Strom said. "It should really pay off when we get into the clutch part of the season. I think we will do really well. We have some new freshmen that will really help us out a lot. I think we will do as well as last year, if not even better."

With the season already in progress, the 'Dogs know that they will have a target on their back with the reputation of the University swim program. And, according to Gole, they are ready for whatever comes their way.

"I think whenever you are on the top, people are trying to knock you down," Gole said. "We definitely are in position to defend the title, and that's what it's all about. People are going to bring the best they have against us, and we just have to fight them off."