Photo courtesy of External Affairs
Senior Julia Parsons hopes to freestyle her way to victory this season.
The McAvoy pool has offered a familiar home to the Hillsdale College women's swim team this year. Six days a week, the team has pulled through countless laps in preparation for their season starting this Saturday at 1 p.m.
The team now comprises 17 swimmers and divers.
For the first time in school history divers have joined the swim team. In addition to a larger team and new areas of competition, the team has also welcomed assistant coach Nancy Vear to work with head coach Mary Anne Gerzanick
"With so many new freshman and the addition of a diving program we hope to win more meets and qualify swimmers for the NCAA Championships in March," Gerzanick said.
A young team will swim this year for Hillsdale, as more than half of the swimmers are new to Hillsdale.
"We have a good group coming in," sophomore Amanda Smith said.
"[The new swimmers] are enthusiastic and willing to learn. They are excited about everything," senior captain Julia Parsons said.
Many swim teams face large turnovers between seasons.
"It is hard to retain swimmers because it's such an intense sport," Parsons said, the team's only senior.
Smith returns for the Chargers this year, coming off an impressive freshman season.
She set school records in the 50m freestyle and 100m freestyle as a freshman.
In addition, Smith was three tenths of a second from qualifying for the NCAAs.
Parsons said that many swimmers set personal records last season, and expects school records to be broken more often this year.
The overall team looks to be more competitive in the GLIAC as well. With a larger team, points may be easier scored for the overall success of the meet. The addition of divers gives further hope for success.
"Divers will help us perform better in the GLIAC," Parsons said.
Hillsdale swims against Findlay on Saturday and an order of events is posted before every meet, so students and interested fans may choose an ideal time to view.
There will be four home meets this season, all on Saturdays.