One year removed from its inaugural season, the Tabor College swim program will look to build and improve on what was started a year ago.
In reflecting on last year?s season, second-year coach Nate Duell said his competitive goals were far exceeded.
?In the water, my goodness, it was beyond what we could?ve expected or hoped for,? he said. ?The only competitive goal I set for the team was to make all of our relays qualify for nationals, which we did. Then we added 10 more individual swims on top of that. We took 10 kids to the meet, so that was all sort of icing on the cake.?
Tabor qualified 10 relays and 10 individual events for nationals last year, and while the Bluejays did not score any points, Duell said they gained valuable experience.
Returning swimmers
Duell has 14 athletes on the roster this year, including seven returning swimmers.
Tabor?s only returning men?s swimmer is sophomore Brett Magee, whose performance at nationals was commented on by Duell.
?Brett was one who really came a long way last year,? he said. ?He qualified in an individual event, and he did some events that he was not used to doing in the past and stepped out of his comfort zone quite a little bit. (He) really stepped up and performed well on the men?s side.?
For the women, six swimmers return, including junior MacKenzie Bilbrey, and sophomores Tessa Downs, Kianna Hinerman, Sarah Schulte, Angela Smith and Kelly Smith.
Schulte, Angela Smith and Kelly Smith return with national experience.
Duell said he expects all his returning swimmers to play important roles this year.
?Aside from what they do in the pool, the leadership they provide as this team matures, is going to be even more important,? he said. ?I really think just knowing the expectations of a season is critical.?
Newcomers
Duell has added seven newcomers to his arsenal this season.
For the men, newcomers include sophomore transfers Andrew Wehrmann from the University of Nebraska, and Kadence Osborn from Butler Community College; and freshmen Evan Bell from Newberg, Ore., and Tristan Ward from Derby.
Three freshmen join the women?s squad: Ireland DeCoy from Jacksonville, Fla., Aleya Hill from Stayton, Ore., and Melissa Martin from Park City.
Changes/challenges
With one year in the past, Duell has made some changes this season. The Bluejays? first meet?which Tabor hosted Oct. 31 in Marion?was one month later than it was last year. Duell has also reduced the team?s range of travel and overall number of meets.
?We had a really busy November (last year),? he said. ?I felt like we were pretty tired, and we probably needed some more breaks in there.?
Establishing leadership will be something this year?s team will strive for as roles are defined.
?This year, the most veteran swimmers I have, have one year experience?one year total (or) one year with me?so we?re still kind of growing together and figuring out roles on the team.?
If there was one thing that caught Duell by surprise last year, it was the challenges the team faced regarding leadership.
?When you have a team that?s all first-year athletes, that?s just not there,? he said. ?I think that?s one thing I know I learned and I know the team learned is just how important leadership amongst the athletes is.?
Duell said the strength of this year?s team is the freestyle events, specifically in the sprints and middle distance races.
He was hesitant to go into detail regarding expectations for the season, instead speaking of overarching objectives.
?I?m always wary of expectations and goals,? he said. ?It?s not because I worry about not making them. It?s because I think you can really limit yourself when you have set goals.
?We want to get all our relays back (to nationals) again for sure and really just build on the experience of last year. We spent a lot of time intimidated at some meets when we swam against really good competition. I expect to see that change a little bit.
?I think we?re always going to look to improve on what we?ve done in the past, and we?re always going to use the national meet as a big benchmark for us.?
Overall, Duell said he is excited about the direction the program is headed.
?We continue to get great support from the college,? he said. ?We feel really blessed to have the opportunity, and that?s something we talk about on a daily basis.?
Coming?Tabor will compete in Iowa Friday and Saturday.