Swim and dive gears up for big test
The USD swimming and diving teams will be swimming against six other schools for the Summit League Championship. Forty-four of USD’s men’s and women’s swimmers will be traveling to the competition in Rochester, Mich.
USD swimming head coach Jason Mahowald said that the team has been “fine tuning” its technique in preparation for a chance to win its first conference swimming title for both programs.
“It’s our biggest meet of the year,” said Mahowald.
Since joining the Summit League in 2009, the men’s and women’s teams have yet to win the championship meet.
Last year, the men’s team had their best finish, placing 3rd in the Summit League championships with 413 points. The women’s team garnered 544 points while earning third place as well, a feat they had achieved in the program’s two prior conference championship meets.
“We’re getting better every year,” Mahowald said. “We just keep improving.”
In preparation for the championship meet, the Coyote swimmers have rested since their last meet, with lighter practice loads. Mahowald stressed how important it would be for the Coyotes to stay focused in upcoming practices and remember what the coaches have instructed them to do during the entire season.
“Working on everything you’ve worked on,” Mahowald said. “You want all of it to come together.”
USD men’s Swimming captain and sophomore fly swimmer Colin Krysl said he understands how crucial it is for the swimmers to maintain what they’ve learned during their journey to the Summit League championship.
“We already put the work in,” Krysl said. “So we’re kind of just waiting to go fast.”
Krysl and his teammates have been working to visualize their technique and form leading up to the Summit League championship. He also mentioned fighting fatigue and cooling down after each race would be important keys to victory in Rochester.
First-year Hannah Veselik will also be participating in her first Summit League championship meet. The Illinois native said she is excited to be a part of the upcoming competition.
“It’s amazing,” Veselik said. “It’s just great to be part of a strong girl’s team.”
This year, USD will face strong competition in the conference meet. Multiple teams are favored to excel over both programs in Rochester.
Oakland University’s men’s and women’s teams have dominated the conference since the 1999-2000 season. Both programs are favored to win yet another Summit League Championship, and will host the meet in their aquatic center.
Also amongst the competing schools is rival South Dakota State University. Its men’s team finished second the year before, as did the women.
Mahowald said due to the transition into Division I, the swimming team had to play catch up with the rest of the Summit League and its squads. He also mentioned USD’s progress should not be measured by how the team finishes.
“We have no control over (the other Summit League teams),” Mahowald said. “The only people we have control over is us.”
Mahowald said if the USD swimming and diving teams were to win the conference championship in Rochester, then his work as the coach would be complete.
“That would be amazing,” he said on the subject.
USD swimmers are aware of the challenges that face them leading up to the Summit League championships. Veselik said she is accustomed to performing in high-stakes situations.
“I like the pressure because it helps me to perform better,” she said.
Veselik has been able to turn any pressure on her into excitement and energy. She also feels the mentality could be applied to others.
“I think a lot of swimmers enjoy the pressure of competition,” said Veselik.
Krysl’s own struggles were also an issue for him. After swimming slowly during a practice, Krysl said two of his coaches used a reference from the movie “Top Gun” to help him learn a lesson to succeed in swimming competitions.
“You got to stop thinking and just do,” said Krysl.
Senior breaststroke swimmer Shannon Moreci is a swimmer who has previous experience in the Summit League championships. Moreci finished second in last year’s 100 breaststroke and also made the all-conference team due to her performance in relay races at the meet.
Moreci said it can be easy to start off strong in a competition that lasts over the course of days, only to falter near the end.
“You have to keep the momentum going forward the entire time,” she said.
Moreci also noted how swimmers make the mistake of focusing on their own individual performance and not worrying about the opposition.
“Concentrate on yourself alone,” said Moreci.
Veselik said the swimming team has become a family for her. She also said she’d be ecstatic to help USD bring home its first conference championship.
“I feel like if we perform at our peak, we can pull it off,” said Veselik.
The Summit League championship will take place from Feb. 20 to Feb. 23.
