Angela Newlon strains against a rubber resistance band
during a Monday evening practice. The team is currently in its hardest
training of the season as it prepares to face Kenyon in December.
SAM CARAVANA / THE DEPAUW
Despite starting their season with a 1-2 record, the women’s swimming and diving team is looking at the beginning of the season as a building experience. On Nov. 9, the team split its meet, trumping University of Missouri-St. Louis and dropping to University of Indianapolis.
“It was kind of disappointing because we really did want to beat [University of Indianapolis] because we’re very similar and they’re not that much of a reach for us to beat,” sophomore Angela Newlon said. “I think we definitely brushed it off instead of letting it affect us.”
Although the team lost to University of Indianapolis, the meet was not a bust for many individual swimmers. Newlon placed first in both the 200- and 300-meter freestyle, while senior co-caption Emily Weber also topped the podium placing first in the 1650m free.
“Angela did awesome,” sophomore sprint-swimmer Jamie Fritsch said.
In addition to the individual performances, the team’s 800-free relays also had a strong showing. The relay, which placed fifth at nationals last season, placed first at the meet with a time of 7:50:35. The relay team consisted of Newlon, Weber, sophomore Kirsten Olson and junior Erin Horne. The only difference between last seaon’s nationals-winning relay team and this one is Horne, who replaced junior Caroline Bridges.
Despite the strong performances thus far, issues have plagued the team. In the middle of October, Assistant Coach Alyssa Swanson left the team to pursue a career in sports advertising.
“It’s definitely been a lot different with only one coach on deck,” Olson said. “It’s been a lot harder for us, not having that extra coach and support system.”
In addition to the mid-season loss of Swanson, Head Coach Ben Hewitt returned home during a portion of fall break due to a family emergency. His absence left the team temporarily coach-less.
To keep the team’s training on track, Hewitt took full advantage of the DePauw University community. Retired DePauw women’s swimming coach Mary Bretscher and assistant professor of kinesiology Brian Wright both filled in at times for Hewitt. The squad even had a campus celebrity lend a hand.
“Even President Casey coached one day, which was really cool,” said Newlon. “He was a really motivating coach,”
Another factor in the team’s 1-2 record is the quality of competition they have swum against thus far. At the Indiana Intercollegiate Invitational, a pre-season meet, the team swam against Division I talent in the form of Indiana University and Purdue University. The squad opened their season against Washington University (St. Louis) who ranked eighth in the nation at the conclusion of last season. DePauw saw more talent on Friday against University of Indianapolis, which is a Division II school.
The team has looked at such meets with a positive attitude.
“Some of these Division I teams are right with Denison and Kenyon, so they’re just preparing you for who you’ll be racing in the end of the season,” Frisch said.
Olsen agreed.
“It definitely prepares us for later in the season when we do race against really fast teams in our conference.”
The team is hoping to build off their experience with top quality talent as they head in to their next meet, the Patrick Woehnker Invitational at Wabash College. There the team will not face the all-male Wabash, but will instead go head-to-head with Hope College out of Holland, Michigan.
The dual-meet, while it holds no weight in the North Coast Athletic Conference, will allow the team to mix things up.
“Invites give us an more of an opportunity to swim a few more events and put girls in some events and see what they can do,” Olson said.
DePauw is also looking ahead to the invitational at North Coast Athletic Conference rival Kenyon on December 4-6.
Newlon noted that the invitational “[is] our big mid-season meet.”
In order to ensure times fast enough for nationals qualification, the team will rest and wear full body suits known as “fast suits.” The fast suits reduce drag and thus allow the wearer to swim faster.
As the women’s team pushes ahead in its season towards important meets, confidence is high.
“Overall, were working very hard this year. Even harder than last year. I think our times show that,” Newlon said. “When we're rested and wear fast suits, we're going to have standout times.”