Chlorine, sweat, and tears; Swimming and Diving team prepares to make a splash in upcoming MIAA meet
Joshua Hicks
Staff Writer

"Swim Team Love."

That is the motto of the Albion College Swimming and Diving team. It's an ideal that the members hope will earn them success in the upcoming MIAA's.

"The team is very close. There's a lot of camaraderie going on here," said Keith Haven Head Swimming Coach.

This team motto, however, implies a lot more than just having respect for one another. It also means that everyone unselfishly works hard for the benefit of the team. "Even though people think [swimming] is just an individual sport, you've got to find a balance between your personal goals and the team's goals at large," said Julie Henning, DeWitt Senior and Women's co-captain.

Albion's last regular season dual meet against Alma and Olivet was a true testament to how well the work ethic has served the team in their performance. The match-up against Alma was expected to be very close, but Albion ended up blowing both of their opponents out of the water. "Everyone went above and beyond what they were expected to do, and we came up with a really big win," Henning said.

"We blew Alma out of the water," said Britt Johnson, Gobles senior and men's co-captain. "That was definitely our biggest goal of the season."

Another testament of the team's sense of unity and work ethic is its success despite adversity. Throughout the year, the team overcame the challenge of losing teammates to injury. Four-time men's MVP Johnson was only able to swim in one entire meet due to an injury. "He's the kind of person you can often count on to win three individual events," Coach Havens said. "The positive thing is that a lot of young people picked up the slack and our team leaders stepped up."

As much as Coach Havens wants his team to do well, he stresses academics before athletics. During the interview, the coach's eyes grew wide and his chest got big as he waived a finger and said, "My teams have been Academic All-American for at least the past seven years." Last year, both the men's and women's teams placed top ten in the nation.

Although Havens stresses academic excellence, focus is now on the upcoming MIAA conference.

"MIAA is the most important meet of the year because it allows us to come together as a team and show everyone else how strong we can be," said Tara Kneeshaw, Kalamazoo senior and co-captain of the women's team. "We train throughout the year for what seems like eons, and this is the one meet where all those hours in the pool can finally give us the fast times we've been striving for."

"We are stronger going into MIAA this year that we have been in my four years on the team, and I think we will finish on top with the teams we've always considered unbeatable," Kneeshaw continued. "We just have a lot of strong swimmers."

Havens mentioned Erin Spiro, Farmington Hills Freshman, as one of the team's key elements in helping to get the job done. In her first year on the team, she broke the school record twice in the 200 meter fly, and made the B-cut for nationals in that event.

But what makes the team successful besides this teamwork? According to Coach Havens, it is a combination of raw talent and everyone's diverse abilities. "It helps to have talent, but one of the unique things is that we have people of varying abilities."

The talent doesn't come solely from the swimmers either. Haven also mentioned that the team includes some extremely talented divers who have played a big role in achieving success for both the men's and women's teams. "It's really a combination of everything," he said.

The divers are expected to do very well at MIAA this year. "We have four female divers," said Terry Howard, diving coach. "All four should place in the top six at MIAA. I expect one of them to win."

Howard went on to say that the women's diving team of Kelli Konkle, Dexter junior, Rachel Maloney, Kentwood sophomore, Alison Whyte, Clinton Township sophomore, and Kristina Kennedy, Novi freshman, is the strongest over all Albion women's diving team to compete in MIAA since he's been coaching here.

Travis Sterner, Ionia senior, who is the team's lone male diver, has had to deal with illness throughout the season, Howard said. "He's sacraficing himself for the good of the team."

Next year, the team will lose several graduating seniors. The men's team will be hit especially hard, losing seven of its fourteen members. Although Coach Havens says the seniors will be sorely missed, he is not overly concerned about next year's team. He is confident that the underclassmen will rise to fill the gaps with skill and leadership.

"There are guys like Roman Reznikov, West Bloomfield junior, and he's been swimming remarkably," Havens said. "There's also Matt Gruber, Mason sophomore, who will be a great team leader both in and out of the pool."

MIAAs are hosted by Hope College at Holland February 15th through 17th.