Despite swimmers having to be in and out of quarantine, the university’s swim team has not lost a single dual meet on the women’s side. The team is about to prepare for a conference, where swimmers can qualify for the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) championships.
Katelyn Blattner, who swims the 500 freestyle, 200 freestyle and 200 backstroke, said, “As we come closer to our conference meet, we are dialing in on what we need to work on to perform our best in a few weeks.”
The women’s team will begin tapering soon for conference the weekend of February 19.
Hannah McLean-Leonard, who swims the 100 butterfly, 200 butterfly and 200 individual medley, said, “Our team goal as a women’s team, is to aim to place better than we ever have at conference. Essentially a win would be the ultimate goal, as well as send some athletes to the NCAA championships.”
“We are still working very hard on a daily basis and our women’s team is in a really good spot going into the championships,” head coach for men’s and women’s swimming and diving David Denniston said. “They are staying strong in the weight room and starting to get some more rest.”
Denniston said his top performers for the women’s team this season, Blattner and Leonard, “are undefeated in their events this season.”
Denniston said on the men’s team Ryan Netzel, Brandon Samaniego and team captain Mitch Hovis are his top performers.
Denniston said COVID-19 presented a significant setback for swimming this year. Practices are limited to about 15 hours per week. Because the pool is small, the swim team had to transition to having several small practices per day to abide by social distancing guidelines. Several athletes have had to restart their season and training multiple times due to exposure.
“With the regular student population returning to campus, our biggest challenge is keeping the team healthy and limiting exposure to the virus. Everyone practices safety measures differently or not at all and that puts several people at risk, especially in the dorms,” Denniston said.
Besides training restrictions, some athletes faced mental health challenges during this season.
“Swimmers are people who need the water to survive. This year has kept several fish out of water and presented the biggest challenge mentally. Having our mental health expert, Katie Wille, on our athletics staff to talk to athletes about their struggles has made this year possible for our team,” Denniston said.
The men’s team usually front-loads the season with dual meets, but this year that wasn’t possible. Instead, the second half of the season is packed with dual meets.
“While we’ve had some restrictions and challenges due to the pandemic, we’ve found a way to keep our heads above water and are excited about the last few weeks of our season,” Hovis said.
Hovis swims the 100 and 200 breaststroke, and the 200 individual medley. Hovis said despite the COVID challenges, it has been his most fun season. Hovis is looking forward to the conference this year, since last year he got sick right before the meet.
“I am really looking forward to racing at full speed, hopefully dropping some personal best times, and, with a little bit of luck, winning those two events. I think I have a good shot, but there are some fast competitors in our conference, so it will be a tight race,” Hovis said.
Hovis said the competition at conference is incredibly talented but so is the Wyoming team. Despite the hardships of this season, Hovis said he was grateful for his teammates and that he was still able to make something great out of this season.
