The Hillsdale College women’s swim team spent the summer training and preparing for their upcoming season, and weeks of practice during the school year have led to the season opener this Saturday.
Sophomore Anika Ellingson explained how she prepared herself over the summer for this year. Strength and conditioning coach, Patrick Gifford, gave the Chargers a customized lifting program for the summer, Ellingson said.
Elligson said the way her teammates would connect via social media to encourage one another during the summer inspired her.
“A lot is dependent on your own motivation, but we would keep each other in check. Especially this year’s sophomores would encourage each other. You know you have to be ready, so you have to stay motivated,” Ellingson said.
The squad lost six seniors last spring including Zoe Hopkins, Sarah Rinaldi, and Jennifer Wheeler.
This year, new captains will step into leadership: junior Peyton Bowen and seniors Kenzi Dickhudt and Emily Shallman.
The Chargers welcomed nine freshmen this fall. These freshmen knew they needed to be ready to start with a fairly good yardage base coming into the school year, but that the adjustment to college sports would be difficult regardless of prior training, said head coach Kurt Kirner.
“So much of it is growth within the program once they get here,” Kirner said.
According to Kirner, long-term goals are hard to set with such a young team. However, the swim team hosts a meet against Albion on Saturday, Oct. 8. It will be these next two weeks which really determine each swimmer’s strongest skills, Kirner predicted.
“It’s all about finding your niche,” he said. “Most swimmers can do a variety of events, but it’s really about pinning down each individual’s strengths.”
Kirner does have some goals in mind for his team, however.
“I want to get all of my freshmen and sophomores with life-time best times,” Kirner said.
Similarly, swimmers set goals for themselves. Ellingson’s goal this year is to make to the national meet. She missed nationals by .02 seconds last year, and is determined to make it this year, she said.
Ellingson wants to maintain a positive attitude even when the work gets tough. The team works over Christmas, and it’s a long season Ellingson said.
“There’s not much drier — no pun intended — than swimming up and down a lane,” Kirner said. “They need to be intrinsically motivated to have that drive and that commitment.”
Even with all the activities outside of the pool, sophomore Grace Houghton emphasized the importance of community among the team members.
“Upperclassmen need to encourage freshmen and build community and form relationships,” Houghton said. “I really just want to invest in the team.”
Though Houghton and Ellingson acknowledge the large amount of work and dedication they devote to the team, both agreed that they would not have it any other way.
“I love what I do,” Ellingson said. “I don’t think I could imagine a life without swimming and the stability it provides. It’s the one time during the day, or two times a day sometimes, where I don’t have to think about school. I can focus on that stress release.”
