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6 p.m. Friday / 12 p.m. Saturday
Swimming & Diving
at Northwestern
Blue Devils Set To Begin 2004-05 Season
10/7/2004 1:00:00 AM | Swimming & Diving
Oct. 7, 2004
Full of high hopes and steady perseverance, the Blue Devil swimming and diving team is set to begin the 2004-05 season this weekend. Though many familiar faces along the starting block are gone, the team hopes to improve on last year's finish and build on each other's strengths. Head Coach Bob Thompson says the goal for this year is clear: to improve each and every day.
"No matter what level you are at in competitive swimming," he said, "your goal is to get better than you were the day before. That's all that we can set for ourselves--to get better individually and, in turn, get better as a team."
Senior co-captains Chrissy Anderson, Stephanie Shinn and Teddy Helfers and junior John Humphrey will do their best to guide the young squad. Between the men's and women's teams, 18 freshmen were added to the roster this season, with many expected to compete right away. With the loss of Katie Fay (backstroke), Amy Halligan (butterfly, IM) and Lauren Hancock (butterfly, IM) on the women's side and Trevor Yates (mid-distance freestyle) and Chris Brede (sprint freestyle) on the men's, a strong incoming class was a necessity.
For the women, junior Katie Ness returns to defend her ACC Championship in the 200 IM (2:00.27) and strive for her second trip to the NCAA Championships. Ness broke six individual school records and was a part of four more record-breaking relay teams during a breakout sophomore campaign last season. Sophomore Jackie Rodriguez and junior Nora Stump are also ready to defend their records and improve on last year's career best performances.
Though the team will miss Hancock in the butterfly and IM events, the four-year standout swimmer joined the coaching staff during the offseason and will serve as the assistant coach for the upcoming season.
On the men's side, Helfers, Humphrey and senior diver Tim Hyer are the leading returnees for the Blue Devils. Helfers earned a personal best in the 500 freestyle at last year's ACC Championships, while Humphrey shattered school records in the 200 and 400 IM events with career bests at the conference championships. After battling an injury all last spring, Hyer returns to the diving board to improve on his impressive sophomore campaign in 2002-03.
The Blue Devils start the 2004-05 season Saturday at Clemson at 1 p.m.
Players Mentioned
Freestyle
/ Swimming & DivingPLAYER
/ Swimming & DivingPLAYER
/ Swimming & DivingFreestyle
/ Swimming & DivingBack/IM
/ Swimming & DivingDiving
/ Swimming & DivingFly/IM
/ Swimming & DivingFree/Breast
/ Swimming & DivingFree/Fly
/ Swimming & DivingPLAYER
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