If the depth of your belief measures the height of your success, the University of Denver women’s swimming and diving team should emerge from the upcoming Sun Belt Conference (SBC) Championships wearing place medals and smiles.
“I think we are going to be the most prepared team there,” said Head Coach Jim Henry. “We are determined to be successful.”
The Pioneers will head to Little Rock, Ark., where the event is being held Thursday through Saturday at the Donaghey Aquatic Center. The Pioneers finished third in the last three SBC championships. This is not a feat to be ashamed of, but they are still looking to advance in standings.
“We are strong and will score highly in every event, which will be a change from last year,” said Henry. “We will score better in the sprint events, the breaststroke events, and the individual medley.”
Although Henry has his team fired up and ready to go. Western Kentucky is looking to win its fourth straight SBC championship and New Mexico State is hungry for first place also, having taken second place for three consecutive years.
“Western Kentucky has a great group of freshmen,” said Henry. “And New Mexico State is not going to back down very easily because they have a strong senior class.”
After his first regular season as head coach, Henry could not have asked for anything more from his team both in and out of the pool.
“I think that the season has gone unbelievably well,” said Henry. “The fact that they did have a 3.51 grade point average is big.”
The Pioneers seemed on a roll after an inspiring swim by junior Katie Eisenhard. At the Notre Dame Invitational in December, Eisenhard set a personal best and almost beat the school record in the 500 yard freestyle.
“She lit a spark in the team that carried them through the rest of the meet,” said Henry.
While Eisenhard motivated the team early on, sophomore Michaela Amereller turned it up a notch near the end of the season.
After earning a first place finish in her first ever 100-yard backstroke event and leading both the 200-yard medley relay team and the 400-yard freestyle relay team to first place finishes, Amereller was named “Performer of the Week” by the SBC.
“All season long, (the team) has raced well with stronger opponents and opponents that are not as strong,” said Henry.
As previous meets have shown, the championships are unpredictable and any team can emerge on top, especially with the addition of Florida International.
“It is a meet where anything can happen,” said Henry. “But we will be the hardest working and most determined team there.”
