Since the team was founded three years ago, the Bridgewater College Women’s swim team has become an extremely close group of girls. Obviously, the goal of the team is to do well at swim meets, but the team also takes pride in bonding and getting to know each member. “We are different from other sports because we do not get to talk to each other during practice since we are in the water, so we try to do some things outside of practice,” Lauren Gladish, team captain, said.
Team dinners, movie nights and hanging out at Coach Fran Smith’s house are some of the activities the team uses to bond, Gladish explained. This bonding has created a supportive and hardworking team. “We are all committed; everyone is putting a hundred and ten percent in every practice,” Lauren Clague, the other team captain, said. Unlike last year, the team is willing to do Saturday practices and two practices on Thursdays, Clague explained.
With additional practices, the team expects to be even more competitive this year. While the team only has 16 members even though 18 are allowed at the ODAC championship, each member will play apart in achieving the team’s goal of finishing fourth at the ODAC championship, Gladish said. While it would be nice to place in the top three, it probably will not happen this year due to the difference in size and competitiveness between Bridgewater College and the top three teams from last year in the ODAC, Coach Smith said. Other teams in the ODAC have more than 18 swimmers, so when they swim at the championships, the teams get to pick their best 18 swimmers.
Coach Smith believes placing fourth in the ODAC championship will be accomplished. The team placed fifth in its first year and fourth in its second year, so the team wants to finish fourth again since third is out of reach this season.
However, the team should come closer to third overall and have several swimmers medal in the ODAC championship. “We have got freshman that have come in and already broken records,” Coach Smith said. This will help close the gap between Bridgewater and last year’s third place team, Sweet Briar College. By the time the members of the 2013 class are juniors, Coach Smith wants to have this team in the top three in the ODAC. “My goal when I took this job was to give myself five years to try to get up in the top three in the ODAC,” Coach Smith said.
With a team this close, and swimmers who are constantly breaking records, Bridgewater College is looking to improve over the next several years. Each member is committed to help this young program succeed. In the last three years the swim team has improved from a club team, to a contender at the NCAA division three varsity level. Now that the team is established, they look to move up in the standings. If Coach Smith meets her goal, the team will be third in the ODAC 2011-2012 season.
