With the Pac-12 Championships coming up, now is the time to reflect on the regular season WSU swim put together. 

The Cougs swim team has completed their fifth regular season under head coach Matt Leach. The team may have only finished 2-6 in duel meets, and winless in the Pac-12, but there is more to it than just duels, Leach said.

“For me, it’s making sure we’re seeing progress as we’re getting more fit, as we’re changing mechanics, as we’re progressing through the season, as we’re, you know, continuing on and so again, it goes back to not winning every day, but seeing that progress,” Leach said.

Unlike a football or a basketball team, it is not critical for the team to win enough duels to make the postseason, Leach said. He said he thinks they serve a great purpose, but his main focus is on improving throughout the season to prepare for the postseason.

The WSU swim team also competes in possibly the toughest conference in the country, the Pac-12. Still, they found success where they could, with a few standout athletes having great seasons, many coming from the freshmen class. 

“The freshmen class, we knew it was going to need to kind of grow up quickly and mature quickly, to be able to figure out how do I train the right way? How do I compete at a Pac-12 level? And they have and that’s what’s really, really cool,” Leach said. “I think I think their success is attributed to leadership from our seniors or juniors, I mean, even our sophomores giving our freshmen hugs and being there for each other and that’s what a family and team is about for me.” 

Great leadership plus a talented freshmen class is the perfect equation for success, Leach said. One of the biggest leaders on the team is Jewel Springer, a senior and team captain.

“So just building a strong foundation so the team can continue to grow and not waver because I think consistency is something that we’ve been really working towards and it’s gotten a lot better,” Springer said.

Springer says the team has lots of hard-working and talented girls who want to be here and lift the team up. She said the team has gotten faster every year that she has been here.

One highlight of the season despite the record was the Cougs 800-yard freestyle relay team of Dori Hathazi, Kirsten de Goede, Angela Di Palo and Noelle Harvey taking gold in the U.S. Open. The 400-yard freestyle relay team also earned bronze. It was the biggest group of swimmers WSU has ever sent to a national meet.

The team also capped off senior night taking back six Gibb Pool records from other schools. Leach said it shows the changing of the tide, and how hungry the athletes are not just as individuals, but as a team. The biggest improvement this year he had not seen the last two years has been the success of the relay teams, Leach said.

The freshmen class holds tons of potential, but other team athletes like sophomore Harvey, senior Springer and more put together great seasons for the Cougs. 

The postseason is make-or-break-it time, but the trend this season would indicate the Cougs are going in full steam ahead.