With the start of the swim season hitting full force this year the Cougars are ready to introduce their freshmen to their first collegiate swim meet. The Cougars will be flying down to Fresno, California, to compete in their first invitational of the season Friday and Saturday.

At this invitational, the Cougars will compete against Fresno State and UCLA, who ranked No. 21 nationally last year. With a robust new squad, the team is hoping to make an impression and have fun while they are at it.

“We wanna make sure that we are really focused on just doing the little things we have been training really really well,” said head coach Matt Leach. “I know we need to sharpen up some of our starts, our turns, our relay changes which we have plenty of time to do.” 

With all of the new swimmers and the nerves of their first meet, the team is anxious to get in the pool against some strong competition.

“I am a little nervous but mostly excited just to get out there and race some people that aren’t just my teammates,” freshman Madison Parker said. “Pac-12 is always where I wanted to be and there is a Pac-12 team that is going to be there, so we’re kind of going to get a taste of what it is going to be like the meet after with UCLA.”

The returning swimmers are also feeling strong in this upcoming year with a positive outlook on their own improvement.

“Last year that was one of my proudest moments,” returning swimmer Jewel Springer said. “It wasn’t the fastest I went all season, but it was really good and it was a really good first meet for me, so I am just hoping I can do that again because that set me up really well for last season.”

Springer is bringing down the hammer during her last season in the pool with not only her team, but herself.

“This is my last few months swimming so I am just trying to soak it all in and really leave it on a high note because after these few months, I am never going to be in this position to be able to race at a collegiate level,” Springer said.

As much as the Cougars are training in the pool, they still need to focus on their connections to maintain a strong start to the season.

“We wanna make sure that we’re focused on our training effort and energy towards each other right now,” Leach said.

The swimmers have always been ones to show their team spirit and connectivity on the pool deck, and it looks like things are not slowing down in any way this year. Everything from having a new assistant coach to having a larger squad than they have seen in the past few years should lead to the season starting off with a splash.