Men's squad placed second at 2003 MAC Championships
The 2003-04 edition of the Ball State men's swim team carrieshigh expectations for the upcoming season: They are predicted tofinish second in the Mid-American Conference.
After a surprising runner-up finish last season, seven seniorsand 18 letterwinners are returning.
Coach Bob Thomas enters his 25th season at Ball State havingnever won a MAC championship. He said he realizes the schedule is adifficult one, but he feels very fortunate the conference meetswill take place during the second semester.
"All our conference meets are pretty intense," he said.
The team travels to Purdue this weekend, where they facedifficult competition at the Indiana Intercollegiate. Purdue hasexcellent swimmers and is the favorite heading into the meet,Thomas said.
Michigan State will visit Muncie in mid-November. Thomas said heexpects the meet to be the toughest this semester.
The University of Indianapolis, a Division II school, shouldalso provide a challenge for the Cardinals. What they might lack indepth, they make up for in talent.
"They've had past national champions," Thomas said. "They aregonna be very strong in several events. They should be a force toreckon with."
Other Indiana schools competing at this weekend's meet includeValparaiso, Vincennes and Evansville.
Thomas said he hopes to see the returning players beat the timesthey posted last year at this meet. He also said he wants to seehow the freshmen handle a college swim meet.
"It will be a big factor in determining our lineups for theupcoming meets," he said.
With a strong senior class and so many returning lettermen, theteam has high goals for the season. Seniors Rod Smith (200backstroke) and Ryan Bounds (freestyle) have been namedco-captains. Zach Hall and Smith are expected to have big seasonsat backstroke.
Ritchie Caudill, Clint Cadden and Robert Funk made a big impactin the conference last season at breaststroke, and they areexpected to do the same this season.
Erik Goodrich, Kurtis Leer and Bounds lead the freestyleswimmers, and Ryan Plantz is expected to lead the way indiving.
Several freshmen also look to contribute for the team thisseason, including Adam Konopka (back, IM), Ian McIntosh (free,sprint and fly), Ryan Millard (50 and 100 free, 200 IM) and diverZach Whitaker.
Thomas said he wants each member to swim faster than they'veever swum before.
"If they can do that, we can achieve a lot of things," hesaid.
Thomas said he also wants the team to match last year's finish,and he believes the team's depth should make this goalattainable.
"We're going to try to finish second," Thomas said with a laugh."In any competition, there's no guarantee of the outcome. We'regoing to give it our best effort. Each year is a new year. If itcan come together, maybe we can achieve second. If they doexceptionally well, who knows? It might be a first in theworks."
Women opened season with win at Illinois State
Women's coach Laura Seibold-Caudill says Ball State canaccomplish more as a team than as individuals.
This year, her team might prove her true.
With all but four swimmers returning, the team appears deepenough to at least retain fifth place, where they finished lastyear at the Mid-American Conference Championships.
"Miami, Ohio, Eastern Michigan — they're alltough," Seibold-Caudill said. "Every single year, thisconference gets tougher. I think, realistically, we have theindividuals; it's just a matter of getting everyone in shapeand keeping everyone healthy for second semester."
The women's team kicked off the season by defeatingIllinois State 185-116 on Oct. 18.
"I think it was a very good meet to start off the season,"Seibold-Caudill said. "It really showed our strength and depth inall the events. Our seniors really came through. Joey Duncan did agreat job. Emily Aubie did a great job in the individual medley.Kait Martin did a great job in winning both backstrokes."
This week, the women's team travels to Purdue for theIndiana Intercollegiate. With Indiana and Purdue competing,Seibold-Caudill said she hopes to bring a third-place finish toMuncie.
"It's going to be real competitive,"Seibold-Caudill said. "We're going to see some realgood swimmers from IU and Purdue, and the University ofIndianapolis has been a nationally ranked team in Division II. Anytime we swim against state schools, it lets us show how strong weare."
Duncan (distance), Martin (backstroke) and Aubie (butterfly) areexpected to lead the team this season along with several otherupperclassmen, namely Karla Bailey (breaststroke), Dee DeeWolverton (freestyle) and Sarah King (free).
Several freshmen are also expected to step up, including MaryBrinkoetter (back), twins Amber and Jenna Arnold (butterfly) andBrittany Mishler (distance). Seibold-Caudill said she is especiallyexcited about the freshman divers: Katie Boyle, Jennifer Dadlow andCassie Mallery.
"We've got three really solid divers that I thinkare really going to turn things around," Seibold-Caudillsaid.
The key to this team is chemistry. They have pulled togetherfrom the beginning, and as a result, they are off to a solid start.The team is becoming very close and is ready to be coached.
"If they can pull together, they can have a lot moresuccess. I really like the focus of this group,"Seibold-Caudill said.
Much of the credit must go to new assistant coach JasonMahowald.
"He's really brought a lot of great ... ideas tothis team," Seibold-Caudill said.
Although Indiana and Purdue stand as tough competition as wellas the favorites this weekend, Seibold-Caudill and her team lookforward to the challenge.
"It should be a fun weekend," Seibold-Caudillsaid.
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