Swimmers take on alumni to start the season

Monday, September 21, 2009

After weeks of training and working on technique, the swimming and diving team got its first taste of competition Friday as it took on former KU swimmers in the alumni meet.

Though Robinson Natatorium was filled with the enthusiasm of swimmers out to impress, only two swimmers were able to outpace the alumni in any single event. In the 50-yard backstroke, junior Iuliia Kuzhil surged past sophomore Abigail Anderson to take first place with a time of 26.31 seconds.

Photo Gallery

Kansas Alumni Swim Meet 2009

Photos from this year's alumni swim meet

Although Kuzhil and Anderson were the only current Kansas swimmers to outswim alumni, coach Clark Campbell said he liked what he saw out of his team. He said freshmen Monica Johannessen, Brooke Brull and Alyssa Rudman all performed well in their first collegiate swim meet.

While the swimmers raced, the Kansas divers competed in some unofficial events put on by diving coach Eric Elliott.

Danielle Herrmann, 2009 KU alumna, won three out of the five individual events. Herrmann has been training with the team in preparation for short-course nationals in December. She has also worked with the team’s breaststrokers throughout their training this season.

“Danielle has certain things she does as well as anyone in the country,” Campbell said.

One of the alumni in attendance, 64-year-old Bob Scribner, swam the 100-yard individual medley. Scribner swam with the University from 1962-1966 and still swims competitively. At the most recent Show-Me State Games, Scribner won three gold medals in his age group.

“To see a person of my age still doing it and still having fun, I hope it made them realize it’s not just for young people,” Scribner said.

Despite the lighthearted atmosphere surrounding the meet, Campbell said swimming against men and more experienced alumni magnified several things the team needed to work on. Among the problems amplified were the need for improved starts and turns. Campbell and his staff have just less than three weeks to address this problem before the team hosts its annual intrasquad meet on Oct. 9.

Even with some minor struggles, senior swimmer and team captain Carrah Haley viewed the meet as a success.

“It was a good meet to start us off,” Haley said. “We got our jitters out.”

— — Edited by Amanda Thompson

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