Season Wrap-Up With Swimming Coach Duane Sorenson

Season Wrap-Up With Swimming Coach Duane Sorenson

03.27.2006 | Swimming and Diving

By: Iowa State University

March 28, 2006

AMES, Iowa - The Iowa State Cyclone swimming and diving team finished the 2005-06 season with a sixth place finish at the Big 12 Championships, a NCAA Zone Diving Qualifier and a participant in the NCAA Swimming and Diving Championships. Head Coach Duane Sorenson reflects on the past season and what is in store for the 2006-07 season.

How do you feel the overall 2005-06 season went? "Our number one goal at the start of the season, was to have our best performances at the Big 12 Championships, and we accomplished that goal. In our dual meet, we swam much faster throughout the year as compared to how we swam to last season."

What are some of the highlights of the season? "The main highlight was the team's performance at the Big 12 meet, everyone on the team swam to at least one personal best time and many swam to two, three and even four personal bests throughout the season. Overall highlights include: junior Lauren Breunig's school records in the 100 and 200 freestyle and being invited to swim three events at the NCAA meet, senior Lydia Smirniotis' school records in both the 1000 and 1650 freestyle, the school record set by the 400 medley relay made up of senior Maggie Peterson, freshman Marni Benson, senior Kim Rogers and Breunig. That relay ended up as the 26th fastest relay in the nation in the final standings."

Who impressed you the most or stood out this season? "A number of our women really stood out. First, Breunig set some very high goals at the beginning of the season, and then trained hard all season long. In our dual meets she attacked her races and she had an outstanding Big 12 and NCAA meet. She improved her 200 free and 200 IM times by almost two seconds each, which is very hard to do as she was already swimming those races very fast. Second, Rogers swam to four personal best times at the Big 12 meet, she was a finalist for the first time in her career at the Big 12 meet, not in just one race but three, the 400 IM, 200 back, 200 fly and earned All Conference honors by placing third in the 200 fly. Third, Smirniotis' outstanding 1650 free swim on the last day of the Big 12 Conference meet. It was her last swim of her career and it was a very memorable swim, as she set two school records in one race, the 1000 free and 1650 free. She just took off by attacking her races and just kept going at an all out pace for over 16 minutes. Fourth, Tami Ritchie's 200 fly swim in prelims at the Big 12 Championships, she dropped her time by over three seconds from last year and qualified for finals for the first time in her career. She did this by four years of hard work, as Ritchie was one the of the most dedicated swimmers ever to swim at Iowa State. Finally, Marni Benson really stepped up her freshmen season. She dropped her 100 breaststroke time by over two seconds and her 200 breaststroke time by 13 seconds. She loves to race and has a very bright future ahead of her." How will the team transition after losing nine seniors this season? "There will be a lot of big shoes to fill, not only in the swimming events but in their leadership skills. Rogers has been a captain for the past two years, Peterson and senior Hillary Nichols were captains this season and the rest of the seniors were all great leaders in practice, at meets and out of the pool. We have a very good junior class that will be great leaders for us next year."

Did the NCAA Championships go as expected for you and for junior Lauren Breunig? "I felt Breunig went after her races like she did all season long. On the first day of the meet she swam the 200 IM and was just off her best time from the Big 12 meet. On the second day, she swam the 200 free and was with the leaders of her heat for 125 yards, and those leaders qualified for the finals, she just ran out of gas the last length, just missing making the finals by one second. All in all it was a great experience for her, I think she can walk away and realized that she can compete with the best swimmers in the world as she raced them in the 200 free and just missed making finals."

What are the goals for next season? "Much like this years goals, for each of our women to swim and dive to personal best, to swim our best at the Big 12 Championships and to qualify swimmers and divers for the NCAA Championships and then place."

Are there new freshmen that will fit into the mix for creating another successful team next year? "Our incoming freshmen will help our sprint free and fly events, along with improving our 200 and 400 freestyle relays."

Who of the returning swimmers do you see to have a stand out season next year? "I think our junior class of Breunig, Cassandra Nelson, and Chelsey Walden will have outstanding seasons next year. Breunig has already shown what she can do, and both Nelson and Walden were fighting nagging injures all season long and both should be ready to go next year. Freshman Benson will continue to swim faster in her breaststroke races. Also in the breaststroke events, sophomore Krista Fehl is really starting to come into her own. Juniors Emily Welborn and Lindsay Wiesner both had nice time drops this season in their events and I look for both of them to continue to improve. Lastly, freshman Lindsay Wegner improved her 100 backstroke time and showed signs of greatness in her butterfly races."

What do you expect of next years team in terms of conference finishing and teams to beat next year? "At the conference level we want to finish in the top four, that's going to be challenge as all the teams in our conference are getting better and better every season."

What were your highlights as a coach this past season, what were you the most proud of? "Watching Breunig's lead-off leg of the 800 free relay the first night of the Big 12 Championship meet in a personal best, school record and NCAA qualifying time. That swim energized the team and set the tone for the rest of the meet. Also, having each team member swim to personal best times, thus everyone gave their best effort and achieved their best." ™™