Swim team looks forward to successful season

By Sofia Montoya-Deck //

Hood’s swim team is looking forward to a strong season after a record-breaking showing at last year’s MAC Championships. 

This year’s team consists of 26 swimmers, split evenly between the men’s and women’s squads. The team also welcomed six first-years, two for the men and four for the women.

At last season’s MAC Championships, Hood set 12 team records in seven different events and earned five top-eight finishes in individual competitions and six top-eight finishes in relays. The team also recorded 38 new top-10 times. 

Graduate Hazen Stowell earned the individual conference champion title in the 500-meter freestyle. Other accolades included a bronze medal for Stowell in the 200-meter freestyle and a silver medal for current senior Isiah Brittingham in the 200-meter breaststroke.

“Last year was one of the better years that the program as a whole has had and was by far my best season since I’ve been here,” head coach Chris Gibeau said. Gibeau joined the Hood coaching staff in March 2020. 

The Blazers attended their first meet of the season Oct. 12 at Stevenson University for a tri-meet that also included Goucher College. The women’s team lost 83-17 against Goucher and 142-56 against Stevenson. The men’s team won 120-55 against Goucher and lost 119-77 to Stevenson.

“The first meet went very well for the team as a whole,” senior Josephine Sasse said. “It was nice to get back into the swing of going to meets, and it was really exciting for all the new people on the team to see how a college swim meet runs.”

“They’ve been working really hard, and the expectation is not necessarily doing great times,” Gibeau said. “It’s more about how they swim their races, how they compete—being able to race at the end of the race, rather than at the beginning and then fading off. From that standpoint, I thought it went pretty well.”

The team’s next meet will take place at Misericordia University on Nov. 2. Hood’s two home meets of the season will be held on Nov. 8 against Gallaudet University and Jan. 11 against McDaniel College. 

Gibeau’s team goals for the season primarily fall into two categories: academic and performance improvement. 

“The academic side comes first,” Gibeau said. “We would love for the ladies to continue their dominance in the GPA dominant.” Last year, the women’s team earned the second-highest average GPA in the athletics department.

“Performance-wise, the goal is always getting personal best times,” Gibeau added. “In my mind, I usually have a marker of 85-90% best times. That’s when I would be the happiest, is if we hit that kind of number at the end of the season.”

The team plans to continue training hard throughout the season to reach these goals. Part of this effort will include a six-day training trip to Boca Raton, Florida, in January.

“Our team this year is really willing to put in the work in the pool and in the weight room to get the results we had last year and pass those goals,” junior Jordan Taylor said. “Our first-year class is really motivated.” 

At the end of this season, Hood swimming will say goodbye to two graduating seniors on the women’s team and five on the men’s team. 

“I’m looking forward to hanging out with my friends,” Sasse said of her final season with the team. “I’m trying to be grateful for every practice and every meet that we have.”

“We have a good crew that are finishing up their careers,” Gibeau said. “To see them finish on a good note is something I always look forward to.”