By Sofia Montoya-Deck \/\/<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Hood\u2019s swim team is looking forward to a strong season after a record-breaking showing at last year\u2019s MAC Championships. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
This year\u2019s team consists of 26 swimmers, split evenly between the men\u2019s and women\u2019s squads. The team also welcomed six first-years, two for the men and four for the women.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
At last season\u2019s 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. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cLast year was one of the better years that the program as a whole has had and was by far my best season since I\u2019ve been here,\u201d head coach Chris Gibeau said. Gibeau joined the Hood coaching staff in March 2020. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
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\u2019s team lost 83-17 against Goucher and 142-56 against Stevenson. The men\u2019s team won 120-55 against Goucher and lost 119-77 to Stevenson.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe first meet went very well for the team as a whole,\u201d senior Josephine Sasse said. \u201cIt 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.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThey\u2019ve been working really hard, and the expectation is not necessarily doing great times,\u201d Gibeau said. \u201cIt\u2019s more about how they swim their races, how they compete\u2014being 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.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The team\u2019s next meet will take place at Misericordia University on Nov. 2. Hood\u2019s two home meets of the season will be held on Nov. 8 against Gallaudet University and Jan. 11 against McDaniel College. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Gibeau\u2019s team goals for the season primarily fall into two categories: academic and performance improvement. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe academic side comes first,\u201d Gibeau said. \u201cWe would love for the ladies to continue their dominance in the GPA dominant.\u201d Last year, the women\u2019s team earned the second-highest average GPA in the athletics department.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cPerformance-wise, the goal is always getting personal best times,\u201d Gibeau added. \u201cIn my mind, I usually have a marker of 85-90% best times. That\u2019s when I would be the happiest, is if we hit that kind of number at the end of the season.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cOur 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,\u201d junior Jordan Taylor said. \u201cOur first-year class is really motivated.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
At the end of this season, Hood swimming will say goodbye to two graduating seniors on the women\u2019s team and five on the men\u2019s team. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI\u2019m looking forward to hanging out with my friends,\u201d Sasse said of her final season with the team. \u201cI\u2019m trying to be grateful for every practice and every meet that we have.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe have a good crew that are finishing up their careers,\u201d Gibeau said. \u201cTo see them finish on a good note is something I always look forward to.\u201d <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"