2008 Woodie Awards
Second season finds swim team at home
Kristen Oxley
Issue date: 9/26/08 Section: Sports
This weekend kicks off the Milligan Aqua Buffs' second season as the women will travel to Gainesville, Ga. to take on Breanau University and Lambuth University.
The Aqua Buffs have made several changes from their first year, last year.
The team has nearly doubled in size, from 12 swimmers to 21. Goehring also added Assistant Coach Chris Baker to his staff.
"Having more swimmers makes practice more competitive which results in more energetic practices," said Head Coach Ron Goehring.
"There's a lot more team unity this year," said sophomore Samantha Digmann. "There's more team leadership this year. It's really exciting to have a bigger team."
Returning national qualifiers from last year include sophomores Darcee Kubisiak, Rachel Landry and Anna Goss. However, the team is setting higher goals for meets this year.
"I'm looking forward to more people qualifying for nationals and being a part of a team that does well at every meet," said Digmann.
"We are hoping to qualify 10 people to nationals this year," Goehring said.
Goehring said they will be relying heavily on last year's national qualifiers in the women's events. With seven new men on the team, he said freshmen Eron Cavanaugh and Aaron Pigford as well as sophomores Greg Cathers and Taylor Duran should be strong in sprints and back stroke.
"I'm excited because the team's bigger this year, so we'll have more team spirit," said Goss. "We're going to have more pull at the meets and we're going to fill all the events."
Last year, the team did not have enough members to fill some of the events.
One of the more significant changes to this year's swim season is the addition of home meets to the schedule. The first one will be held on October 17 at 7 p.m. against Mars Hill College.
"This is the first home meet in over 25 years," Goehring said.
Last year Milligan did not have a timing system, but now that they have one students and faculty can watch the Aqua Buffs in their home pool.
"With the Olympics recently, people kind of understand swimming," Digmann said. "Everyone knows who Michael Phelps is, so they'll want to come see how close races can be even at a college level."
Two more meets will be held at home on November 22 against Union College and on January 24 against Warren Wilson and Campbellsville University.
The Aqua Buffs have made several changes from their first year, last year.
The team has nearly doubled in size, from 12 swimmers to 21. Goehring also added Assistant Coach Chris Baker to his staff.
"Having more swimmers makes practice more competitive which results in more energetic practices," said Head Coach Ron Goehring.
"There's a lot more team unity this year," said sophomore Samantha Digmann. "There's more team leadership this year. It's really exciting to have a bigger team."
Returning national qualifiers from last year include sophomores Darcee Kubisiak, Rachel Landry and Anna Goss. However, the team is setting higher goals for meets this year.
"I'm looking forward to more people qualifying for nationals and being a part of a team that does well at every meet," said Digmann.
"We are hoping to qualify 10 people to nationals this year," Goehring said.
Goehring said they will be relying heavily on last year's national qualifiers in the women's events. With seven new men on the team, he said freshmen Eron Cavanaugh and Aaron Pigford as well as sophomores Greg Cathers and Taylor Duran should be strong in sprints and back stroke.
"I'm excited because the team's bigger this year, so we'll have more team spirit," said Goss. "We're going to have more pull at the meets and we're going to fill all the events."
Last year, the team did not have enough members to fill some of the events.
One of the more significant changes to this year's swim season is the addition of home meets to the schedule. The first one will be held on October 17 at 7 p.m. against Mars Hill College.
"This is the first home meet in over 25 years," Goehring said.
Last year Milligan did not have a timing system, but now that they have one students and faculty can watch the Aqua Buffs in their home pool.
"With the Olympics recently, people kind of understand swimming," Digmann said. "Everyone knows who Michael Phelps is, so they'll want to come see how close races can be even at a college level."
Two more meets will be held at home on November 22 against Union College and on January 24 against Warren Wilson and Campbellsville University.
Be the first to comment on this story