By Elizabeth Hammond, Digital Media Editor
The Susquehanna men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams will show off their talents this weekend at the Landmark Conference Championships in Germantown, Maryland.
The women’s team is looking to take home their eighth consecutive championship win this year. Leading their team are captains Joann Butkus and Jess Jozefiak.
“The team has been focusing on our performances going into champs,” Butkus said. “Rather than setting a team goal of a certain outcome, we focus on process goals, like executing smart race strategies, fast starts, and strong turns and finishes.”
They are not focusing on setting records this year she continued: “Our focus is to enjoy the moment and have a great time together. If we do that, then the rest will take care of itself.”
Head swimming coach Jerry Foley set the theme this year as R.I.S.E. UP, it was spent developing relationships, integrating everyone into their culture, supporting each other in and out of the pool, and being fully engaged with the vision and missions of the team.
He continued by explaining that approaching champs he wanted to add two more character values that will set the theme for the weekend. He defined the “U.P.” as unity and purpose. It is important to the team as a unit that everyone is bringing something different.
Foley concluded by saying that in the end if they are unified with their purpose, they will be champions this week end. Not just in the score, but in life; they will remember this experience for a lifetime.
Junior Katie Willis is not new to the stress that champs can have on someone. Her freshman year she exceeded everyone’s expectations by winning in her four main events, the 50-yard freestyle, 100-yard freestyle, and 200-yard freestyle.
This came as a shock to herself and set the standard for her upcoming sophomore season. She was faced with disappointment as the weekend went on. In one of her first events she sprained her UCL, tearing a ligament in the inner side of the elbow. This significantly hindered her shot at repeating her success in her first year.
Going into her third round of champs her goals are to go in with a positive mindset. But, compared to her past two years, she is going into this weekend she feels stronger and more confident in her technique. She will be swimming in the 50-yard freestyle, 100-yard freestyle, and 200-yard freestyle as well as four relays.
The men’s team on the other hand are looking to start a dynasty of their own, as they have come close each year but fall just short. In years prior, the United States Merchant Marine Academy dominated, winning every men’s championship until they left the conference after the 2015-2016 athletic season. Now the race for the title is wide open.
The men’s captains are Ryan Rizzuto and James Orzolek. Their goals for the men’s team going into the season were to come together as a team and work hard to get to their goal for conferences: to give it their all.
“Everything we have worked hard for this whole season, we display that in performance, attitude, and team pride,” Rizzuto said. “We asked the question this week ‘why do we swim?’. We have the chance to not only win as a men’s team but to let all this hard work pay off in individual goals as well.”