Northwestern University and Evanston's Only Daily News Source Since 1881

The Daily Northwestern

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Northwestern University and Evanston's Only Daily News Source Since 1881

The Daily Northwestern

Northwestern University and Evanston's Only Daily News Source Since 1881

The Daily Northwestern

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From the bottom up

In 1989, Bob Groseth came to Northwestern as the new head coach of the men’s swimming team with the intention of reversing the Wildcats’ string of bad-to-mediocre luck. Nine years later, current seniors Nick Barnes and Chris Meyer arrived in Evanston still trying to improve the reputation of NU’s swim program.

They’ve finally done it.

Granted, there is still plenty of room for higher rankings. But today’s confident and successful Cats’ swim team is a far cry from the disorganized skeleton of the past.

“Our team is more serious now,” said Barnes, a senior captain for the Cats (5-1, 1-1 Big Ten). “We’re not scared at big meets, we always lay it all on the line.”

Unfortunately for loyal Cats fans, this focus has not always been a major characteristic of the team. Only in the past two seasons have NU swimmers reached the times they’re capable of and gained the respect of their Big Ten peers.

No one understands the early frustration quite like the head coach.

Welcoming an offer to coach men’s swimming and diving at a Big Ten school, Groseth left his job as swim coach at Fenwick High School in Chicago-suburb Oak Park. In doing so, he took up the challenge of bringing national recognition to the school’s swim program.

“When I came to Northwestern, we needed to reach up to touch bottom,” Groseth said.

Groseth said there were two directions he could lead the team.

“I could eliminate people on the team not at a certain standard,” he said. “Or I could invite them to get better – that’s what worked for me.”

For most of the 1990s, the Cats failed to achieve much as a unit, but usually had a few exceptional swimmers that kept the team from drifting into oblivion. What NU needed was a strong recruiting class with evenly distributed talent.

When this season’s seniors arrived for their first practice freshman year, they found the team more disorganized than it had appeared during recruitment visits.

“I was surprised freshman year that the team wasn’t as focused,” Meyer said. “It was more relaxed than I thought. It was like people swam when they felt like swimming.”

Barnes recalled that his freshman year, the team was reliant on its star, then-senior Brian Walters.

“The team depended on him to set the tone for every meet,” the freestyler said. “If Brian had a bad meet, everyone had a bad meet.”

Despite depending on a single swimmer, NU ended the 1998-99 season respectably, finishing 3-4 (1-4 Big Ten) in dual meets and sixth at the Big Ten championships.

Then came Barnes’ and Meyer’s sophomore year.

Although the Cats finished 5-4 (2-4) during the regular season, their record doesn’t reflect the humiliation NU encountered at the 2000 conference championships.

“Big Ten that year was one of the worst experiences I had swimming here,” Barnes said.

The team that had finished sixth just one year earlier swam “like crap,” according to Barnes, and placed a dismal ninth.

“After Big Tens that year I made a promise to myself that our team wouldn’t be like that anymore,” Barnes said.

Maybe NU’s poor performance in front of its conference rivals was just the wake-up call it needed.

With a talented class of new recruits who will graduate in 2004, the 2000-01 season gave the Cats a confidence boost, and maybe more importantly, hope. No longer would NU, with its 5-4 (3-3) mark, be a team to easily dismiss.

The Cats redeemed themselves at the Big Ten championships, squeaking past Indiana to claim fifth place and breaking 10 school records in the process.

NU then opened this season with its first national Top-25 ranking.

Another reason for NU’s success last season was the hiring of assistant coach Sergio Lopez. An Olympic medalist, Lopez won the bronze medal for Spain in the 200-yard breaststroke at the 1988 Games.

“Sergio has accomplished a lot in the pool, and his example has made swimming more of a priority in everyone’s life,” said Meyer, a breaststroke and individual medley specialist.

The swimmers have also noticed an attitude change lately in their head coach.

“He’s more excited about the team,” Meyer said. “He always wanted to be, but never had the means to, but now he does.”

Barnes agreed: “He’s more playful and light-hearted now and open to try new things.”

With Groseth and his highly regarded program now able to lure top recruits, NU is gaining strength each year.

Barnes sees “nothing but good things” for the future of NU swimming, a thought reinforced by the talent of the younger team members.

Do the wise senior leaders of the team have any words of advice for next year’s recruits? Of course.

“Keep in mind your goals,” Meyer said. “Remember them every day, even when you’re getting up at 5:30 a.m. for practice.”

Cats enthusiasts will be excited to watch the team’s growth during the next few seasons. With so much positive momentum, it’s not hard to understand why the seniors are bittersweet about stepping out of the pool for the last time.

“I wish I was a freshman now,” Meyer said. “I wish I could do it all over again.”

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Northwestern University and Evanston's Only Daily News Source Since 1881
From the bottom up