Coach Bob Groseth quietly stalks the edge of the swimming pool. Every so often he yells something at his swimmers, but mostly he just watches. He looks for good technique, strong turns and a high energy level – the same things he has been looking for since he was hired as Northwestern’s swimming coach 18 years ago. Yet somehow this year feels different.
Led by NCAA champions Matt Grevers and Mike Alexandrov, Groseth’s teams have enjoyed a lot of success in recent years. Groseth won NCAA and Big Ten Coach of the Year in 2005 and led the Wildcats to three consecutive top-10 finishes at the NCAA Championships, 95 All-American honors and NU’s first undefeated duel-meet season, in 2007.
Yet with his stars gone and a slew of new talent joining the Cats, he must lead his squad into Big Ten play with a new perspective.
“Last year, with Grevers and Alexandrov, we expected to win every meet,” he said. “This year nothing’s a given.”
Their unpredictable march toward the Big Ten Championships begins this weekend at the Dallas Morning News Classic in Texas. The event, hosted by No. 24 SMU, will feature No. 19 USC, Arizona State (which is one point shy of the breaking the top-25) and an all-star team from the University of Texas that will feature U.S. Olympic gold medalists Aaron Peirsol, Brendan Hansen, and Ian Crocker.
No. 17 Northwestern, which will send only eight swimmers to the DMN Classic, enters as the defending champion and the meet’s highest-ranked team. Yet unlike last year, victory is hardly guaranteed.
“Dallas is going to be a very tight battle,” coach Groseth said. “I think we have an outside chance to win it, but we’re definitely more of an underdog.”
For many of NU’s veteran swimmers, this is unfamiliar territory. While many acknowledge this has been a growing year, they maintain an optimistic view of the team’s prospects.
“We are very young team, and we have a lot of untapped talent,” said junior Eric Nilsson, who has emerged as one of the team’s leaders. “But the guys are practicing really well, and I’m excited to see what they can do.”
Nilsson, ranked ninth in the nation in the 500 freestyle, and All-American seniors Bruno Barbic and Kyle Bubolz may be NU’s best hopes at regaining the confidence lost with the departures of Grevers and Alexandrov. Groseth admits his upperclassmen aren’t quite there yet.
“Some of our older guys have struggled with leadership and taking on primary roles,” he said. “We don’t quite have that swagger yet, but it’s definitely starting to come.”
Dallas is NU’s first meet since its trip to Florida in mid-December and will be a good indicator of how far the team has progressed in the early season. With only four meets to go before the Big Ten championships, the Cats face an uphill climb. But it’s nothing Groseth hasn’t seen before.
The remaining members of the team will stay behind to take on Division III Carthage in Evanston on Saturday.
Reach James Graham at [email protected].
