The start of 2008 marks the beginning of the end for four of Northwestern’s key seniors: swimmers Andrea Hupman and Katie Braun and divers Leanne Dumais and Beth Campbell.

Swimming and diving has been a significant part of their college lives, and the Wildcats are adjusting to the fact that their NU careers are coming to a close.

Since Campbell was young, she said she knew NU would be right for her.

Her father is an NU graduate, and she grew up attending football games on Saturdays. When she was approached by the coach to consider diving for the Cats, Campbell said she “didn’t even think twice about it.”

Campbell said diving has been the biggest part of her life in college and that the team has become like family to her.

“Last year I had a personal best on 1-meter, and it was such a great feeling because everyone is just so supportive of one another,” she said. “When you’re doing well, everyone is just so happy, and if you’re down, everyone knows what to say to one another to really bring you back up.”

Campbell’s career as a diver will come to an end once she graduates, but she is satisfied with her time with NU.

“It’s been a great experience,” she said, “but it’s time to move on.”

Dumais said she feels as if she holds a unique place on the team.

When times get rough, she is the one on the team who tries to lighten up the tension.

“I’m kind of a spaz on the team, I would say, so I try to do really funny things, and I get really weird looks, but you’ve got to have someone (who does that),” she said.

After the Cats finish their season this winter, Dumais is hoping her diving career won’t end with it.

“What I really want to do is qualify for the Olympic Trials and see how that goes,” Dumais said. “Right now, that is the goal.”

Braun sums up her NU career in a few words: “The swim team has been my college life.”

Braun has been a key part of the team since her freshman year, when she had three top-11 finishes in the Big Ten Championships. Now that she’s a senior, she understands it is her turn to act as a role model for the younger swimmers, both in and out of the pool.

“Especially senior year, it has meant a lot to know I am able to lead and help the younger girls on my team,” she said.

As her days on the team wind down, Braun realizes how much swimming has meant to her.

“I wouldn’t trade the experience for anything in the world – even on cold winter days when I am biking to SPAC at 5:45 a.m.,” Braun said. “I wish everyone could be as lucky as I have been to be a Division-I athlete.”

For Hupman, there was no question as to whether she would continue to swim in college.

“In my mind, there was no other option,” she said.

After four years under NU’s coaches and trainers, Hupman said her swimming has improved greatly as a result.

“The weight program here was something that I didn’t have before very much,” she said. “I’ve worked on free weights and exercises that I’d never even heard of before coming here.”

Hupman realizes younger swimmers look up to her because of her role as a senior, but she said her leadership role hasn’t changed her work ethic.

“I just keep on doing everything I’ve been doing since I got here,” Hupman said. “You show up to work out, you follow the coaches’ instructions and do everything the best you can.”

Coach Jimmy Tierney said the team will feel the effects of the loss of its seniors in and out of the pool. He describes the seniors as “leaders in training, leaders in commitment, leaders in terms of helping the younger swimmers get acclimated and fitting in to what we do and how we do it.”

And with the team losing its senior leaders – including two of the program’s best athletes in Hupman and Dumais – Tierney said NU will struggle to fill the void next season.

“We’re going to feel it in a lot of ways,” he said. “They’re going to be missed, but they’ve left their mark on our program. “

Reach Bette Marston at [email protected].