A Northwestern swimmer’s legacy is written on the planks displayed prominently above the pool at the Norris Aquatic Center, listing the pool and school record holders in each event.
With over three and a half seasons of swimming under his belt, senior Eric Nilsson has two and a half months to cement his place as one of the top swimmers in Wildcats’ history.
“I’ve been working hard a lot of years,” Nilsson said. “And it seems I’m finally getting those times I want to.”
At last week’s meet at Carthage College, Nilsson asked coach Bob Groseth if he could swim in the 1000-yard freestyle – an event he doesn’t enter every week – knowing he had to shave off around five seconds to earn himself his second school record. He ended up breaking the record by nine seconds.
“The fact that he made that request shows that he’s interested in showing some type of legacy,” Groseth said. “Guys like to see their names up on boards.”
Nilsson appears to be hitting his stride. Before December’s TYR Invitational, Nilsson’s only plank was the one for the 500-yard free record he set in 2007. In the last three meets, Nilsson has added pool records in the 200 and 500 free and the 200 butterfly, in addition to the 1000 free record he set while at Carthage College.
“There’s a couple more I want to get, too,” Nilsson said.
Nilsson is in the midst of a dominant season, winning at least two races in every meet the team has had. He holds the team’s fastest time in seven separate individual events and on four relay teams, and he’s won two Big Ten Swimmer of the Week awards to double his lifetime total.
He’s also .63 seconds from setting the school’s 200 free record and 1.70 seconds away from the 200 butterfly record, in which he claims to have improved in his time.
With the Big Ten and national tournaments looming, Nilsson’s focus is primarily on finishing the season strong rather than setting records.
“I don’t think Eric is going to feel as good about the good times he’s having now if he doesn’t perform well at the end of the year,” Groseth said.
Nilsson is confident that his superb senior season will continue into the tournaments.
“I’m just thinking about swimming as fast as I can and as well as I can,” Nilsson said. “My stroke is feeling the best it’s ever felt.”
