When Sean Mathews first started swimming for Northwestern three seasons, two top-five program records and one NCAA Championships appearance ago, he was not much of a big deal. Mostly because he didn’t have to be.
Mathews was joining a top program that had just graduated future-Olympian Matt Grevers but that still featured All-Americans Eric Nilsson and Kyle Bubolz.
Mathews performed well his freshmen year, recording a 15th place finish in the 200-yard butterfly at the Big Ten Championships. But his efforts were more of a nicety than a necessity for the Wildcats
“When I got here we were really dependent on a couple of senior stars,” Mathews said. “The rest of the team was a little laid-back.”
It’s a luxury that this year’s ten freshmen have not been afforded. Though Mathews and fellow senior Alex Tyler both qualified for the NCAA Championships last year, with just five seniors on NU’s 22-man roster, there has simply been no time for a learning curve. As was the case in its 2009-10 season, NU (7-3, 1-2 Big Ten) is still missing a strong supplementary finishes in most events.
The lack of depth was evident when NU faced regional rival Notre Dame (4-2) last Wednesday at home. Despite taking six individual first-place finishes, all of which came courtesy of three NU swimmers, the Cats still dropped their senior night meet 160-140.
“They (Notre Dame) had a lot more depth than we had tonight,” coach Jarod Schroeder said. “Their second, third and fourth guys were better than our second guy.”
Despite the depth issues, the Cats have made some significant strides this season, including taking first place at the TYR Invitational meet on Nov. 21. Last season the Cats finished second at the meet despite Mathews’ first place individual finish.
Just a week earlier Schroeder, who is in his second season as head coach for NU, notched his first Big Ten win in a 165-128 meet against Wisconsin.
“It was long overdue,” Schroeder said.
Distance freestyle specialist sophomore Charlie Rimkus has improved on a strong freshman campaign and Tyler has continued to pace the Cats in the individual medley and breaststroke events.
As for Mathews, who was not a particularly noteworthy recruit when he entered the program, he said he is hoping to once again qualify for the NCAA Championships and finish in the top-eight in his signature 200-yard butterfly event.
“When I was recruited, I was barely at the level this team was looking for,” Mathews said. “So I’ve really consistently dropped (time).”
NU will get its last shot at regular season Big Ten win at Iowa on Saturday.
Read an update on the women’s swimming team later this week.
