Thursday, Oct. 15 not only marks the date of the first dual meet of the season for Northwestern against Eastern Michigan but also the date of the first collegiate competition for over 40 percent of the team.

Coach Jarod Schroeder believes that this unprecedented amount of freshmen will present the team with a considerable challenge this season.

After placing ninth in the Big Ten last year and with this season yet to be underway, Schroeder currently does not maintain any towering expectations of his athletes. Instead, he said his current priorities are to remain patient with his squad and to foster an ideal collaborative environment through retreats and other activities, such as Navy Seal training, to prompt the team, especially freshmen, to work as a collective.

“We get a lot more fired up and we get behind each other really well,” team captain Stephen Shull said.

Though the majority of the most recent recruits have partaken in Olympic trial cuts prior to joining the team, Schroeder said most newcomers will experience a transitional period as they adjust to the culture of NU’s program.

“I’ve just been taking it week by week, so right now I’m just focusing on Eastern Michigan (on Oct. 15),” freshman Justin Hanson said.

Hanson made the decision to swim for Northwestern specifically for the close-knit team environment.

He also believes Schroeder has been successful in preparing and motivating the team for upcoming meets.

“This group of guys has been really good and I’m really happy with what I’ve seen from a training standpoint,” Schroeder said. “My hope is that their level of training translates into the level of swimming that I think it should translate to.”

This is a sentiment Schroeder expects to prove challenging, considering the fact that NU remains one of the smallest teams in the Big Ten with 25 athletes.

Schroeder said the swimming program has established a cap at 26 members and ideally aims to have 22 swimmers and four divers at one time.

Since every team in the conference can only travel with a maximum of 24 athletes, all members of the team are required to be highly versatile swimmers and capable of competing successfully in multiple events, Schroeder said.

“It’s going to be tough to move into the top five because of where the depth is compared with everyone else,” Schroeder said. “The tough thing is people equate success with your record or how you finish in the Big Ten.”

Other teams in the conference, such as Ohio State and Michigan, often have up to 50 athletes on their teams, he said.

Despite this supposed disadvantage, Schroeder said the program still develops athletes that can compete at highest level of the sport, referencing former NU swimmer and current Olympian Jordan Wilimovsky as an example.

“Do we have a successful program even though we finished ninth at the Big Ten last year? Yes I think we do,” Schroeder said.

Additionally, he explained, the smaller team size also contributes to the closeness of the team, as there is no divide between athletes that travel and those who do not.

Sophomore Jonathan Blansfield, a member of the distance freestyle group, said one of the reasons why he loves NU swimming is that everyone has a chance to travel.

In an effort to establish more depth within the program, the team has been more selective with regards to the recruitment process over the past five years. According to Schroeder, the level of recruitment currently being implemented now brings in higher-level athletes than some of those currently on the team.

“I think it’s an environment in which everyone is pushing each other,” Blansfield said.

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