By Tucker Paquette
@tpaquette17
After a season in which the Springfield College men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams found success in the pool through both individual accomplishments and team results, morale is high on Alden Street.
However, even while their rosters will look significantly different this season, there is a belief that both the men’s and women’s squads are capable of building off of the positives from last year.
For the women’s swimming and diving teams, last season’s accomplishments were highlighted by a third place finish at the NEWMAC championships, with the swimming team going on to qualify for the NCAA Division III Championships.
Head diving coach Peter Avdoulos believes that experience and development are essential for his teams this year, as half of the divers right now are first-year students. However, Avdoulos still sees the opportunity for both teams to fare well.
“We’re dealing with a lot of learning, but there’s a lot of talent,” Avdoulos said. “I’m excited about it. There’s a lot of potential in the group.”
Avdoulos is driven by a growth mindset, with his main objective for divers being to improve as the season progresses.
“All that concerns me is that the athletes get better than they were when they came in,” Avdoulos said.
Along the same lines of prioritizing process over product, Avdoulos hopes the divers are able to have a good time while practicing and competing.
“We don’t dive to a certain result, we hope to practice and dive so that [the athletes] enjoy the process,” Avdoulos said. “You need to enjoy the process and have fun doing it.”
Even still, performing well in meets will definitely be top of mind for Avdoulos, and he pointed out seniors Megan Crawford and Sarah Friedman, as well as sophomore Elizabeth Santos, as divers who are poised to help the Pride do just that.
Avdoulos believes the more experienced athletes and the first-year students will form a nice mix that will yield successful results during competitions.
“It’s going to be fun, because in the past when I’ve had really strong teams, it was fun to go to meets because you never knew [which diver] was going to win but they had a nice [sense of competition within the team],” Avdoulos said.
Meanwhile, the men’s diving team had a strong campaign last year as well, including an appearance at the NEWMACS where they placed fifth.
Over on the swim side, both teams are showing signs that have head swimming coach John Taffe feeling encouraged. But Taffe isn’t ready to look too far into the future just yet, noting how elements that are out of the team’s control could come into play.
“We’re in that phase right now where we’re trying to learn a lot [about the skills and identity of the teams],” Taffe said. “There’s too many unpredictable things that could potentially happen with injuries or different [obstacles], but I’d say so far, so good,” Taffe said.
With that disclaimer established, Taffe still does expect the Pride to have another successful season.
“I think we’re going to be a pretty competitive group on both sides, and I think we should be one of the stronger teams for both men’s and women’s within the conference,” Taffe said.
One factor that could prove challenging for both groups this year is the departure of several key performers, as leaders on both the men’s and women’s team recently graduated.
Mikaili Charlemagne, who during her senior year was nominated for the 2023 NEWMAC Student-Athlete of the Year Award for the women’s team, is one such departure. However, Taffe thinks the Pride have the pieces in place to remain a strong team.
He pointed to juniors Kay Shen, Erin Kelaher, Natalie Chamberlin and Nina Lamb, as well as senior Carolyn Blenk, as swimmers who will be central figures for the Pride this season.
Chamberlin wants the team to stay focused on improving over the course of the season so they are able to return to the NEWMAC tournament and perform well there. At the same time, she has individual expectations she hopes to meet.
“I want my 200 [meter freestyle] relay to go back to Nationals, because we qualified highly last year and I’m hoping we can do that again,” Chamberlin said.
While the women’s team experienced a talent drain, the same thing happened to the men’s team. They lost a handful of important swimmers, with James Chan standing out as a notable graduate from last year.
A holder of seven records for the men’s team from a mix of individual and group races, Chan was an instrumental part of the team for the entirety of his time at Springfield.
Even so, there are a number of upperclassmen set to take the reins, including Chan’s younger brother, Jonathan. With his name in the record books as well, Taffe believes he’ll team up with fellow juniors Luke Zonghetti and Jordon McMillan to form the foundation of this year’s group for the Pride.
“They are probably going to be the heart and soul of the team,” Taffe said.
The season kicks off for both of the men’s and women’s teams this upcoming Saturday, Oct. 28, at a meet where they will go up against both the University of Rhode Island and Coast Guard. For his part, Taffe believes this event will help provide some answers about exactly what his teams are capable of.
“I think we’ll learn a lot this weekend about who we are and what kind of team we’re going to be,” Taffe said.
Photo Courtesy of Springfield College Athletics.