This Wednesday, the Anderson men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams will head to Terre Haute for the HCAC Championships. The tournament will last all the way to Saturday afternoon.
Last year, Anderson placed 5th of seven teams for the men’s, and 4th of seven for the women’s. The defending champions for the tournament are the Rose-Hulman men’s team, and Franklin women’s team.
The Ravens men’s swimming and diving this season are 4-7, they are also 2-4 in conference play. Anderson’s conference wins are over Hanover and Bluffton this year, the two teams that they beat last year in the HCAC tournament.
The women’s swimming and diving team is sitting at 5-6 record, 3-3 in conference. Their conference wins are Hanover, Bluffton and Manchester. They also had a higher score than all three teams last year in the tournament.
Senior Reid Haney is looking to end his Raven career off strong. Last year, he finished 2nd in the 500m freestyle. He also had two more top 5 finishes in the 200m and 1650m freestyles. Senior Noah Singleton also performed well last year, with top 5’s in the 200m butterfly and IM (Individual Medley). Other performers who look to improve their performance from last year are sophomore Nic Doepner, junior Ethan Scialabba, and junior Thinh Tran.
A lot of improvement is expected for the young women’s team. Junior Lindsay Pickering is looking to continue the great year she is having. She won the HCAC Diver of the Week in December. Sophomore Ella Rector finished in the top 10 as a freshman last season in multiple events, she is looking to better those results this time. Senior Morgan Ferguson will be swimming her last meet of her career this weekend, she is looking to better her 3rd place in the 400 yard IM from last year. Other talented swimmers include sophomores Callie Manley, Taila Leer and Maddie Stanley.
Coach Nathan Manley mentioned, “For both teams one of the highs has really been the holistic development of the group. They’re growing well as people, not just athletes.” Outside of swim meets, both teams won All-American scholars awards, also many players were baptised.
Hopes are high for the swimming and diving men’s and women’s teams this year. They both look to pick up their first HCAC Championship.