With a good chunk of the season already past, the U swimming and diving teams are looking good heading into training camp in Colorado Springs, Colo., next week.
U coach Mike Litzinger is pleased with the teams’ progress during the season so far, and is helping them get ready for the rest of the season.
“We are unbelievably ahead of where we were at this time last year,” he said. “I can’t even tell you how far we are, especially the men.”
The men’s swimming team’s win against Pacific on Nov. 16 was the first meet it has won in two years. Last year, it was not able to get a victory. The year before that, it beat one Division III team and that was it.
“This year, the guys have stepped up,” Litzinger said. “Three of our guys have top times in the Mountain West Conference.”
At 1-2, the men’s team has many freshmen leading the way, including Cody Rempfer, who won the Mountain West Conference’s Swimmer of the Week after the Colorado State Early Bird Invitational.
Last year posed many problems for the men. Transfers and coaching changes hindered their progress. This year, they’ve been able to focus on swimming.
Meanwhile, the women’s team is 2-3 and has been looking good.
The bright spot for the women’s team has been sophomore Neringa Statkeviciute. Statkeviciute has won many of her freestyle events in fine fashion this year, and is the leading swimmer on the U team.
That is an amazing feat, considering she had a medical redshirt last year because of major open-heart surgery to replace an improperly functioning valve in her heart. There was a dime-sized hole in her heart, which only produced 15 percent of the normal amount of oxygen a human gets. By closing that hole, doctors were able to help her get to a “world-class level.”
“She’s busted out of the gate at the beginning of this season so far,” Litzinger said. “We’re really pleased with the progress she’s made overcoming an adversity.”
The rest of the women have been performing well, too, giving Litzinger a lot to be happy about.
The swimming team is on a normal schedule in preparation for the Holiday Training Camp at the Olympic Training Center. During Finals Week, the Utes will slow down to one practice a day.
The U will probably be swimming against the U.S. National Resident Team, but it will be an informal meet.
“This is time for us to really hunker down and finish off the aerobic base of training,” Litzinger said.
The U’s next meet will be on Jan. 11 in Seattle, against the University of Washington.