BY LSUSports.net

Unfinished Business: Women’s Swimming & Diving Season Preview
Ask any of the coaches and athletes who comprise this year’s LSU women’s swimming and diving team and they will tell you they are not solely satisfied with ...

Ask any of the coaches and athletes who comprise this year’s LSU women’s swimming and diving team and they will tell you they are not solely satisfied with last year’s 17th-place finish at the NCAA Championships even though the squad achieved something that had not been done since 2001. With returning experience and a new season there are new goals, new dreams and higher expectations.

“I am excited about what we can do,” said head coach Adam Schmitt, who enters his fourth season. “I urged my coaches this year to not just be satisfied with what we did last year. It’s not good enough. We have to coach hard and get it done. All of the pieces are there to have a very successful season.”

LSU returns 18 letterwinners, three swimmers who earned multiple NCAA All-America honors in relays and one diver who garnered a pair of All-America finishes. They will be joined by several key additions to the roster, including five true freshmen and one transfer from Syracuse. All of the ingredients make for another exciting season as the Lady Tigers seek to move up the standings nationally and in the Southeastern Conference.

“A winning attitude is our theme this year,” said Schmitt. “We have had a championship mentality but now is the time to win. It is one thing to think about being a champion, but now is the time to apply what we learned to win.”

The Schedule

Once again, Schmitt has compiled one of the nation’s toughest dual-meet schedules. The Lady Tigers face three teams who finished in the top 10 at the 2007 NCAA Championships -- Georgia, Florida and Texas A&M. LSU makes its first trip to South Carolina to open the season on Oct. 13 followed by its home opener against the Bulldogs on Oct. 19.

Those meets follow with competitions versus Delta State, Alabama and Vanderbilt. LSU looks to win its third straight against the Crimson Tide after defeating them last season in Baton Rouge. Three invitationals close the fall campaign, including the Art Adamson Invite in College Station, Texas, the Alabama Invite in Tuscaloosa, Ala., and the LSU Diving Invite in Baton Rouge.

The Lady Tiger swimmers ring in the New Year with a holiday meet against Notre Dame in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. The toughest portion of the schedule follows as the Lady Tigers travel to back-to-back meets at Florida State and Florida, Jan. 11-12, followed by the second-half home opener on Jan. 19 against Texas A&M.

A tri-meet at Houston and Rice prepares the team for the SEC Championships, Feb. 20-23, as LSU competes in Tuscaloosa for the third time during the year. Those swimmers seeking to solidify their postseason chances take part in the Last Chance Meet during the first weekend in March. The NCAA Championships close the season, March 20-22, in Columbus, Ohio.

Freestyle

There may not have been a more valuable swimmer in the SEC to her team than Katie Gilmore, who set the pace for the Lady Tigers’ outstanding 2006-07 season. Gilmore became the first swimmer in LSU history to post a 50 free time in the 22-second range en route to her school-record mark of 22.63. She also was the Lady Tigers’ highest finisher in the 50 and 100 free at the 2007 NCAA Championships. Now, Gilmore returns for her junior campaign, bringing experience and leadership to helping the program continue its climb up the national ranks.

“She is the type of athlete that when you tell her what to jump she asks you how high,” said Schmitt. “She is a good example to everyone of what you need to do to get better. In two years, she has gone from 24 (seconds) to 22.63 in the 50 free. She’s a lead-by-example type of person and someone they rely on.”

LSU’s 1-2 punch in sprint freestyle is bolstered by the return of junior Katherine Noland. Noland ranks second in school history in the 100 free (49.72), and she hopes to shatter the record this season. Mandy Leach holds the record with a clocking of 49.65, which is 0.07 seconds better than that of Noland’s. Noland has enjoyed a great summer of workouts after competing at last spring’s NCAA Championships in both sprint events.

“Katherine is going to be one of our leaders,” said Schmitt. “She has some high goals and that is great. Once you get a taste of NCAA (Championships), you want more. She not only wants to go for a relay, but she wants to score individually.”

A third junior, Sabrina Messmer, provides the Lady Tigers with even more experience in sprint free events. Messmer is closing in on school all-time top 10 times in both the 50 and 100 free after recording the fourth-fastest marks produced by the team last season.

“We will be counting on a lot of people in that junior class,” said Schmitt. “They want to be better and that is what it is all about. That is what we are trying to do here.”

Lauren Grandy proved she was no ordinary freshman when she competed last season in middle distance freestyle. Grandy recorded an NCAA provisional cut in the 200 free and posted school all-time top 10 times in the 200 and 500 free. She returns as LSU’s top middle distance free swimmer for the second straight season.

“Lauren swims the 200 and 500 and she got an (NCAA) “B” cut last year,” said Schmitt. “She has some great goals this year, and I think she can obtain them.”

Senior Clare Schepens brings three years of experience into another season as the Lady Tigers’ No. 1 distance free swimmer. Schepens produced a career year in 2006-07 with lifetime-best times in the 1000 free (10:13.24) and 1650 free (16:57.09). Both placed in the school all-time top 10. Junior Lauren Simons, junior Christina Herubin and freshman Brooke Barnett are also expected to contribute in distance free events.

Backstroke

LSU returns three swimmers who hold school all-time top 10 times in backstroke events, including Gilmore, junior Berit Aljand and junior Monica McJunkin. The three form the Lady Tigers’ best backstroke squad in the Schmitt era. Aljand is hoping to have a breakout season after coming up just shy in qualifying for finals at the 2007 SEC Championships. Her times in the 100 back (56.51) and 200 back (2:01.44) rank as the fifth-best marks in school history.

Gilmore is closing in on another record in the 100 back. She posted a time of 56.01 in an 11th-place finals finish at SECs, which is 0.76 seconds shy of the school record held by Lindsay Staak. McJunkin and team co-captain Stefanie Carver will also see competition in backstroke events.

Breaststroke

Signe Larson came to LSU last season after an All-American high school career in Oregon. It took her just a few weeks to make an impact. Before the year was over, Larson had one of the best breaststroke seasons by a freshman in school history. She qualified for the NCAA Championships as a member of a medley relay, posted the fifth-best 100 breaststroke time (1:03.85) and sixth-best 200 breaststroke time (2:18.38) in school history while recording five wins in dual-meet competition.

With a year of experience under her belt, Larson’s goals are to maintain her success throughout the season and attempt to qualify individually at NCAAs. She leads what is likely to be an outstanding group of young breaststrokers that should score in dual meets and beyond.

“Signe had some really great showings at the beginning of the year,” said Schmitt. “I think the toll of the freshman year and the season might have gotten to her, just being in the SEC. I expect her as a sophomore to step up because she knows what to expect now.”

Juniors Victoria Givens and Sarah Bedell are two experienced breaststrokers who also hold school all-time top 10 times. Givens ranks eighth in school history in the 100 breaststroke (1:04.55) and ninth in school history in the 200 breaststroke (2:19.21) after coming to LSU from Tulane a year ago.

Two talented freshmen – Kannon Betzen and Jane Trepp – are among the best young breaststrokers at the collegiate level. Betzen, a native of Hobbs, N.M., was recruited as one of the premier high school breaststroke swimmers in the nation. The three-time state champion and All-American brings in a career-best 100 breaststroke clocking that would place her eighth all-time in school history (1:04.51).

Meanwhile, Trepp is a five-time Estonian nation champion in the 50-meter breaststroke. Trepp, the younger sister of current LSU swimmer Nele Trepp, is the Estonian national record holder in that respective event (32.56). She recently placed 12th in the 50 breaststroke at the 2006 World Short Course Championships in Shanghai.

“We have some very good breaststrokers,” said Schmitt. “It will be a good battle among them all year.”

Butterfly

Perhaps the most significant impact from a newcomer comes in the butterfly. Vanessa Duenas, a native of Miami, Fla., transfers to LSU from Syracuse and will have two years of remaining eligibility. Duenas reached the 200 butterfly final at the 2006 Big East Championships and won 16 events in dual-meet competition that season.

“Vanessa is going to have to make an impact,” said Schmitt. “That is what we got her here for, for the fly and the IMs. She trained well this summer. She has to make an impact for the fly.”

While their strengths may lie in freestyle, Gilmore and Noland should contribute again in fly events. Noland ranks seventh and 10th in school history in the 100 fly (55.79) and 200 fly (2:03.68), respectively. Jamie Wright is another butterfly veteran who lends quality depth.

The fifth of LSU’s talented freshmen is Ali Sanford, a 13-time All-American from Plano, Texas. Sanford finished 10th in the 100 fly at the 2006 state high school championships.

Individual Medley

Duenas’ other strength lies in individual medley, and she is considered to be the team’s top swimmer in that event. Duenas shattered the 400 IM school record at Syracuse in her sophomore season and did so in front of a national audience at the prestigious Nike Cup. Her time gave her second place in the championship final.

Givens, Noland, Larson and junior Christina Herubin could also see action in individual medley events.

Diving

The LSU women’s diving team is once again coming off one of the best seasons in school history under the leadership of diving coach Doug Shaffer. The Lady Tigers produced three All-American finishes at the 2007 NCAA Championships led by Rachel Ware, who looks to continue her success as a sophomore in 2008.

Ware, the 2007 SEC Female Freshman Diver of the Year, earned first-team honors in the platform and honorable mention accolades in the 1-meter. She became only the third freshman in school history to earn multiple All-America honors in the same season. Shaffer has even higher expectations for Ware this season.

“She had a fabulous year last year given her first year in the collegiate ranks,” said Shaffer. “She matured competitively. I am looking at her to continue that development and add to her NCAA All-America accolades.”

The other diver on this season’s squad is senior Paige Brown, who enjoyed the finest season of her career in 2007. Brown led LSU to a team runner-up finish at the 2007 SEC Diving Championships as a third-place medalist in the platform. She is known for great leadership and carries a team-high grade point average. Last year’s experience could add up to an even better season for Brown in 2008.

“Paige going into her senior year has the opportunity to have the most successful year ever,” said Shaffer. “She’s going to be another year experienced. She has proven year in and year out growth and improvement.”

Though only carrying two divers on the roster, it is clear the Lady Tigers’ feature two quality athletes who are surely expected to make an impact during postseason. LSU’s strengths lie in platform, but the team is greatly making strides in springboard.

This season, the Lady Tigers play host to the LSU Diving Invitational, Dec. 1-2. LSU will also have platform competitions at the Art Adamson Invitational, the Georgia Invitational and a three-team meet versus Houston and Rice.

“We have a great schedule that is going to put us head to head with some of the best competition, diving and swimming not only in the SEC but in the country,” said Shaffer. “In order to be competitive at the conference level, zone level and national level, we have to have platform meets. It is an opportunity for a small group of schools to have a friendly competition.”

Following the SEC Championships, Ware and Brown head to the NCAA Zone B Diving Regional, March 14-16, in Auburn, Ala. The two hope to qualify and join the women’s swimmers at the NCAA Championships the following week.

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