Oct. 5, 2005

After saying goodbye to a senior class that numbered eight a year ago, the University of Northern Colorado swimming and diving program looks to rebuild and reload with a group of talented newcomers and returnees who have gained quality experience in their tenure with the team.

Last season, the Bears were 11-11 overall in dual meets but made the biggest splash at the end of the year at the House of Champions Invitational, a "conference" meet for independent teams. After placing second at the meet in 2003-04, Northern Colorado brought a more experienced team to Indianapolis and this time walked away with the championship trophy, although it did not look like that would happen after day one. UNC was in fourth place after day one of the invite, but sprung to life and eventually overtook defending champion Miami (Ohio) University to win the event by 130 points.

At the conclusion of the event, the Bears nearly swept all the individuals awards as Nancy Hinrichs repeated as Coach of the Year, senior Saree Hoopii repeated as Swimmer of the Year, first-year diving coach Sarah Easter claimed Diving Coach of the Year honors and senior diver Veronica Lucas was named co-Diver of the Year.

Although this season's roster is loaded with underclassmen (21 of the 31 student-athletes are either freshmen or sophomores), there is still a lot of talent among members of the team who have been around for several years.

The senior class is anchored by tri-captain Lindsey Gaudielle, who was the team MVP as a sophomore and ranked fourth on the team in points a year ago. Joining her will be Michelle Coler, Katelyn Hamilton, Shauna Hicks, Lindsey Sebastian and diver Oakley Johnson. All have made impacts in their careers at Northern Colorado and Coach Hinrichs believes they are ready to step up in 2005-06.

"It is hard to replace a class like last year's senior one but we have seniors who we will look for big things from," said Hinrichs, who enters her 18th season at Northern Colorado. "Gaudielle is one of the most versatile athletes I have coached in my time here, Sebastian will be a mainstay in our relays, and Coler and Hicks have the ability to score points for us."

One area of improvement Hinrichs see is with Hamilton.

"Katelyn has definitely made huge strides from last year," Hinrichs added. "She brings a great attitude and level of competitiveness to the pool. She has put herself in the position to compete this season."

Senior Katelyn Hamilton

Johnson, another of the team's captains, anchors a group of five divers this season, a smaller group than the team had a year ago. Gone are twin sisters Valerie and Veronica Lucas, mainstays with the program for the last four years.

"Oakley has been a great leader for us," Easter said. "She has made a big transition from last year to this year just in terms of growing up and being a more mature leader. She is not afraid to be vocal and her diving has changed a lot because of that. Her ability to make corrections and changes is a huge difference from last season."

The other divers include junior Becky Marschner, sophomore Jessica Leach and a pair of talented newcomers in Lauren Simmons and Lauren Tucci.

"Although our numbers are down from last year, I think five divers is a much better number to work with," Easter added. "We have a very good group dynamic. Each of the divers are very supportive of each other and that will help them in their training and through the tough parts of the season. We are also excited about our newcomers, who are very competitive, very motivated and ready to push the entire squad. We think both of them will make big impacts this season."

The junior class numbers only four and includes Brittni Lowry, Danielle Luciani, Nikki Plunkard and Marschner. Plunkard, the final tri-captain, has made consistent contributions in each of her first two years with the team. Last year she ranked third on the team in points scored and first in relay points scored. She was also part of the 400-free relay team that set a school record at the House of Champions Invitational.

"Nikki is a hard worker and we are looking for her to be another huge contributer for us this season," Hinrichs said.

The sophomore class gained valuable experience as freshmen, as most were able to compete in a majority of the events during their rookie season. The duo that made the most impact a year ago was Kati Falger and Michelle McReynolds. Falger was also part of the 400-relay team that set a school record in 2004-05, and she showed great promise with her times in freestyle events during the year. McReynolds capped last year by being named the squad's Most Improved Swimmer. She capped her rookie campaign by placing 10th in the 1,650 free and 12th in the 200 free at the House of Champions meet.

"Kati proved at the conference meet last year that she can step up and swim," Hinrichs said. "We look forward to her continuing to step up. Michelle had a really successful season last year that culminated at the House of Champions. We look for her to add to our quality of depth once again this season."

Sophomore Kati Falger

The class also includes Jennifer Bailey, Kimberly Brown, Mallory Misare, Lauren Peters, Claire Rawley, Lizzy Wyman and the before-mentioned Leach. Also possibly in the sophomore class is Heather (Gregg) Peterson, the team's top point scorer a year ago. Gregg was married in the off-season and is contemplating her return to the team in January.

The majority of the team, 12 total, is made up of freshmen. The 11 newcomers and one redshirt will look to make immediate contributions in 2005-06. The class includes Brittany Bethel, Hilary Collie, Whitney Dahms, Alexis Glessner, Krista Griffin, Sammy Haus, Nicole Lydin, Chesney Randolph, Katie Schmitt, Janet Shaver and the duo of divers, Simmons and Tucci.

"This is by far the most talented class I have had since I have been here, and that includes both the swimmers and the divers," Hinrichs said. "They are very solid and have brought so much energy to the team. They are a lot of fun to coach and are also very humble.

"Katie is proving to be everything I recruited her to be and more. She is a hard worker, has a great attitude and welcomes the chance to be challenged by others in order to make herself even better. Chesney is also loaded with talent and has reached the tip of the iceberg on where she can be in the future. Alexis is a very tough competitor who trains extremely hard, and we look for her to contribute right away. Krista is very versatile and will really push us in both the IM and breaststroke."

The Bears' schedule includes individual duals with in-state rivals Air Force, Colorado State and Denver, as well as South Dakota State and Nebraska-Omaha. Multi-dual events for the team include a trip to Los Angeles to compete with Loyola Marymount, Cal Poly and Northern Arizona, as well as a trip to Omaha to battle Nebraska-Omaha, Iowa State and Northern Iowa.

"We added some good teams to our schedule this season and tried to make a schedule where hopefully we can have a .500 or better dual record," Hinrichs said. "We are going to have to go out and compete each night to have a shot to win."

This year, the House of Champions Invitational will be held in December; the Bears will end their season in February at the Pacific Collegiate Swimming Conference Championships in Long Beach, Calif. Teams in that meet include Pepperdine, Cal State Bakersfield and UC San Diego.

"There will be a lot of good teams at the PCSC Championships," Hinrichs said. "The teams are a mix of Division I, Division II and Division III teams, and there are a lot of different skill levels. That meet is what our entire season is leading up to. We treat it as our conference meet, and we hope to be successful. But it is kind of like starting all over again, since we will be the new team this year. The past two years (with the House of Champions meet) we knew what to expect, so this is the unknown again."

For Northern Colorado, the 2005-06 year marks the third year of a four-year reclassification process to Division I. With some of the most talented athletes in the program's history in the fold, the future for the program looks bright.

"The level of athletes we are bringing into this program has kept improving with our move to Division I," Hinrichs said. "We hope to keep getting stronger and improving and we are ready for any challenges that are ahead. This year we just want to be better than we were last year and do the best we can possibly do at the conference meet."