Fresno State Athletics
Spring Success
1/27/2000 12:00:00 AM | Swimming & Diving
Jan. 27, 2000
FRESNO, Calif. - Many seasons get off to a slow start. Not for the 1999-2000 Bulldogs swimming and diving team. Many teams spend the first three weeks training and getting athletes back in shape. Not the Bulldogs. Many coaches cross their fingers hoping that the first month of competition is not a reflection on the outcome of the season. Not for head coach Daniella Irle. She is hoping this first month of competition is a telling forecast for the Bulldogs future.
"We are swimming faster now than we have swam at any point in the fall semester since I've been at Fresno state," Irle said. "The faster we are in the fall, the faster we will be in the spring. I can't wait to see how well they do."
The Bulldogs successful first month of competition, which includes soundly defeating Pepperdine and Pacific as well as taking second at the Colorado State Early Bird Invitational, is no surprise to Irle. This year the swimming and diving team wasted no time with out of shape athletes and training to return to the caliber of competition they finished with in May.
"There is no mystery as to why we are swimming our fastest this fall. Our summer training is a big part of it," Irle said. "I told them last year that anyone who didn't train hard over the summer and come back within ten percent of where they left off would be cut. I said it and I meant it."
The Bulldogs rose to the challenge, and thankfully so since Irle and the coaching staff tested each swimmer the first week back this fall. All of them passed.
"The summer training made such a difference," Irle said. " Instead of busting our chops to get back into shape like many other teams, we were busting our chops to get ready to race." The quick jump into the season has paid off for the Bulldogs, however the summer training is only one component of their remarkable start. The other component, Irle said, is the attitude and work ethic of the entire program.
"We are in a positive cycle right now. The coaching staff is working ten times harder this season because the athletes are working ten times harder. It's a cycle that keeps perpetuating itself," Irle said.
A cycle, Irle said that involves one of the most positive, dedicated and selfless teams she has ever worked with.
"This is a unique sport in that we win as a team and lose as a team but score as individuals. It's easy for athletes to get caught up in their own swims and how they are doing. It's hard to find a balance between the individual and team sport, but this group does it very well," Irle said.
Facing one of the biggest meets of the season this weekend, the Speedo Cup Invitational in Long Beach, Calif., the Bulldogs could not have picked a better time to be in top form with a positive team chemistry.
"This is a huge meet for us. We will face tough competition and it will close out the fall semester in a big way," Irle said. "It will also be our first glimpse of who will swim on our conference team this year."
Marking the end of fall competition, the Speedo Cup will set the Bulldogs' sights toward January when the team resumes its meet schedule kicking off with a distance and relay meet in Irvine, Calif. Led by senior and school record holder Heidi Crompton and senior Kristi Rietzel the Bulldogs will swim through a tough spring schedule consisting of no remaining home meets, six consecutive travel weekends and four nationally ranked teams. The season outlook does not make Irle shudder however, she and the Bulldogs are welcoming the challenge.
"This team is exciting. We are good and are ready to go. If there was ever a time to get our act together this is the year to do it," Irle said.
If this is, what Irle says, the year for the Bulldogs to do it, then they are right on schedule as they continue to bring home faster race time and dual meet wins. And, if this first month of competition is what Irle is hoping, a forecast for the spring, the Bulldogs are on a road to undeniable success.
