Winter break and a trip to Arizona State left Idaho swimming and diving with high spirits heading into the spring semester.
“We came out of that trip healthy, happy, swimming fast and diving well — so I’m pretty happy and we’re really hungry to race again,” Idaho swimming and diving coach Mark Sowa said.
Sowa said he loves the focus the team is training with right now. He said that is exactly what they used the break for.
“We got to just focus on getting better every day,” Sowa said. “It really helps us because they can relax a bit and it helps them rest a bit more between practices so that’s when we can get a lot of good work done.”
Sowa said school creates a lot of stress outside of the pool, but his team did well in the classroom last semester with an average GPA of 3.26.
“They take the student-athletes of their part very serious and it’s nice to just focus on being great in the water for a period of time,” Sowa said.
The Vandals are No. 25 in mid-major polls, and Sowa said the ranking is a good indication of where the program is at right now.
“We’re ahead of some really good teams which is a nice thing and the way that ranking works, it’s fairly objective with its points system,” Sowa said.
He said the recognition is great for the program. Just being mentioned alongside some good teams feels great, Sowa said, but it will not distract him or his team from their goal.
“We are focusing on the day to day things and getting better and not on what the rankings say but we were saying and what our team is saying every day,” Sowa said.
The team is preparing for its meet against New Mexico State on Jan. 28 in Las Cruces. Sowa said New Mexico State is a very good, well-coached team that has a chance to compete this season for a conference championship, but that he thinks the Vandals will give them some good races.
“They are a nice indicator of where we want to bring this program so I think it will be a good test of where we’re at and where we need to get,” Sowa said.