The Asbury swim teams brought home another title last weekend as both the men and women won the Liberal Arts Championship.
The team had an impressive show, with six of their swimmers getting individual wins in the 12 events.
“Winning conference was a team effort as so many impressive individual swims put it together,” said sophomore Amber Schulte. “I think having such a successful conference meet will push my teammates and me to strive for even better swims next season.”
Schulte won the 1650 Freestyle with a 17:27.44, setting a new Asbury record. She also set the 1000 Freestyle record in her spit of the mile with a 10:31.28. According to Asbury sports, she was the first women’s swimmer to achieve an NCAA Division III B cut time in program history as a new NCAA member school.
Schulte was just one swimmer who put up impressive times at the event.
“Everyone stepped up and swam lights out all weekend. Tons of season-best times, lifetime best swims, and the energy and excitement from the team carried throughout the week,” said Coach Keyser. “Our miles were awesome, Caleb, Ian, and Nick going 1-2-3 in the 200 Breaststroke were so fun to watch, Lillie and Alivia taking 2-3 in the 200 Breaststroke, Alex and Elijah going 1-2 in the 100 Freestyle, Alex and Tommy going 1-2 in the 200 Butterfly.”
“Many people were asked to swim some unexpected events, but everyone rose to the occasion and did what they had to do to get as many points as possible for the team,” said Schulte. “Every single person who swam scored points for the team.”
Sophomore Ian Wang was a part of the winning individuals and was confident in their performance, which he credited to their mental preparation.
“I knew that we had a good chance as a collective going in to win the liberal arts conference, but individually I knew we had to step up,” he said. “So I think my results in winning the 200im and being runner-up for 100 breaststroke and 200 breaststroke was a testament to mentally preparing ourselves to hunt down the competition.”
The championship win was a testimony to the hard work swimmers have put in while overcoming obstacles, including COVID-19 disruptions.
“I think having both the men’s and women’s swim teams place first showed that we can be successful as an NCAA D3 team,” said Schulte. “It has been a rough couple of seasons due to the pandemic, and the team is facing a lot of unknowns with the upcoming season next year. Having won for both men and women was an incredible way to end the current season. I think it is going to give us enthusiasm and energy when we start up again next semester.”
Schulte also faced personal obstacles to get to her win and new record times.
“I feel really blessed to have this season end the way it did,” she said. “Last season was tough as I swam my season with an injury, and I was unsure how this season would turn out for me. I knew I was capable of achieving the records, but I was surprised I was able to perform so well.”
She credits her success to the support she had from her coach and her teammates.
“I don’t think I could have done it without Coach Keyser believing in my team and me cheering me on,” said Schulte. “I am honored that I got to represent Asbury and the athletics department like I was able to this past week.”
This championship was the final event of the 2021-2022 season. The team will be back in the pool in the fall.
