As the temperature begins to change in Geneseo, so do the sports teams. The swimming and diving teams are looking to pick up right where they left off last year. Both the men’s and the women’s teams won SUNYAC titles, sending six players to the NCAA championships with the women finishing in the top 20 in the country. Head coach Paul Dotterweich is in his 15th year of coaching at Geneseo. He hopes that the team has the same success that they had last year.
"We want to win two championships again,” Dotterweich said. “It's always our goal to send as many players possible to the national championships.” While it’s hard to improve upon a season like last year’s, the bar is set even higher for the Blue Wave.
Dotterweich is still confident that Geneseo will have another successful season this year, noting how hard the players train. "We have a lot of talent in the pool and we’ve got a great set of divers this year,” he said. “I wouldn't be surprised if we won two championships, but I try not to get too excited until January."
Advancement into the postseason is determined by overall times and athlete performance during the year. This could be tough since Geneseo has a more challenging road this season.
“We have a reasonably hard schedule,” Dotterweich said. “I like it that way because it will lead to better races and [athletes] to push themselves further." Non-conference opponents are typically more competitive than SUNYAC opponents for the Blue Wave.
Composed of 30 women and 29 men, the teams are well-developed in any lineup. Dotterweich also noted that the large incoming freshman pool––no pun intended––will further solidify the teams’ success, adding high quality swimmers and divers.
The teams practice vigorously in the mornings and afternoons on Monday and Tuesday and have a lighter workout on Wednesday to allow for player recovery. The intense weight room and pool workouts continue on Thursday and Friday, leading up to matches on Saturday. The athletes know that this level of effort is necessary to remain on top—it’s paid off, having been champions on the women’s side 11 of the past 14 years and 13 of the past 14 years on the men’s side.
So far, Dotterweich is proud of all the success and commitment put forth. “They sacrifice a lot,” he said. “But it’s all worth it in the end when we put banners on the wall.”