Jayhawks Prepare for Big Weekend in the Pool

Sept. 29, 2011

Coach Campbell previews the Intrasquad Meet

LAWRENCE, Kan. – Crimson and Blue will be the only colors in the water Friday at Robinson Natatorium, but the competition will still be stiff according to Kansas head swimming and diving coach Clark Campbell.

“Intrasquad is our annual kick-off meet for the season and is part of an overall competition throughout the year in a lot of different areas,” Campbell said.

The two squads are comprised of the 23 swimmers and 2 divers on the roster and help Coach Campbell decide who will make the trip to Tucson next week, when the Jayhawks take on Arizona in the team’s first regular season dual meet.

“This is really the first racing opportunity our team has had since July and August, when most of our athletes finished the summer season,” Campbell said. “So it is an opportunity for them to shake the rust off, but we also kind of dangle a carrot out in front of them because out of this meet, we will take the 18 best swimmers to Tucson for fall break.”

The meet will also serve as an alumni gathering for past KU swimmers, who will get back into the pool they once competed in. It will also be their first chance to tour the remodeled locker room, which underwent a $200,000 renovation this past summer.

“We are putting the alumni meet within the intrasquad event, so there will be former athletes competing,” Campbell said. “Our locker room dedication is also taking place so there will be a lot of different things going on that just add to the festival type atmosphere of homecoming weekend.”

Alumni will be in the pool during two short breaks in Intrasquad action, but there will actually be two of them who will still be competing against current KU swimmers. Both Danielle Herrmann (2005-09) and Maria Mayrovich (2005-09), will be swimming unattached against the Crimson and Blue teams. Both swimmers compete for Kansas Aquatics year-round and swam at Nationals in Palo Alto, Calif. this past August.

While many of the alumni and current swimmers will be comfortable with their surroundings, fans will get the chance to see five new faces in the pool for the Jayhawks. Freshmen Deanna Marks, Caroline Patterson and Rachel Snyder as well as junior transfers Svetlana Golovchun and Vanessa Hanbury will all be making their Crimson and Blue debut.

“We did a little time trail on Tuesday with the freshmen and they did really well,” Campbell said. “It is always exciting to be at your first college meet because there is always a lot of anticipation, but with the trip to Arizona hanging out there I think everyone is looking forward to race, not just our freshmen and newcomers.”

Serving as meet referees for the event will be Campbell and assistant Jen Fox, who will step aside from their normal team duties.

“We let the kids do the coaching and decide the events,” Campbell said. “That way they get into that Crimson versus Blue mentality, and we are there as an objective third party, making sure the competition is fair.”

Acting as coaches/leaders for the meet will be senior captains Shannon Garlie and Sarah Hettenbach for the Crimson team and fellow senior captain Stephanie Payne for the Blue team.

“I am really excited to lead the Blue team as a captain,” Payne said. “We are really well-rounded and have such depth in almost every event, whereas Crimson is stacked with sprinters. Intrasquad is a really enjoyable way to be competitive against teammates but still have a lot of fun in the process.”

The meet starts at 4 p.m. inside Robinson Natatorium and admission is free to the public. Tours of the new locker room are available upon request. Below is a roster of the swimmers and divers competing in the intrasquad meet as well as a rundown of the individual events they will be competing in.

Crimson Team Blue Team
Shannon Garlie* Abigail Anderson
Alyssa Golden Brooke Brull
Svetlana Golovchun Christy Cash
Vanessa Hanbury Shelby Cox
Sarah Hettenbach* Alison Lusk
Malia Johnson Deanna Marks
Kath Liggett Alison Moffit
Caroline Patterson Stephanie Payne*
Brittany Rospierski Cora Powers
Morgan Sharp Alyssa Rudman
Kara Stranski Sara Snow
Madison Wagner Rachel Snyder
Rebecca Swank

*=Team Captains

Event Schedule
#1) 200-Yard Medley Relay
#2) 1000-Yard Freestyle
#3) 200-Yard Freestyle
#4) 100-Yard Backstroke
#5) 100-Yard Breaststroke
#6) 200-Yard Butterfly
#7) 50-Yard Freestyle
#8) **Alumni Events**
#9) 100-Yard Freestyle
#10) 200-Yard Backstroke
#11) 200-Yard Breaststroke
#12) 500-Yard Freestyle