(Photo: Ross Leviton/WCSN)
The wait is over, after seven long months, Arizona State swimming is set to officially begin its 2016-2017 season this weekend.
The Sun Devils will start the season on the road, traveling to Utah to take on the University of Utah and BYU in a dual meet.
The program is surrounded with amazing talent and is returning eight players who broke school records last season.
Two weeks ago, the Sun Devils looked impressive at the annual Maroon vs. Gold Intrasquad meet.
Senior Richard Bohus and gray shirt senior Thibaut Capitaine finished with times of 48.24 and 55.33 in the 100-yard backstroke and 100-yard breaststroke, respectively.
Freshman Cameron Craig swam five events, posting a team high time 44.08 in the 400-yard freestyle.
The Sun Devils are looking to draw from those performances and carry them into this week.
Over the course of the week, there was a sense of excitement and confidence on the pool decks in Tempe at practice.
Senior Barkley Perry mentioned he is thrilled to get the show on the road and so is the team.
“I’m excited because Utah and BYU are close to my hometown, I’m going to have a lot of family there and that’s going to be fun,” Perry said. “As a team we are really excited, the men’s team is really ready to go and is fired up. Freestyle, backstroke, butterfly, even breaststroke can hit it on all cylinders.”
The swimmers will encounter a new challenge, as they swim at higher altitude. The program will have to continue swimming fast while pushing through pain or fatigue.
Perry said he doesn’t have his mind fixated on any particular times.
“I just want to swim fast and be consistent,” Perry said. “This is going to be the first meet, so it will set the standard for the rest of the meets until our midseason meet and then Pac-12.”
Swimming fast appeared to be a theme at practice. The swimmers have been working on their mechanics and building muscle memory.
“We have been working on swimming fast consistently,” Perry said. “ Everything has to be consistent, so we have just been swimming fast when Bowman tells us to swim fast, being perfect when he tells us to be perfect, and having fun when its time to have fun.”
The women’s side is excited to compete against someone besides their teammates.
“I want to see what our training has been doing for us these past few weeks,” sophomore Marlies Ross said. “Racing against a different team, not the people you train with, is going to be real fun because this is the first time we are traveling as a team.”
Ross also mentioned how the team has been preparing for the weekend.
“This week has been a lot of endurance training and a lot of technical focus getting everything right so that we go in prepared,” Ross said. “We have also done a lot of fast swimming and power work.”
On Saturday the Sun Devils will be in Salt Lake City battling The University of Utah. The Utes recently competed in the Florida Gulf Coast Invitational as well as the Intermountain Shootout.
The men’s team finished second overall, and the women placed fifth. Junior Jack Burton had an impressive performance, taking first in both 100-yard breaststroke and 200-yard breaststroke with the times of 54.86 and 2:00.60.
Freshman Liam O’Haimhirgin also posted a notable time in the 100-yard freestyle, clocking in at 45.25.
The women’s side competed well too, as senior Stina Colleou took third in the 100-yard breaststroke touching in at 1:03.96. The women’s team took third in the 200-yard medleys with a time of 1:42.79.
BYU men’s and women’s team recently swam in the Intermountain Shootout. The men’s team walked away with two victories, and the women’s team added three wins to their record.
