Upcoming Pac-12 Championships call for reflection from Sun Devils

(Photo via Casey McNulty/WCSN)

As the water stills and the chlorine-scented air grows heavy with anticipation at Mona Plummer Aquatic Center, the change in the atmosphere can only mean one thing to Sun Devil swim and dive: championship season is just around the corner.

After months of intense practices, exciting dual meets, and unforgettable swims, the men’s and women’s teams will look to carry their blistering momentum from the regular season into the final two meets of the year. The women’s Pac-12 Championships begin on Feb. 28, with the men getting their chance starting March 6.

The Sun Devil women placed fifth among eight teams at the Pac-12 Swimming and Diving Championships in 2023. The most notable swims came from current senior Lindsay Looney, who won the 500-yard freestyle and the 200-yard butterfly. Surprisingly, the 500-yard freestyle was not even on Looney’s roster as a potential Pac-12 event coming in as a freshman on the team. Head coach Bob Bowman was instrumental in helping the young hopeful achieve her full potential in the water.

“I feel like my freestyle has really developed over the years,” Looney said. “My aerobic base has gotten really strong with Bob, and I am kind of developing a really strong 500 (freestyle) even within just the past year. It has been one of my really exciting, strong suits that I can take into Pac-12s next week.”

Looney’s relationship with Bowman has been crucial to her collegiate swimming career, especially in preparation for championship meets. Through different training regimens and lots of trial and error, Looney feels just as strong of a bond with her coach as she does with the pool.

“He’s had to create different training styles for me, for (junior Léon Marchand) and for everybody else on the team preparing for these big competitions,” Looney said. “So much goes into it, and I think that’s one thing that we’ve definitely discovered over the past few years together. That’s something that I always have to trust and believe in him and know that he’s doing the right thing for me, and it’s reciprocal, and I know that whatever I’m doing, I’m going to put my head down and work hard for that.”

On the men’s side, the Sun Devils won the Pac-12 Championship title last year. It was the first time in school history that the swim program achieved this monumental feat, and it was the first time they beat long-time rival California in this conference meet. Unsurprisingly, the men’s team is looking to keep its streak alive in Washington in the coming weeks, but it will be a battle of the greats, as Cal is looking to regain the top prize.

Likely, the season’s most anticipated storyline will be the performance of Marchand. He went three for three in his individual events at Pac-12s last year and was a crucial contributor to the Sun Devils’ success. The junior wants to keep his winning streak alive and make essential changes to his race strategy in his signature event, the 400-yard individual medley, to swim even faster.

“I think I’m trying to do the same as before with what’s been working well for me,” Marchand said. “But I also need changes, try to improve maybe my walls, my breakouts. There’s no single perfect race, so I was just trying to get better, and there’s so many ways to get better in the 400 IM. It’s exciting.”

The dynamic of the ASU men’s team has been integral to its success in recent years. As the Sun Devils hunt for another Pac-12 title and their first NCAA championship title, Marchand recognizes that they have been ready for their moment of success for a long time.

“We’ve been ready since August,” Marchand said. “But we’re having fun, and there’s a lot of support. Whenever someone is having a hard time, we always support them, trying to help them as much as we can. We’re having fun and just very excited for the future.”

Bowman was hired as the coach for the ASU swim team in 2015. During the years he has been at the helm, the team has experienced unimaginable success. But even one of the greatest coaches ever did not always have the answers to good coaching and leading a team to a conference title.

“When I first got started, my only tool was a hammer, so everything looked like a nail,” Bowman said. “I made people do stuff all the time because that’s what good coaches did. They were tough, and I still do that sometimes, but in general, I’ve tried to add to my toolbox and try to learn more about communication, learn more about how different athletes take it and what works best with each one, and tailor the coaching to them.”

Conference and NCAA accolades aside, Bowman believes in the bigger picture for the future of his athletes. He is working on being more relaxed and letting athletes figure out the sport independently so they can rely on themselves at higher-level meets.

“I am trying to now build an athlete who doesn’t need me at all,” Bowman said. “That’s my goal. My goal is to have these guys not depend on me. They should know that I’m there to support them, but they need to be able to stand on their own two feet, make some decisions, and solve problems.”