The following is a press release courtesy of Wabash College:
The Wabash College Swim team has been raising the bar all year. Behind the leadership of Coach Brent Noble and a core group of seniors the team has consistently performed at a high rate. The team worked all year toward the goal of qualifying for the Division III National Championship. The upcoming North Coast Athletic Conference meet is the team’s chance to reach their goal.
“Everything we do through the season, but especially at this stage in the season, is about getting the Conference meet and then getting to the National meet,” Noble said.
The time has come for the team to prepare for the biggest meet of the year. The team will head to Granville, Ohio for a showdown versus fellow conference foes for a chance to advance to the National meet.
The NCAC Championship meet takes place February 11-14 at the Trumball Aquatics Center at Denison University.
The way the team prepares for the upcoming meet is unique. “In swimming we have what’s called a taper, so it’s just resting and preparing for that big meet,” Noble said. “You train hard all year, and it’s hard for you to swim at your very fastest when you are in the middle of your max training, and so you make all your improvements by training for them, and then the last few weeks you rest down so that you don’t lose any of your improvements.”
The team is in the tapering process right now. Noble said the process makes the team “fresh, sharp, and rested for the big swims.”
“I expect a lot at the conference meet,” Noble said. “We have done everything pretty well this year. Our results at each stage have been what we have hoped for, and so I think the conference meet is probably going to be beyond expectation.”
The confidence displayed by Noble is telling because of how much time he has spent with his team since he became the Little Giants’ head swimming coach.
“I’ve been the guy that’s been able to watch these guys swim for 16 months now and see them swim and progress, and I think the progress is really visible,” Noble said. “When I came in we had a lot of guys with substantial goals. I don’t think they really saw where that would go yet.”
The transformation that Noble saw from the team has not come without many hours of hard work spent in the pool. Noble said, “Now they’ve put in the work necessary to get there, at this point it is just a waiting game-waiting for the opportunity to get up on the blocks and accomplish their goals.”
The upcoming NCAC meet is more than just another postseason event for the team.
“We are excited to show the rest of the swimming world, the College, and the Wabash community what we’ve earned at this point,” Noble said.
Coach Noble’s confidence is infectious to his team. The senior leaders, including Carter Adams, know that they are capable of accomplishing their season-long goals.
“Everyone on this team is ready to go and get up for conference,” Adams said. “I don’t think I will need to do much besides remind the guys that we still have doubters.”
The doubters in the swimming world have motivated the team all year.
“People in the swimming community do not believe we are good enough to compete nationally, they think us beating DePauw was a fluke,” Adams said.
Adams and the rest of the team know that a win against DePauw at the NCAC Championship meet would end the doubt from those in the swimming community.