I think we're in a
really good place.
Both teams are accelerating
pretty quickly,
improving drastically.
And it's just been a good ride
for the last couple of years.
I firmly believe that the
University of Virginia
is the type of
institution that can
attract elite-level athletes, as
well as, obviously, elite-level
students that want to perform
at a really high level.
Most of our other
Olympic sports are
doing that and challenging
for national championships
every year.
So there wasn't
any reason why we
figured swimming diving
couldn't do that as well.
Recruiting has put us in a
position to be able to do that.
The improvement of
the current team
has put us in a position
to be able to do that.
I don't know what it's
like at other places.
But this is definitely
a unique experience.
I think the coaches bring a
lot of energy to the pool deck.
It helps when they're
joking around and laughing
with us during practice.
The moment we walk
on deck for practice,
Todd is just
screaming and yelling.
And it's kind of
scary sometimes.
But it kind of helps you to
loosen up and because excited
for practice.
The fun that we have in the
office and on the pool deck,
it helps the
athletes on our team
to get excited and
have fun as well.
And swimming is a tough sport.
If you're not having
fun, it's probably not
going to go very well.
So we want to keep
things fun, and
entertaining, and different.
And I think that recruits
are just out there seeing
what our current team is doing.
They're seeing the
energy that the team has.
They're seeing the energy
that the coaching staff has.
And I attribute the
majority of it to the team.
If I go out on a limb,
I think our women
will be in a position
in the next year or two
to at least challenge for
a national championship.
Like you said, a
lot goes into it.
A lot has to go right.
But on paper, we have the
talent here currently.
We're bringing in some
extraordinary talent
over the next couple of years.
So I think we're going to be
in a really good position.
The men, they made history
in our first two years.
They're the first team ever
in the history of the NCAA
to go from not scoring any
points in NCAAs to top 10
in just two years.
So they're on the
right track as well.
And I think that
they will challenge
the girls over the
next few years as well
and put ourselves in
a position to contend
for national championships also.
And it may be a
year or two, which
will be following the women.
But I think they're both
headed in that direction.
UVA has a goal as a team.
We want to definitely
exceed what
we were in the past
conference championships.
And then the team wants to
make UVA more of a household
name for swimming.
It hasn't really
been in the past.
There's a lot of other teams
out, like California, Texas,
they're known for a swimming.
Getting UVA to that level
isn't very hard to ask for.
I don't know that we're ever
going to be satisfied until we
win the national championship.
And then we're going
to want more, I think.
As far as the progression goes
in the last 2 and 1/2 years,
I definitely think we're
happy with where they're at.
Most people probably,
even our coaching staff,
would say that we're
probably a little bit ahead
of where we thought we might
be after just 2 and 1/2 years.
The team has just
really bought in.
And they work hard.
They hold each
other accountable.
Things have just been
better than I would have
hoped for 2 and 1/2 years ago.
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