Sept. 24, 2010
Vanderbilt’s women’s swimming and diving program will enter the 2010-2011 season with plenty of youth under the guidance of fifth-year head coach Jeremy Organ. The 10 incoming freshmen will look to the upperclassmen, including a seasoned sophomore core, for leadership.
“Our expectations are to be more competitive this year and to make sure the team continues to move forward, not only as a group, but as individuals competing at a higher level,” Coach Organ said. “We have much more of a complete team this year than we have had in the previous four years. Being competitive in all of the events is what we are looking for. That’s what we are looking for building on last year; being more competitive in all of the events.”
The influx of talented freshmen joining the Vanderbilt squad this season, once again makes them one of the youngest teams in the SEC. The Commodores were able to get a lot of success out of their freshmen class last season and hope that the incoming swimmers can learn the ropes from their peers.
“We don’t expect the freshmen to come in and make an immediate impact on the team, but it would be nice if somebody did step up and make their impact felt right away,” Organ stated. “The kids will have an opportunity to step up and really make themselves known if they want. It’s going to be up to them and how they handle these first couple months of training.”
The freshmen class includes Michelle Williamson, Lynsie Farrel, Laura Furr, Margaux Georgiadis, Gabrielle Ortega, Chloe Ott, Mellissa Roberts, Sheila Salopek, Alyxandra Vernon, and Rebecca Young.
The young team will look to the only two seniors on the roster, co-captain Jennifer Molchan and Anna Fargo, to share their leadership. Molchan is coming off of a great junior campaign that was topped by a career-best performance at the SEC Championships where she posted the team-high mark in the 200-yard freestyle. She also recorded the top time in the 100 free for the year at the Hilltopper Invitational. Aside from the individual feats, Molchan was a member of the 400-yard medley relay team that set the school-record. Fargo had a productive season, with her best performance coming in the SEC Championships, where she posted a time of 24.7 in the 50-yard free. She also contributed to the 200-yard and 400-yard freestyle relay teams.
Co-captain Laura Dillon leads the group of talented juniors that also includes Elizabeth Brunk, Zoe Cooper-Surma and Stephanie Falcone. Dillon heads into the year off of a record-breaking season with high hopes that she can continue her success in the breststroke and butterfly. She set the school record in the 200-yard breaststroke and recorded a team-best mark in the 100-yard butterfly. Dillon also posted the top-five times in the 200-yard butterfly. Brunk excelled in the 100-yard breaststroke and looks to improve on her high marks in the 100-yard butterfly. Cooper-Surma played a large part in the success of Vandy’s relay teams and Falcone did well individually and looks to take the next step in the backstroke and butterfly.
Vanderbilt will look to the sophomore swimmers to become leaders in and out of the pool. The class of seven includes standout Erika Deardorf, Rose Cornelson, Jess Eccher, Betsy Galenti, Sarah Lynch, Chelsea Morey, and Amy Salce.
“Look for some of the sophomores like Amy Salce and Jess Eccher to step up and take a solid role in being leaders,” Organ said. “Erika Deardorf had a great season last year and is training to improve in distance.”
Deardorf set the school record in the 1000-yard free and 1650-yard free as a freshman and is training hard to improve even more in distance events. Cornelson and Eccher helped anchor the relay teams and were members of the school record 400-yard medley relay team. Lynch and Galenti showed their strength in freestyle events and as members of relay teams. Salce put together a good freshman season that ended with a team-best 500-yard free at the SEC Championships. The 200-yard backstroke was led by Morey and she was able to succeed in the 100-yard backstroke as well.
The Commodores have a schedule that features four home meets, the most the program has hosted since starting up again. Vanderbilt opens up at Southern Illinois before welcoming conference-foe Arkansas to Nashville. The following day the `Dores host South Carolina and Western Kentucky.
“We have Arkansas coming in and it has been a top-20 program the past few years,” Organ said. “They are a program on the rise and it’s nice to see them in early season competition.”
To close out the first part of the season, Vanderbilt heads to Bowling Green, Ky., for the Hilltopper Invitational, which the team has participated in the past four seasons. Last year the Commodores had tremendous success, finishing second while Erika Deardorf shattered the school record in the 1650-yard freestyle.
The second part of the season begins with a road trip to Miami where the `Dores will face the Hurricanes before returning home to host Kansas. Vanderbilt will compete at Marshall for the second straight year before finishing the regular season at home against Tulane.
“As we wind down, we have Marshall and Tulane, which are two meets that should be competitive for us and be a good way for us to prepare for the SEC Championships,” Coach Organ said.
The Commodores will head to Gainesville, Fla., for the SEC Championships this year where they hope to gain momentum and make a run for the NCAA Championships in Austin.
“Once you get to the SEC Championships, you never know what can happen,” Organ said.
The Vanderbilt swimming program has progressed since its resurrection in 2006 and looks to the young group of student-athletes to help move the program forward and have a successful season.
“We want to continue that progress and reach our ultimate goal of being competitive at the SEC and NCAA level,” Organ said. “That’s what our expectations are, just to continue to climb that mountain.”
