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UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN SWIMMING MEDIA CONFERENCEFebruary 24, 2014Whitney HiteTHE MODERATOR: The men's swimming and diving team heads to the Big Ten Championships in Ann Arbor, Michigan, this week. Competition starts to Wednesday and runs through Saturday. Junior and former Madison Edgewood athlete Drew teDuits looks to defend his Big Ten title in the 200‑yard backstroke. And last week the women's team finished in sixth place over the weekend with junior Ivy Martin winning Big Ten (indiscernible) championships on the strength of two individual titles and the relay title. Head Coach Whitney Hite is here. We'll have some opening comments and take questions. COACH HITE: So we had a great meet last week. Obviously, Ivy Martin was a superstar, had some really great performances. Felt like our freshmen really stepped up and did very well. You know, the diving piece is coming along for us, which is really exciting to see. We scored over‑‑ almost 100 points more than last year, so moving in the right direction. Ivy really is kind of solidifying herself as a very, very elite athlete. Coming up on this week, we're very excited about the men going into Ann Arbor and kind of going in the lion's den with the men, Michigan men winning the NCAA title last year. We've got some very good swims ahead of us, and we're really excited. Diving piece, again, is evolving and going to be a strength for us. So we're excited about that. Q. I'll preface this with the fact that I know she's still missing an NCAA championship, but can Ivy become even a better swimmer, in your opinion? COACH HITE: You can always be better. That's the challenge. It's just like with Drew last year. As soon as he won the 200 back last year, we enjoyed it for about three hours, and then about halfway back, driving back from Indianapolis on Saturday night, I'm thinking, okay, how do I get him faster? Ivy will‑‑ she'll get faster. We're just kind of breaking the surface of her potential. And she's hungry. And I keep calling her a cheetah. She'll run them down. And she's super competitive, so my expectation is to be the best ever. Her performances this weekend, I think, she's the fifth fastest American ever in the 50‑yard free. I think her performance was a top 20 performance. And in the 100 free, really the 25th fastest all time. So we're starting to get into a rarefied air, which is a lot of fun, and she just keeps getting better. Q. When you speak of Ivy and Drew, you're talking about two kids that grew up here in youth programs, high school programs. What does that say about youth and high school swimming and how it develops some swimmers? COACH HITE: Yeah, Madison's a‑‑ and the state of Wisconsin‑‑ great area for swimmers. I know that I swam in college with perhaps one of the best male swimmers ever, who grew up in Verona, Neil Walker. So there's a tradition here of some very solid swimming, and we're just fortunate enough to have two of the best. I mean, there's a reason why both Drew and Ivy are on the U.S. National Team. It means that you're one of the top six in the country. And to have them both from here and to go here is even more special. You always want to keep the hometown kids close. You know, the club coaches throughout the state do a great job of preparing the swimmers for the next step. We're certainly appreciative of that. Q. Coach, you mentioned the success of your freshmen at the women's Big Tens this past weekend. What are your expectations for your youth at the Big Tens for men? COACH HITE: Hopefully, more of the same. We've got some very good freshmen men, and it will be‑‑ it will be a good experience for them. I know that, you know, right off the bat, we've got some freshmen that are going to be in both relays the first night, and so they'll get kind of thrown into the fire a little bit. But they're prepared. We've had‑‑ they swam well all year. At this point, they're seasoned veterans, and, yeah, we're expecting them to step up and be key contributors. Q. Drew is defending a Big Ten title this season after his NCAA championship last year. What are your expectations for him, and how has he developed this season? COACH HITE: Drew keeps getting better as well. We're hoping that we're just scratching the surface with him. I think he can get stronger and train at a higher level, which he's doing compared to last year. So, you know, you never count Drew out. He ‑‑ we went across the country this year and swam against arguably the best 200 backstrokers, so we've seen them all. And when the lights are brightest, Drew's at his best. And he'll step up, and I know that he'll be really very, very good. Q. Back to Ivy. Obviously, she had talent in high school breaking records for the WIAA, but has this at all been a surprise to you how she's been able to make a difference on the national level? COACH HITE: You know, if you look at Ivy, she's probably 5'8". She's not a big, imposing girl. Coming in, you don't think that someone that is 23 low in the 50 free can go 21.5 and faster. So is it a surprise? A little bit. But then you get to know Ivy and know how competitive she is. You know, she works very, very hard. She earns everything that she gets. So it's no surprise in that regard, but it's not like she's the tallest girl. It's not like she's the most muscular girl. She's sneaky. She is just like a cheetah. She just kind of hangs around in the tall grass, and then when it's running time, then she gets after it. She does some things that are unlike anybody I've ever seen, and I've been around Olympians and American record holders. She's got some talent that can't really be taught. But the way she attacks things and does some pretty technical things that you can't necessarily teach, it's talent. So it's fun to watch. She makes the‑‑ usually the 50 and the 100 goes by so fast you're a little nervous, but she makes it pretty enjoyable as a coach to sit back and let her run, so to speak. Q. You mentioned this before, but the team also saw some success outside of the swimmers in the diving well. With the diving program doing so well this year, how does that add another dimension to the team overall? COACH HITE: Sure. You know, Ashley did a great job at Big Ten. She scored on two boards. And actually in the finals, the console finals of the platform, the fire alarm went off. And so she had to finish up with the fire alarm going off after being delayed an hour and a half and going outside. And if you think it's cold here, there's a new term, it's Minnesota cold up there. So she had to come back and really refocus and finish off her dives when the lights are flashing and the fire alarm's on and we're finishing up the mile. So for her to finish off I thought was great. I mean, she ‑‑ I believe she scored five points total, and we were sixth place by four points. So without her, we end up in seventh. So that's obviously very exciting. I know Anton, our diving coach, has worked really hard. It's fun to see that pay off. Thank you. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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