Coach Hamilton recaps the 2021-22 season in her own words below.
We started the 2021-2022 season with all the hope that we would find some return to normalcy. Thankfully, the days of training pods and no team activities were behind us, and we could resume fall traditions like our version of Amazing Race, Red v White intrasquad meet and Queen of the Pool.
The racing season started out with a hard-fought meet at home against Evansville where we battled back and earned a team win. After her first competition of her career, Eva (Reyes) was named MVC Diver of the week. The next weekend we took on SIU and U of I in Carbondale and although we lost both of those meets, I felt like we had a new sense of purpose to our racing as a team. Makenna (Licking), Kenzie (Weber) and Eva (Reyes) all had top three finishes and backed down. One of our goals this year was to have more back-to-back racing opportunities, so we headed to McKendree and walked away with two team wins against them and Maryville. Once again, Eva (Reyes) was named MVC Diver of the week for her weekend performance.
The Purdue Invite rounded out first semester of racing for us, where we posted 100% season best times, 21 lifetime best times and 1 new school record on platform by Eva (Reyes). Eva's performance led her to her third MVC Diver of the week award of the semester!
As a team we finished the semester on an academic high note as well. The program had a 3.71 team GPA for the Fall 2021, leading us to a Top 5 Team GPA among all D1 Women's programs. So noteworthy, that we found our names on the back of another team's t-shirts at the National Invitational Championship later in the year.
Second semester started out with several schedule changes due to COVID. We eventually hosted UNI for a two-day dual meet and commanding win. Our Medley relay of Cassidy (Carey), Madyson (Morse), Lauren (Naeger), and Emma (Feltzer) broke a 20-year-old pool record in the process too!
With their individual performances Diana Walker was named MVC Swimmer of the week and Eva (Reyes) was once again named MVC Diver of the week, earning us a Redbird sweep of the awards!
On January 21, Emily Keebler was recognized as this year's PNC Achiever during the men's basketball game. This is awarded to Redbirds from each program that have achieved at a high level academically, athletically and within the community.
Our last dual meet of the season was away at Indiana State. While we walked away with a loss, I felt like the team was learning to come together for battles when tired. A skill that would prove to be beneficial as we walked into a competitive MVC meet in a few weeks.
The 2022 Pre-Championship Coaches poll had us picked to finish fourth. A number that no one within our program believed. In a team meeting before we left for Iowa City, I told our group, this would likely be the last time they had the luxury of being the underdogs. That after the meet, I didn't think anyone would sell us short again. We knew what we were capable of and now it was time to show everyone else.
MVCs was far from perfect. We had some dominating performances, and some heartaches. It was real and gritty, but the thing that sticks in my mind the most is that they did it together. We had two individual champions with Madyson's (Morse) 200 IM and Eva's (Reyes) 1-meter. Four All-MVC First Team awards, Oliva (Gonder), Kamryn (Blake), Lauren Naeger and Eva (Reyes) (3-meter). There were 11 All-MVC Honorable Mention: Makenna (Licking) (2x), Emily (Keebler), Emma (Feltzer) (2x), Diana (Walker), Madyson (Morse) (2x), Cassidy (Carey), Sydney (Hoff), and Sarah Hein. We tied the 200-Free Relay School Record, broke the 800-Free Relay School Record, and Madyson (Morse) broke the 200-Breaststroke School record at the Championships. We had 22 lifetime bests overall. Eva (Reyes) was named MVC Freshman Diver of the Year and Madyson (Morse) the MVC Scholar Athlete of the Year. And as you all know, we moved up from two consecutive years at fourth to a Runner-Up finish.
In the post season, Kamryn (Blake), and Eva (Reyes) both went on to compete at NCAA Diving Zones in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Kamryn (Blake) posted the best 1-meter finish from a Redbird since 2018 and both divers gained valuable experience competing in one of the country's most challenging zones. Six swimmers went on to compete at the CSCAA National Invitational Championship in Elkhart, IN. Another valuable learning experience, these athletes fought through a very competitive meet to earn finals swims and an overall team finish of 28th, scoring the most points at that meet in ISU history. Olivia (Gonder) earned a lifetime best in the 100-free and the 400-Free Relay of Olivia (Gonder), Emma (Feltzer), Diana (Walker), and Madyson (Morse) broke the school record to end the meet by scoring 14th overall.
Most recently, Julie Kolar was named State Farm's MVC Good Neighbor Award for Winter Sports. To be eligible for the award, student-athletes must be in good academic standing, demonstrate good citizenship through good sportsmanship and significant community service, and participate during the season of recognition.
In a way, the year felt like we had returned to normal, or as close to it as we had been in over 2 years. In others, we were the opposite of normal. This group was special, noteworthy, and surpassed so many expectations. They have made people notice their achievements in the classroom and in the water. They have earned the privilege of pressure that comes with seeing success. The underdogs no more, with incredibly bright futures ahead of them.
