This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at Denison chapter.
Being a member of the Big Red’s swim team requires dedication, physical strength, self-discipline and a commitment to winning. After winning the NCAC National Championship in 2011, the men’s and women’s swim team had every intention of training hard and winning again in 2012..and in fact, they did just that.
Last week, fans, parents and alumni gathered in Indianapolis to cheer on Denison’s women’s and men’s national swim and diving team. The meet was a total of four days, and after the third day the men’s team was up 112 points. M.J Barczak, senior and national record holder, commented on the lead saying, “All we had to do was make it through the next day and we would win. We didn’t want to float, we wanted to keep our feet on the gas and win by as many points as possible.” The Denison men’s swim team held on to their title of “National Champions” and the women’s team took home an extremely impressive third place in the nation!
Our Denison team even made some new national records!:
500 free style
400 medley relay
100 back stroke
200 backstroke
1650 free-style
800 free style relay
M.J. Barczak took the time to answer a few questions about his four years on the Denison men’s team:
HC: What was the hardest part about the season?
M.J: Having to get up at 5:00 in the morning and going down to a cold pool
HC: What was the first thing that went through your head when you heard you won?
M.J.: We did it!
HC: What will you miss most about swimming at Denison?
M.J.: Spending15.5 hours a week, 26 weeks, 403 hours, and 17 days in the pool just this season with my teammates
We are so proud of our Denison men’s and women’s swim team!! Keep up the winning tradition!