Juan Villa / The Collegian

After brief hiatus, aquatics program returns to Fresno State

Even though there’s a Bulldog mascot on their swimsuit, the athletes of the resurrected Fresno State swimming and diving team are welcomed to practice not by a Bulldog, but rather by a Bronco – the mascot of Clovis North High School.

For the team̢۪s 2008-09 season, the 16 swimmers, five divers and three coaches make the daily 20-minute commute from campus to the Clovis North pool. After a four-year hiatus, the newly reinstated program will practice at the local high school pool until a new swimming and diving complex is built near Bulldog Stadium for the 2009-10 season.

“I’m looking forward to it so much,â€Â freshman swimmer Jordon Morillo said of the new swimming facility. “We’re real tight on time here.â€Â

The team is tight on time, lanes to practice in and diving facilities. Lane lines are shifted in the middle of practice to accommodate for Clovis North swimmers and water polo players. They squeeze in starts off the blocks just before they̢۪re kicked out of the pool. Since there̢۪s no platform at the Clovis North pool, the divers are only able to practice their one-meter and three-meter springboard dives.

However, this compromising practice situation hasn̢۪t affected their goals for the upcoming season and the future of the resurrected program.

“Every day they’re getting better and better, and learning new things,â€Â head coach Jeanne Fleck said. “I can already tell you it’s been a successful year in just three weeks of practice.â€Â

Fleck and her supporting coaching staff are the driving force in creating this program from scratch. That̢۪s because the Fresno State women̢۪s swimming and diving team is making a comeback after facing possible elimination following its 2002-03 season, and eventual placement on hiatus since the 2003-04 season.

Juan Villa / The Collegian

Due to reccurring athletic department budget shortfalls, in April 2003, then-Athletic Director Scott Johnson recommended the elimination of three programs, including the swimming and diving team. Community fundraising efforts afforded the program an additional season. Yet not enough money was raised after the 2003-04 season, so the university placed the team on a one-year hiatus.

“We want very much for the programs to continue at Fresno State, but as stewards of a public institution, we must ensure that they are properly funded,â€Â Vice President for Student Affairs and Chair of the Athletic Corporation Board Paul Oliaro, Ph.D., said in January 2004.

The one-year hiatus turned into a four-year hiatus when in January, Athletic Director Thomas Boeh announced the return of the women̢۪s program by the recommendation of the Gender Equity Plan Task Force in order to maintain Title IX compliance. The announcement was a leading reason why Fleck came to Fresno from the Ohio State University.

“I’ve always been very active in college swimming and keeping programs alive,â€Â said Fleck, a 20-year coaching veteran. “To be a part of someone bringing a program back is exciting.â€Â

Bringing the program back begins with the basics, which is exactly what Fleck has been focusing on at practice. Drills, push-offs, streamlines, starts and turns are the mechanics that Fleck believes will make the Fresno State team just a little better than the opposition.

“We’ve got a lot of work to do,â€Â she said. “It’s an improvement every day.â€Â

Diving coach Taryn Ignacio, a former All-American diver at Kentucky and an NCAA champion on the platform, is following the same gameplan.

“We’re still working on a lot of basics because the girls haven’t dove in a couple of years,â€Â Ignacio said. “I think they all have the potential, they all have strong points.â€Â

Ignacio̢۪s goals for her divers are to have fun, to continue pushing themselves and getting qualifying scores to zones. Similarly, Fleck hopes that her swimmers will make it in the Top 16 in the Western Athletic Conference (WAC), as well as win some dual meets.

“Those dual meets will be really rough on us since we don’t have depth in events,â€Â Fleck said. “Every dual meet is going to be an experience.â€Â

Fleck admits that there are a lot of holes in this season̢۪s team. Because of that, she will be turning to key swimmers such as freshman Heidi Gjoen of Norway for the backstroke, and junior Mary Tess Taylor and Morillo in the breaststroke.

“We’ve all been working out really hard and getting all our techniques perfected,â€Â Lindsay-native Morillo said. “We want to be competitive, and ultimately we want to be number one.â€Â

The swimming and diving team will be given the chance to achieve these goals starting with its first meet on Oct. 18 against UC Santa Cruz and San Jose State in Santa Cruz. While Fleck doesn̢۪t want to target just one team or just one meet in this initial season, she does want every swimmer to get their best time.

“We’ll have girls drop minutes, and that just doesn’t happen in swimming,â€Â Fleck said. “This will probably be my favorite year because there will be so much to improve on.â€Â

Upcoming swim meets

The women̢۪s swimming and diving program is back in action for the first time since 2003-04. Here are meets scheduled for October and November:

̢ۢ Oct. 18 РUC Santa Cruz / San Jose State at Santa Cruz
̢ۢ Oct. 24/25 РWashington State Invitational (Swimmers only)
̢ۢ Oct. 31 РUC San Diego
̢ۢ Nov. 1 РSan Diego State
̢ۢ Nov. 15 РBoise State