Coming off a season with a new coach and a limited roster, the NCC men’s swimming team looks to pick up where they left off this season.
Returning leadership
This season, the Cardinals are led by second-year Coach Nora Schroedter, ’86, and will look to rely on returning swimmers to lead the way. Only three swimmers, Matthew Strong, ’26, Gavin Sheehan, ’25, and Devin Sheehan, ’25, returned this season.
The team sits at only six members, so having part of their core returning will be a big step up for a team looking to improve. Nevertheless, Schroedter urged the importance of having team members with valuable collegiate experience.
“The underclassmen are learning from the upperclassmen, and they have provided a good framework for them,” said Schroedter.
Using the foundation laid by their more experienced collegiate swimmers, the Cardinal newcomers will have a good model to follow. The returning swimmers are tasked with establishing the culture and setting the tone.
New faces
The Cardinals have two new freshmen joining the program this season. John DiFoggio, ’27, and Jack Newman, ’27, are the lone freshmen on the Cardinals squad.
Though the squad size remains the same from last season, G. Sheehan sees the small team as an advantage unique to the Cardinals.
“We’ve gotten to know each other a lot and work well as a unit. It allows us to be friends and teammates instead of just teammates. And it makes us want to look out for each other and help each other strive to be our best,” said G. Sheehan.
Considering the importance of getting the freshman used to the routine of collegiate athletics, it is an advantage for the Cardinal swimmers to be more of a family than a team. Making the most out of what you have is how the team has laid down a strong cultural groundwork.
For many first-year athletes, it can be difficult to get used to the lifestyle of being a college athlete. Schroedter emphasized how important it was to help them find the perfect balance between practice and schoolwork.
Establishing these norms as a team allows the team to achieve their desired goals. Setting up every athlete for success is a big part of this team’s culture.
Out of the gates
The season is still young for the Cardinals, as they are only three meets into their schedule. The lack of a large team has prevented the team from finishing better than last place, but individual efforts in single events are propelling the Cardinals forward.
They opened their season at their new home pool, FMC Natatorium in Westmont, against Augustana College. The highlight of the day for the Cardinals was the 200-yard medley relay featuring Mihir Chandra, ’26, and the Sheehan brothers. They captured third place with a time of 1:53.86.
A week later, they traveled to Decatur to take on Millikin University and Illinois College. Chandra led the way for the Cardinals by taking first in the 50-yard freestyle with a time of 22.75, while G. Sheehan recorded the second-best time of 1:01.04 in the 100-yard butterfly.
Their third meet of the season was a visit to Bloomington to compete in an event hosted by Illinois Wesleyan University. The relays remained strong, as G. Sheehan, Strong and Chandra beat Millikin by an eyelash in the 300-yard butterfly relay with their best time of 2:58.70.
Staying motivated
Additionally, these meets under their belt provide valuable experience for the Cardinals. G. Sheehan sees these meets as a potential way to start drawing people to NCC swimming while also improving on a personal level.
“The best thing I can do is show up to practice, keep my grades up and ensure I don’t get burnt out. Additionally, I hope possible recruits will see that we are more competitive and want to join our team. I hope we can use this momentum to become a bigger and more cohesive team,” said G. Sheehan.
Each time the Cardinals take to the pool, they will look to further prove themselves to be an up-and-coming program. Each meet in Schroedter’s time as coach has been a slight improvement over the one before it.
Seeing that kind of growth is an encouraging sign for the Cardinals. NCC Swimming will look to keep building when they visit Beloit College for their next meet on Nov. 18.
