The Wisconsin men’s swim team couldn’t have envisioned a much brighter start to its 2003-04 season before it took to the pool for its first meet last weekend. Senior leader Matt Marshall emerged from the water having won two individual events and was also a part of two pool-record relay teams. Marshall and the Badgers defeated the Iowa Hawkeyes by 66 points to win their first meet of the season.
Although the victory was recorded as part of a team effort, Marshall received personal accolades for his contribution in the form of being named the Big Ten Swimmer of the Week. The honor is Marshall’s fourth in his career.
Combined with wins in the 50-yard freestyle (20.68) and the 100 butterfly (49.14), Marshall also combined with senior Dale Rogers in two relay victories.
The pair of seniors teamed up with Adam Mania and Kevin Zakrewski to break their own 2001 pool record in the 400 medley. Their time of 3:20.87 beat the old mark by 13 hundredths of a second.
“I felt we had a pretty good chance,” Rogers commented about his feelings on breaking the record prior to the meet. “A few of us on the team were sick. I was sick, I know Matt is a little bit sick, too, but going into it even with that, I thought we could [break it].”
Despite illness, Rogers and Marshall also swam with Mania and Weisner in the 200-freestyle relay that broke Purdue’s 1998 pool record of 1:22.42.
“I was pretty sick [after the first record], and I wasn’t even sure how I would swim by the end of the meet,” Rogers said. “I was hurting by then, but I knew it was just a matter of time before we’d break it.”
Their time of 1:21.76 gave Wisconsin a pair of records in its first Big Ten action of the season and provides the team with momentum heading into this weekend’s meet at the Arizona Invitational.
“It’s always important to carry as much momentum with you as you can, but I think most people even with the success that we’ve had [are] still looking way beyond that and trying to have a lot more success.” Rogers said. “I think most of the team is more worried about the bigger meets like this weekend coming up.”
The Badgers will look to ride the success of their relay-team members through this upcoming weekend as each of them except Rogers won individual races as well as their respective relays. Weisner dominated the freestyle events by winning the 100 in 46.18, the 200 in 1:40.34 and the 500 in 4:40.48. Mania chipped in by winning the 100 backstroke in 49.38, and Zakrewski won the 100 breaststroke in 58.45.
But it remains the UW relay teams that have had the most success in this young season.
“Ultimately it’s more important to us to eventually … by the end of the season reach for the school records rather than the pool records at home,” Rogers said.
The senior believes that this season’s relay teams may rewrite the UW record books as he and Marshall have had four years to get stronger and faster at the collegiate level. With confidence high and the team already swimming at record speeds, the Badgers look toward this weekend’s meet in Arizona to improve upon their times and reach toward history.
“I think we’ll break the school record in at least three of the relays (the 200, 400 and 800 freestyle events) this year out of the five total,” Rogers said. “We never know if we’re going to put our best relay together or not at our home meets, but I think if we have our top four guys on the relay. I think we’ll break that pool record maybe a few times this year.”
