Although he may be pretty quiet outside of the pool, sophomore Scott Rice has been making a lot of noise in the water for the last two years. He has been named Big Ten Swimmer of the Week twice and has become one of the top competitors in the 200-yard butterfly in the Big Ten. Overall, Rice thinks he has had a pretty good year.

"It was really good. We have done quite well this season. We have qualified a relay for NCAAs. This is right where we thought we were going to be," Rice said.

Rice's support of his teammates goes hand in hand with the improvement that the team has made as a whole. Although the Badgers only finished eighth as a team at the Big Ten Championships, there were a lot of things that the team did to make this year more successful than in years past. Rice points out that the team has made strides in concentrating on the team effort rather than individual efforts.

"We really came together as a team this year," Rice said. "There was a lot more unity this year than last year. We are taking some big strides together. We need to keep on taking those strides and getting faster. We were more of a team. If we keep it going, it would be good."

Rice may have taken a team approach to his success, and head coach Eric Hansen acknowledges that Rice is a major contributor to the team.

"I think he's a huge guy for us to have on our team," Hansen said. "He's a hard worker. We always talk about coachability, and he's as coachable as they come. His results are indicative of his work ethic and consistency."

It's a good thing Rice works well with coaches; he would like to go into coaching when his swimming career comes to a close.

Rice's work ethic has played a major part in the success he has had over the last two seasons. Last year, he finished in the top 10 at the Big Ten Championships in the 200-yard butterfly with a time of 1:51.03. This year, he has seen drastic improvements on his times. At the Big Ten Championships, he finished fourth in the same event with a time of 1:45.64. This time gives him a NCAA qualifying "B" time, which means he must wait until all of the qualifying times are in to find out if he made it or not.

While Rice is not certain he will qualify for the NCAA Championship meet, he is still confident that his times will get him there. This confidence keeps him motivated to keep training hard in the event that he makes it.

"We just keep on training and think that you are going to make it," Rice said. "If you do, then you are ready for it, and if you don't, then it kind of sucks."

His improvement in the pool is no surprise to Hansen. He said that Rice's season was outstanding.

"I think he's raised the bar for everyone around him," Hansen said. "That's what we've been looking for on our men's team. He's contributed in virtually every relay. He can swim any event."

Although Rice has had a lot of success, he acknowledges that there are still some things that he needs to work on.

"I need to work on the details. The little details in your starts and turns and to get everything to be prefect in your race," Rice said.

Hansen agrees that there are some things that Rice needs to work on, but overall, he feels that he has become one of the strongest swimmers on a very young team.

"He needs to keep doing what he is doing," Hansen said. "He is going to continue to develop and continue to get faster with age. He's a great racer. When he's on the blocks, he's all business. I can't pinpoint any one thing that he needs to improve on."

Although he is only a sophomore, Hansen has set some big goals for himself. Of course, these goals are both individual and team-oriented.

"I would like to get some best times, try to break some more of those school records and get the team into the top 10 in the nation," Rice said.