The UW-Whitewater’s women’s swim and dive team competed at the Luther Invitational Nov. 23-24. The team placed third out of four teams. The 400 meter relay team made up of Jenna Denton, Addi Sanow, Emily Connell and Bella Borta placed second with a time of 3 minutes 39.84 seconds. Emily Connell won the 200 meter freestyle with a time of 1:59.20. Nikolina Gallo and Bella Borta joined Connell by finishing fourth and fifth in the event. Natalie Miska won the 100 meter breaststroke in 1:18.02. Izzy Doczy had a top-three finish in the 200 meter backstroke timing in at 2:18.78
Doczy has had a good season so far for the Warhawks. She finished fourth in the 100 meter backstroke in the dual meet against Illinois Tech, clocking in at 1:04.58. She placed 17th in the 200 meter backstroke with a time of 2:21.65 at the Wisconsin Invite. Doczy placed second in the 100 meter backstroke with 1:02.89 in the dual meet against UW-Oshkosh. She placed fifth in the 100 meter backstroke with a time of 1:04.96 in the dual meet versus UW-La Crosse. Doczy placed fourth coming in at 2:19.45 in the dual meet versus UW-Stevens Point.
Q: What are your thoughts about the Luther Invitational?
A: I thought we had a really good meet. We have a lot of new freshmen that came in, and they all had great performances. Our girl’s team especially has had a big jump in performance since last year, and the boy’s won the meet, so it was a great meet.
Q: What were your individual thoughts about the meet?
A: I thought I had a great meet. Personally, I had one of my best performances of the year. My 100 backstroke was the fastest I’ve gone in all of my Whitewater past. So I was really happy with the meet.
Q: What are some improvements that you and the team could improve on for coming up in the next meet?
A: I think some people get a little bit down on themselves after this meet, because we rested for it. So if people don’t see their best performances, they get a little down on themselves. But I think we can definitely make an improvement on that for conference.
Q: What are your thoughts about the season overall?
A: I think we, overall, had a great season. We have one of the biggest teams that we’ve had yet. I think my freshman year, we had like 35 people on the swim team, and now we’re at about 50. So we’ve just been really growing the team, which has been really fun. And our new talent this year, specifically for the freshman girls, is great. So it’s awesome to see the team’s progress over the years that I’ve been here, and I’m really excited for the rest of the season.
Q: How will you prepare for the WIAC Conference Meet and Nationals?
A: So we go on a training trip in January. We go to Fort Lauderdale for a week, and we do some really intense training just the whole months of January and February. Our training is pretty hard. And I also think just connecting with the team is great. We have a really tight knit team, and I think if we continue to do that, it’s just a great way to improve our performance.
The women’s swim and dive team’s next action won’t be until 2025 when they host Lawrence and Lake Forest in a triangular Jan. 25, but the team is sure to continue its improvement and tighten its bond as they train for the future.
