The 2021-2022 season was definitely a season for the books. UUCS had to overcome many challenges dealing with COVID-19. The new board consisted of Anna Foulks as President, Bella Goh as Vice President, Lillie Orlando as Secretary, Maloree Barbera as Treasurer, Alexander Carhart as Marketing Director, Tom Mi as Men’s Captain and Kara Trombley as Women's Captain. This board’s first challenge was welcoming the largest team this club has ever seen, and the largest club at the University of Utah for the 2021-2022 season. The board’s next challenge was dealing with about 80 rowdy swimmers who had not competed in two years due to COVID-19. Coach Will Reeves trained an amazing team that won the annual Rocky Mountain Invite, as well as placing 14th at Nationals with many record breaking swims.
The Utes began the season with the bi annual intersquad week. The team was split into red and black teams, where teammates got to interact with each other and get to know one another. The scavenger hunt was a success, as the freshman learned about their new school. The intersquad week concluded with the intersquad meet, where the swimmers got to showcase their skills to their teammates.
The team attended a few meets in the fall in Colorado, Arizona, and Utah including the annual Rocky Mountain Invite where the Utes won overall. This was the first RMI since the 2019-2020 due to COVID-19. There were excellent swims from all of the team in attendance including a record breaking swim by Bailey Donaldson in the 50 back. The Utes next challenge was getting ready for Nationals in the spring in Atlanta, Georgia.
When the Utes returned from winter break the second bi annual intersquad took place, and it was nice to see everyone back in the water after a short break. The Utes went to a few more meets in the spring to solidify times for Nationals.
When April rolled around, the Utes were beyond excited to travel to Atlanta, Georgia for the 2022 College Club Swimming National Championships. The Utes showed up and showed out to over 100 college club swim teams in the United States. There were several records broken:
Branden Hinckley: 50 Free
Tom Mi: 100 Free, 200 Free
Maloree Barbera: 500 Free
Sean Farrenkopf: 500 Free, 200 IM
Bailey Donaldson: 50 Back, 100 Back
Cameron Wright: 200 Breast
Eliot Kang: 400 IM
Julia Bandoni, Aleah Griffin, Bailey Donaldson, Anna Nemeth: 200 Free Relay
Tanner Guderian, Thomas McLaughlin, Tom, Mi, Branden Hinckley: 200 Free Relay, 400 Free Relay
Tom Mi, Tanner Guderian, Chris Schulz, Sean Farrenkopf: 800 Free Relay
Bailey Donaldson, Lillie Orlando, Emily Harvey, Anna Nemeth: 400 Medley Relay
And for the first time in club history, the Utes had a chance to compete in a Mixed Relay that was composed of: Julia Bandoni, Anna Nemeth, Tom Mi, and Branden Hinckley. All of these records and amazing swims from our swimmers lead the Utes to 14th overall in the nation.
The season concluded with the annual team banquet where the board gave speeches highlighting this season’s successes. The team voted on awards and these were the award winners: the Academic Swimmer of the Year was Sean Farrenkopf, Female Swimmer of the Year was Anna Nemeth and the Male Swimmer of the Year was Branden Hinckley. This year, Rookie of the Year was awarded to both the first and second years of the team, since the second year swimmers didn't get an official banquet last year. The Second Year Rookie of the Year was Sean Farrenkopf, and the First Year Rookie of the Year was Gabe Schultz and Sydney Tetens (tie).
The banquet ended with the voting of the new board:
Co-President: Maloree Barbera and Tom Mi
Vice President: Ian Moore
Treasurer: Gabe Schultz
Secretary: Hailey Grandy
Men’s Captain: Tanner Guderian
Women’s Captain: Avery Updegrove
Marketing Director: Lydia Stueber
Just because the season is over, doesn't mean the work is. This board has many new challenges ahead and a lot of work in front of them. This will be a great upcoming season and UUCS looks forward to all of the swimmers that join for the 2022-2023 season. WHO AM I SIR? A UTAH MAN AM I!
