Mean Green swimming aims to improve times as Conference play starts

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Jesse Brackeen / Intern Writer

The Mean Green women’s swim team is set to begin Conference USA action following a fifth place finish in its first season of C-USA competition last year.

Last year was a season of firsts for the squad as it featured new head coach Brendon Bray. In its first season after a university wide departure from the Sun Belt Conference, the team fared well against an advanced level of competition in the C-USA.

The team has been competing in exhibition meets since August in preparation for a physically demanding regular season schedule which features interconference dual meets and invitationals.

In the team’s first dual meet of the season, the Mean Green defeated the University of the Incarnate Word 127-116.

“We started with Incarnate Word, a team that is on the rise, a team we match up really well against, and we were able to win that meet last week. That was our first taste of a real dual meet,” Bray said. “I was really happy about last week, I thought our performances were the best they have ever been in my time here. To start like that last week gives some high aspirations about how we will do this week. I think we are really going to perform well.”

Senior captain Chloe Tong experienced the challenges that come along with a new coach and a new conference.

“C-USA is definitely more competitive. You have really good teams across the conference,” Tong said. “We got off to a rough start last year, what with a new coach and everything.”

In the Mean Green’s second season under a new head coach, improving times is crucial, especially in a sport in which the team has no control over the opposition’s performance.

“The ultimate goal is to win the championship, but the process to do that is to have the team perform as well as we can,” Bray said. “If we swim great and get our best times, that is all we can do, we cannot control how another team is doing, we can only control us.”

Tong says that the Mean Green will be up to the challenge because of one thing she thinks no other team in the conference possesses.

“We definitely have depth, across the board, we have a lot of depth,” Tong said “Other teams have really fast swimmers, but we have those same fast swimmers as well as those girls who can pull their weight, girls who can get those second and third place finishes.”

This Friday the Mean Green takes on Houston and nationally ranked Texas A&M. The team will then face the C-USA reigning champions Rice University on Saturday. Both events take place in Denton.

Featured Image: UNT swimmer take their mark and wait for the starting sound during the Green and White Alumnae Meet on Oct. 11 at the Pohl Recreation Center. Photo by Caitlyn Jones – Features Editor

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