ASU swim and dive has performed at an extremely high level under new head coach Bob Bowman, but the freshmen women have exceeded expectations.
In April 2015, ASU announced that Bowman, the U.S. Olympic swim and dive coach and longtime trainer of Olympian Michael Phelps, would take on the position of head swim and dive coach at ASU. Nine months later, both the men’s and women’s teams have greatly improved and the future of the team is looking bright.
Not only has the women’s team embraced their new head coach, but they have also welcomed nine new freshmen – Bowman’s first recruiting class.
The nine newcomers make up nearly half of the team’s roster, which consists of 20 women.
It took some time after signing for Glinecke to hit the pool for ASU, but once she was able to get going she enjoyed being a part of such a large and enthusiastic group.
“I think it helped a lot that half of our girls’ team is just freshmen, and we bring a lot of positivity to the team too,” Glinecke said.
Along with a new group of swimmers, Bowman added some firepower to his staff.
Bowman brought with him former Olympic gold medalist Misty Hyman as his senior assistant coach. Hyman, who has worked heavily with the freshmen class, said she knew how important this class would be to reestablishing ASU women’s swim and dive.
"I think the big thing we are trying to do is lay a foundation with the freshmen for what the future of our team is going to be,” Hyman said. “We have asked our senior leadership to really step up and help mentor them.”
Senior co-captain Alysha Bush has fully embodied the leadership role she was granted by her coaches, and from day one has felt the need to help make a smooth transition for the freshmen.
“Us captains did a really good job of setting the tone for everyone,” Bush said.
Bush said she could relate to the experience the freshmen were embarking on, and she said she was excited to really start fresh with so many young swimmers.
“We brought in this batch of moldable athletes that were just willing to do whatever,” Bush said.
Freshman Chloe Isleta, who is well known for backstroke, is leading the entire team in individual event scoring.
“She is just this ball of energy,” Bush said.
The freshmen have outscored the sophomores, juniors and seniors in individual scoring by a hefty amount this season.
“They are really good role models for everyone, just in their attitude and positivity,” Bush said.
Their positive attitudes have not gone unnoticed, but Hyman said that neither has their professionalism.
“I think the women on the team have really done a good job of all of the invisible athlete things, the nutrition, the sleep, the getting your homework done early,” Hyman said. “I’d say the majority of them are really proactive and positive about that.”
It is one accomplishment for a freshmen class to have optimistic outlooks, but it's another feat when a group of young athletes demonstrates their maturity. Nothing will demand the attention of the entire Pac-12 like great performance, and that is exactly what the women of the class of 2020 have done.
Hyman said she believes this class will truly be special and change the culture of ASU women’s swim and dive.
“ASU women’s swimming hasn’t been on the map for a while, in terms of the major players in the sport, and I think this freshmen class is going to put us on the map,” Hyman said.
Reach the reporter at atotri@asu.edu or follow @Anthony_Totri on Twitter.
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