The South Carolina swimming and diving team added 22 freshmen and five transfer athletes to its 2022-2023 roster.
As head coach Jeff Poppell and his staff take on their second year at South Carolina, they face the challenge of managing a young roster while holding the team to a high standard.
“We're trying to climb the ladder of the SEC,” Poppell said. “We don’t get a gimme just cause we’re young. The expectations are still the expectations.”
The reason why the Gamecocks have so many new additions is due to increased roster turnover and Poppell's methodology when it comes to molding the program.
“There's two ways to build a program,” Poppell said. “You gotta develop the athletes you have ... and then at the same time, recruiting is pretty big.”
With the abundance of new faces, Poppell and the team have looked to upperclassmen to show leadership.
Senior swimmers Maddy Norford and Taylor Steele, junior swimmer Bella Pantano and graduate diver Brooke Schultz were named captains on the women’s side.
Senior swimmers Patrick Groters and Guy Gropper, senior diver Manny Vazquez and junior swimmer Jackson Davis were named captains for the men’s team.
Poppell said the captains have done well to provide direction and support for the young squad so far.
The first year of college is a transitional time for student-athletes. Freshman swimmer Amy Riordan said 5 a.m. wakeups and a competitive team environment are all challenges she's faced in transitioning from club to college swim alongside an intense training regimen.
“It is definitely way more volume,” Riordan said. “The practices are two times as long and hard as my club team, but it has definitely made me stronger and a better swimmer.”
Freshman swimmer Jose Castro said learning time management has been a challenging part of adjusting to life as a college student-athlete. Between class and practice, he found himself having little time for anything else. Despite this challenge, he emphasized how much the team has helped him with his transition and even refers to his upperclassmen as his “older brothers.”
“I feel like I’m home,” Castro said. “I think a big part of it is the close relationships the guys on the swim team and dive team have.”
The freshman had the opportunity to showcase their abilities during South Carolina's first meet of the season against West Point on Sept. 23. Castro earned SEC Men's Freshman of the Week honors after winning the 500-yard freestyle in his first meet as a Gamecock, earning a time of 4:31.46.
Riordan was another standout. She won the 200-yard freestyle with a time of 1:49.95 to contribute to South Carolina’s 204-88 victory over Army on the women’s side.
“They're not going to have a choice but to make a big impact for us,” Poppell said. “Just under half of our team is brand new, so they're a little bit under fire as freshmen, having to come in and play big roles.”
The coaching staff has also undergone some changes. The Gamecocks announced Michael Wright as the new head diving coach on Oct. 10, after the previous coach, Dale Schultz, retired.
As the Gamecocks continue on with its season, the young team said it is excited and focused for the year ahead. Riordan said a few of the team's goals are to land among the top eight in the SEC, compete well at the SEC Championships in February and send as many student-athletes as they can to the NCAA Tournament in March.
"We're trying to set the tone (for) the freshman class," Castro said. "We're a big class, but we're here to stay and to change the program as well."
Correction (Nov. 9, 2022 at noon): A previous version of this article incorrectly named this year’s captains. The article has been updated to reflect the correct captains.