Jessica Gutschow
Every single dominant athletic program the sports world has ever seen, began somewhere… pieces of a puzzle that came together somewhere, somehow to create a dynasty. One of the greatest unsolved mysteries known to athletes, coaches, and fans everywhere: what is it that flips the switch? What makes a team turn the corner… and become unstoppable?
The UW-Madison Women’s swim team has never won a single BIG-10 championship or NCAA title in school history. While the team has seen many amazing individual careers, they’ve never been able to put the pieces together and become a dominant force in the swim world. Other schools such as Stanford, Georgia, and Auburn all hold 5+ NCAA titles in Women’s Swimming alone… However, this season for the women’s badger swim team may be the turning point we’ve all been waiting for.
Former 3x Pac-12 championship swim coach from the University of California, Yuri Suguiyama has taken on the role of Head Swim Coach for the UW- Madison swim team. After a mess of new coaching staffs for the past four years, it seems as if Badger Swimming has finally found what it’s been looking for in Suguiyama. “I think the ceiling for the program is very high you know? I think we can be a lot better.” Suguiyama said when asked the future of Badger swimming. “At the beginning of the year, we sat down as a staff and made a list of all of the characteristics and qualities of the best athletes we’ve worked with… out of all of the most successful teams that I’ve been a part of, there’s been two dominant characteristics: one being trust… and the other, resilience.” Sugiyama had an entire list of swimmers from this season’s roster who he knew carried these traits- traits of champions.
Senior, Jess Unicomb has had undeniably one of the best swimming careers here at UW-Madison over the past four years. Last year she qualified for three events in the NCAA Championships; finishing in the top ten for both the 200 and 100 back. She’s been a part of countless dominant relay squads in the BIG-10 and has countless more career awards under her belt. Being from Australia, she had never thought of coming to the United States to swim until she was recruited by the badgers. “We’ve got a really great freshman class,” Unicomb stated, “I am excited to leave the team in a better place than when I joined it… and I’m jealous of the freshman that they get four years of this coaching staff… they’re awesome.” When asked about her expectations for the future of Badger swimming she said she “truly believes this group could win a BIG-10 championship and hopefully, a national one… I have no doubt in my mind that they will reach great things.”
Beata Nelson, Junior, has been in the swimming spot light her entire career. In high school, she was a 12-time state champ with offers pouring in from all around the nation. In fact, she never thought she would end up a badger. However, after an unofficial home visit, Nelson was left convinced that Madison was the way to go. A new pool, a new coaching staff, and a solid team of hardworking individuals she’d grown up watching, she couldn’t go anywhere else. Her freshman year, she was 4X BIG-10 freshman of the week, with appearances at both the
BIG-10 and NCAA championships. In her sophomore season she qualified for the NCAA Championships in three individual events- medaling in two of them. All eyes turned to Beata Nelson very fast. But what did she believe was going to make this program great? “Toughness.” she immediately stated, “We are some of the toughest people I’ve ever been around.” She said that she has had so many great experiences as a badger that she “never once doubted Madison was the right choice.” As only a junior, Nelson has already raised the expectations for women’s swimming to a completely new level. She will be leaving huge shoes to fill but she believes in her freshman class. She was unable to give a single name of someone she saw taking the lead of the team. She said she believes that they, along with the new coaching staff, will be exceptional in the years to come. “There is nowhere but up that this program will go… this team has the mentality and the work ethic to make anything happen.”
Both Nelson and Unicomb have extremely high expectations for not only this season but seasons to come. They believe the pieces of the puzzle are all there, they just need to be put together. With an exceptional new coaching staff, brand new pool, and solid in-coming class of swimmers, what will stop this Badger power house from rising to the top?
“Onwards and Upwards” -Senior, Jess Unicomb
The Greenhorn 