On Feb. 22, both men’s and women’s swimming and diving finished the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin (CCIW) championship weekend, where both men’s and women’s finished in first place. The men claimed their third straight conference championship with 926 points, while the women secured their third title in four seasons with a total of 831 points.
It was a hard-fought five days for the Vikings and a close one. The men only had a 36-point lead heading into the final day, and the women’s swimming and diving team were in second place heading into the final day. Although it was close, the Vikings knew they needed a strong attitude and support from each other to win.
“Our coach, Dan Lloyd, stresses the importance of mental toughness and resilience,” Senior Brooke Walker said. “So even though we were going into that last day in second place, the way that we just kept on fighting and stayed mentally strong and had a winning mentality is what got us through.”
Throughout the season, the men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams have built a strong bond. This connection has created a supportive environment, helping them stay motivated and push through challenges during training and competitions.
“We could not have done it without the team culture, we’re such a family,” Junior Kate Kucera said. “I’ve never been part of a team quite as close-knit as the Augustana women’s dive team. Both men and women come together, and we are a very close-knit team. We’re all best friends, and I wouldn’t change that for the world.”
The Vikings’ journey to the championship was not always easy. Throughout the season, they had to overcome many challenges. Coach Lloyd, who won the Men’s Coach of the Year award, believes that the team atmosphere pushed them past their challenges.
“We had some kids that had some injuries. We also faced some sickness during the year, and it’s a very long season,” Lloyd said. “The family atmosphere that we have here, that every single member of this team has a purpose, they’re valued and they know that they’re in it together, I think it helped us focus on our training on mental toughness, and I think that mental toughness played a part in our success at the end.”
The men’s swimming and diving team has won its third straight conference title, while the women’s team has won three titles in four seasons. These wins show the continuous growth of Coach Lloyd’s swim program, which has been built for the past 11 seasons.
“The repeated championships just show resilience,” Senior Kacper Cebula said. “Sophomore year, we set the tone, and the next year was such a battle with us winning the conference on the last relay, and that just showed straight resilience for that season. This third championship shows that just because we won twice doesn’t mean we’re taking it easier. We worked harder this season than last season. We’ve done more outside of practices to further team culture, more team events for the guys and everything. So we didn’t take a step back just because we started winning. We took a step forward.”
Looking ahead, the team will continue to build off of their momentum, keep working towards next season and look to maintain their success through the leaders of the upcoming years. They will rely on the leadership of both returning athletes and incoming freshmen to carry the torch of excellence.
“The goal is that we have a pass down of leadership,” Lloyd said. “We try to build leadership within each class. I’ve been here for 11 years, so the standard has been set of what we we’re going to do, but then past that, it’s been each year our captains try to pass down that leadership to the next class and know what’s expected, and you learn from experience. The big key is that we’ve just had great leaders who have poured into the next class coming up.”
