“New,” is one word senior swimmer and team captain Jerry Daniels used to describe the 2014-2015 Piper men’s and women’s swimming and diving team. He said the new faces on the team have stepped up this season and last weekend’s Jean Freeman Invite, on Dec. 5 and Dec. 6, at the University of Minnesota was no exception as two first-year’s on the men’s squad placed high.

“[First-year men’s swimmer] Hodd Gorman and [first-year men’s diver] Skiah Garde Garcia , those two have been absolute rockstars,” Daniels said. “Anything that’s been thrown at them this year, they’ve taken and ran with it.”

Garcia finished eighth in the 3-meter diving event and Gorman placed at 11 for the 1650 freestyle race competing against athletes from NCAA Divsion-I and Division-II schools.

Daniels said he’s confident the newcomers on the team will help the team finish better than last year’s squad at the MIAC Championships when they finished sixth, which was their goal last year.

“This year our goal isn’t set on sixth place – we want to be able to challenge the two teams like St. John’s and Gustavus,” Daniels said. “Now that we have some more talent, more numbers behind us, we can only go up.”

Ryan Hawke, head coach of the men’s and women’s swimming and diving program, said he’s been impressed with the team’s performance.

“A lot of our athletes are hitting lifetime best in diving and in swimming so it’s been a phenomenal year,” Hawke said.

On the women’s side, sophomore diver Kayla Hennum has been one of their highlight performers this season. Last year, she battled an ankle injury where she underwent surgery. This season, she said being healthier which has helped her performance improve along with the team’s new diving coach Deb Murray. She said overall, the team has improved mentally.

“We have a better mentality of work ethic this year for sure,” Hennum said.

Hawke elaborated said along with their hard work the team is very focused on supporting each other.

“It’s a lot of fun, just seeing that teamwork and that team bonding piece that is so critical to…varsity sports,” he said, “[also, to see] all the hard work and changes coming to fruition.”

He said during the recruiting stage he set the expectations for the team and informed the athletes the direction the program was headed. He said their mentality once they stepped on campus impressed him because of how unselfish the first-years were.

“All of the freshmen came in were [like] ‘this is a team sport, we want to be supportive, we’re a team and we’re in this together. I’m not in this for an individual award,’” Hawke said.

First-year women’s swimmer Kaitlyn Allee said the team’s support has helped her transition from six years of club swimming in Colorado to college swimming at Hamline.

“Practices are hard, if you didn’t have your teammates supporting it’ll be miserable,” she said.

She said her teammates at Hamline helped her get through it as she’s developed into an impact swimmer for the women’s squad.

“Once I got the swing of things it’s being going okay,” Allee said. “I’ve just been trying to stay confident. I worked really hard during club swimming and I’m working really hard now, so I just try to remember that…and that motivates me pretty good.”

Daniels said Allee has been the first-year “rockstar” on the women’s team this season.

“Coming into that type of position where we didn’t have a lot of girls on the team last year and her stepping in and being able to swim in everything she has so far is a great step in the right direction for the women’s team,” Daniels said.

Daniels said as senior his focus is on helping the underclassmen develop.

“Obviously, I enjoy getting those bursts of happiness when I get a personal best time, [but] really I like to be known as a good teammate and a helpful captain for all my first-years and the rest of my teammates,” Daniels said. “I only get to be here for four years, so if I can give them something that’s going to help them with their four years – that’s just another four years that I can help.”

The Pipers next meet isn’t until Jan. 23 at Bush Pool. However, Hawke said the team will be training up until then. After finals week he will give the individuals a training plan where they’re expected to finish the task over break at home. Starting on Dec. 28, they’ll train together as a team and through first few days of the new year for two-a-day sessions to prepare for the second half of the season.

Garde Garcia is confident they will progress during the second half of the season as he described the team as “tough.”

“We’ve had to overcome some obstacles and we still are but we’re still holding it together and we’re still competing and we’re doing pretty good,” Garde Garcia said.

As Hawke reflects on the first half of the season, he said there are two highlights for him. One highlight was the Hamline Invite on Nov. 8.

“It was exciting having the stands packed. It made a big difference for the morale of this team. We saw a lot of positive outcomes that day, a large part due to the support from the campus and community,” Hawke said.

As for the team, Hawke said they’ve created an atmosphere he’s never seen.

“It’s the atmosphere, the professionalism that these athletes are showing, it’s the camaraderie, it’s the respect that they’re showing both in and out of the pool to each other… it’s so much different than other team’s I’ve seen,” Hawke said. “As a team we’re maturing nicely.”