Head Coach Ryan Hawke hosted his first official meet at the Bust Pool during the Hamline Invite last Saturday.

This year the Pipers’ swimming and diving program added depth to their roster and a different training program under Hawke. In one month of the season, the Pipers’ returning athletes have already seen growth in their performances and have improved their personal mark from last year; some have even set a personal best.

Hawke was looking forward to competing against his former team, UW-River Falls, at the Hamline Invite.

“I hope that they swim well,” Hawke said, “but at the same time River Falls has beaten both women and men at Hamline over the last three years, so I think it would show Hamline’s improvement, if we beat them.”

Junior team captain Jerry Daniels said he understood Hawke maintained a close relationship with his former athletes at River Falls, but said Hawke had an extra incentive to defeat them.

“He wants to have that little bit of bragging rights between his old team,” Daniels said. “We are really excited to see what he does here in his first home meet.”

At the meet, the men finished in second place with solid performances. They beat out the men’s River Falls team, who finished third.

Pipers’ sophomore men’s swimmer Victor Lara, a transfer from River Falls, finished first place in the 500 yard freestyle.

Before the meet, junior captain Glenn Dworsky complemented Lara for being a multitalented swimmer.

“He’s a pretty versatile swimmer, which is great because we could put him anywhere that we need him,” he said.

Lara also finished second in the 200-yard IM and third in the 100-yard freestyle. He also joined the group on the 200 relay, they were only two seconds shy of placing in first.

After the meet, Lara reflected on competing against his former team and the team’s results.

“It was really nice to see and race against friends that are now on the opposite team. A competitive spirit was in the air, and it produced many close races not only against River Falls but against the other teams as well,” Lara messaged via email. “We are very happy with the results, and will continue to strive towards MIAC championships this February.”

Despite dealing with injuries, the women still competed strong. They finished in fourth, behind Rivers Falls, as they beat St. Mary’s and Augsburg.

Before the meet, Hawke said he sensed mental toughness as a key change with this year’s team.

“I think that has been the biggest change from last year to this year,” Hawke said. “The mentality of ‘I’m tired I want to get out [of the pool]’, to ‘I’m here to help our team, I’m going to continue to push to help our team’.”

He explained that the team unity has improved.

“The team unity is really coming along and I think that’s where a lot of the excitement and energy is building from. They are realizing what they can accomplish together,” Hawke said.

Daniels said that the team bonding has been emphasized under their new leadership program. He explained that each of the team’s five captains splits the team into groups of six. From there they would do activities to build bonds in small groups and then do activities as a team.

Dworsky said the attitudes have improved as they now believe in the new training system.

“So far I have seen a lot more positive results, a lot more positive attitudes on the pool deck now that people are slowly starting to understand the purpose of our workouts, which is always a positive sign,” Dworsky said.

Hawke explained that his system is much different than the basic training other coaches use. He focuses on building endurance to start the season rather than speed. He admitted the team was skeptical at first.

“There was a little bit of skepticism with it, but they all gave it a shot,” Hawke said. “With this new training working on building aerobic base before getting into the sprint work, we’ve seen a lot of good swims.”

Hawke mentioned his athletes had already surpassed their best performances from last season and some have even set personal best records.

Along with the improving returners, Daniels said it has been exciting to see the first time swimmers develop and exceed their expectations.

“[First-year’s] Jordan Baker and Eric Steffen have been the two that have been really pushing their limits,” Daniels said. “These guys had come in with no previous experience with swimming and they have already passed their season goals…it’s just a matter of creating new goals so they can pass those.”

Hawke said he’s enjoying his first year in charge of Bush Pool’s pool deck and with the early success he thinks it’s only going to get better.

“I think that it’s going to be a great year with the progress we are seeing this early on,” he said. “They’re coming along. They are looking stronger, swimming smarter and they are starting to believe in this new program. …I think when they fully get on board it’s going to happen for them.”