The San Diego State women’s swim and dive team continue its quest for an undefeated season on Wednesday when they compete in the 2021 Mountain West Conference Championships. The swimming meet will be hosted by Air Force in Colorado Springs while the dive team travels up Route 66 to compete at UNLV.
The Aztecs have had a stellar start to the season, having compiled multiple impressive displays en route to a 4-0 record. With wins over San Diego, Cal Poly and Pepperdine, head coach Mike Shrader said he’s looking to continue the momentum heading into what is shaping up to be a pivotal championship season.
“If there are two things that this team embodies, it is having the right attitude and effort,” Shrader said. “We focus on being a process-driven team rather than results-oriented. We can only control the controllable.
“I am blessed to be able to coach a team that is full of energetic and highly-spirited athletes. A critical component to our success has been the strong leadership from our seniors.”
Senior Elliyana Ferrin, captain of the swim team, said the strong team culture could lead to the team hitting the jackpot in Vegas.
“Radiating positivity and having consistent communication throughout the team are by far the most important things to me as a captain,” Ferrin said. “I didn’t care how different this season was gonna be, I wanted the team to still feel like a team.”
This fervor has allowed for the team to maintain positive energy throughout the campaign despite having to endure an unorthodox version of a normal season. Leading up to the MWC meet, Shrader said the value of being well-rested is a means of optimizing the teams performance and energy level.
“We took the opportunity to taper down the intensity and duration of workouts in favor of explosive training,” Shrader said. “We understand that if we take the time to fine-tune our technique, we will be able to accomplish great things.”
Senior Erica Sarver, who captains the dive team, said mastering the fundamentals will help lead the team to championship glory.
“From a diving standpoint, I look forward to the team leaning on the dives they know best and having confidence in the preparation we’ve done,” Sarver said. “With the strength and resilience of this team, I think we are in a great position to succeed.”
With seven other schools competing, the back-to-back Mountain West champions will look to make it three-in-a-row upon the conclusion of the event on Friday.
