Leonardo Guajardo/Vaquero Radio
As the first program of its kind in university history, the Vaqueros are gearing up to make their mark in the water as they prepare for their inaugural season.
The Vaqueros made their debut on Oct. 12 at the City of Pharr-PSJA Natatorium, finishing with a score of 193-94 in favor of the University of Incarnate Word. The team is now back in the water and focused on preparing for upcoming meets.
Head coach Betsy Graham expressed her excitement and dedication to establishing the standard for the program’s future.
“I look forward to the standard that they set because I think that they have to also have a part in and in this as well,” Graham said. “They’re what the culture should be for this program, so I’m most excited just to see the growth within the next couple of years.”
She also explained the structure of team practice and emphasized the importance of setting goals.
“We do stuff in practice to teach them how to swim,” Graham said. “We set goal pieces and they know some goals that they want and then I give them the splits they need to hit. So if they’re hitting them in practice, they know they can hit them in a meet and so that kind of builds their confidence.”
Diving coach Jennifer Mangum discussed the mentality and drive divers must maintain.
“Diving is a very mental sport, so some kids will embrace the challenge and others will be a little nervous about it,” Mangum said. “But just talking them through when they’re learning something new so that they feel more comfortable, and they know that they’re ready to get up and take the challenge.”
She also shared her excitement about what the program means for the region and its impact on young athletes.
“I think it’s really exciting, and I think something really exciting for this area,” Mangum said. “Hopefully, it gives the kids that swim and dive down here something to look up to and something to want to train harder to turn to be a part of.”
Freshman butterfly swimmer Ida Rudelius, of Jönköping, Sweden, shared her struggles in balancing school with athletics.
“We swim a lot,” Rudelius said. “A lot of us have tough majors, like nursing and engineering. I feel like we can really show people that swimming is tough, but we also are pretty tough as people as well.”
Sophomore distance freestyle swimmer Chloe Siegrist, of Humble, said she is excited about being part of the team.
“I’m really excited to be the first to make records,” Siegrist said. “Even though, obviously, in the future they get broken, but we’ll be the first in history. So, it’s cool to make history here.”
The UTRGV Swimming and Diving Team hit the road for its first away meet, competing against St. Thomas, McMurray last Saturday in Houston. Results will be available at goutrgv.com.
