These ‘Cats love the water

    GCSU’s Swim Cats, the university’s swim club team, is a growing team with promising talent.
    For those who are not sure what the difference is between a club team and a normal team there isn’t much to be said. Just like a typical university team such as basketball or baseball, the Swim Cats swim club is also supported by the school, as well as the student body.
    The Swim Cats treasurer Rachel Zudekoff explained it.
    “Swim Cats is a club sport that allows anyone who wants to get in shape and compete against other college club teams to join,” Zudekoff said. “I feel we are different because we travel across the southeast and develop strong bonds with everyone on the team.”
    The Swim Cats, who were founded by Tammi Sheppard in 2004, have a 25 member team with 15 members who regularly practice and compete. This 25 member team swims all year from August to May, including swimming outdoors from August to October.
    The executive staff is made up of five Swim Cats members. The current president is Blaire Bachman, the vice president is Mimo Scholz, the treasurer is Zudekoff, Breanna Cleary is the secretary, and Charlotte Petonic deals with any public relations details of the team.
    “Our team is different because we are a growing team,” Bachman said. “Our goal is to gain more members each year and not just members but talented and committed members who have a love for the sport.”
    Zudekoff said the team has other goals too.
    “The goal every year is the same: to improve on your times, have fun and out swim competing teams,” she said. “We really want people to know that anyone can be a Swim Cat, there is commitment involved, but we have such a great time throughout the year. It’s just like gaining a whole new group of friends that become like family.”
    The Swim Cats practice five days a week, Monday through Thursday at 5:30 a.m., and then Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 4:30 p.m.
    “The practices in the morning are hard to get up for, but they start the day off great,” Zudekoff said. “The team is really close. We enjoy all our practices but hanging out as well.”
    At recent meets, the team has been performing at a high level for such a small competing team.
    “This season has been great; we have competed in nearly eight meets and placed in the top four of most, but due to our smaller size we have not been able to place in the top two,” Bachman said.
    The Swim Cats have competed against large university teams such as the University of Georgia, Georgia Tech, Elon University, the University of Tennessee, Florida State University, Ohio University, Indiana University and many more.
    “We’ve had more swimmers join than any season before,” Zudekoff said. “The freshmen that joined this year were amazing. At meets everyone is supportive and cheers for those in the water. Blaire Bachman, our president, loves this sport so much – she’s a great motivator and leader for this team.”
    The next and final meet of the season will be held at Georgia Southern University on April 19. Anyone interested in joining the Swim Cats can contact Bachman for more information.

Posted by Colonnade Archives on Apr 11 2008. Filed under Sports. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry