Alexa Martin, contributor

Augsburg Swim and Dive team is jumping headfirst into the season with their first home meet in the team’s history on Oct 24th. The Auggies went up against Carthage, Carleton, St. Olaf and St. Johns teams in the Auggies home pool, the Jean Freeman Aquatic Center at the University of Minnesota. 

“I think the team felt more honored than I was,” said Augsburg Swim and Dive head coach Lindsey Mikkelson in correspondence with the Echo. “I was just excited to have the competition, and it’s nice to have an invitation from us instead of us traveling somewhere else. We literally are across the river and we could do whatever we wanted for our meet. We could choose the event line up, how many breaks we wanted, choose the officials; It was something that we owned, and it was nice to have that opportunity. The team itself felt honored to have a home meet. Not having our own facility is hard but renting a facility that is best in the state, we will go with that. We are happy with that.”

The Auggies team is a small one, with a total of 13 swimmers and divers on the roster and the average being 20. This in itself is a challenge when going up against teams with larger numbers. Yet Mikkelson, who describes the team as being “ambitious,” has full confidence in them. “I think they are more driven,” she said. “Not only are we getting members but we are also getting talent. We are going to be more competitive in the coming years. This season is to improve on all of our best times whether it’s personal or relay,” Mikkelson said of her goals and excitements for this season. “Looking at the record books it would be nice to wipe some of those off there this season.”  It sounds like though this team may be small, they are mighty. 

It is an exciting time for Augsburg Swim and Dive Team as new members and returners come together to push each other to do better day in and day out. Keep an eye on the Augsburg Swim and Dive Team this year because it sounds like this will be an exciting year for the team with new heights being reached each time they step up to the block or diving board. The next time they return to the pool will be on Nov 13th in a dual meet against Southwest Minnesota State University.