Feb. 3, 2011
COLLEGE PARK, Md. -
When seniors Annie Fittin and Mitch Challacombe arrived to College Park in 2007, the Maryland swimming and diving program had a different identity than it does these days.
It wasn't that the program wasn't successful. Both teams had recently landed swimmers in the NCAA Championships and competed at a high level at the Atlantic Coast Conference Championships. But after an effective 12-year run as head coach, Jim Wenhold retired in 2005, kicking off a three-year span which saw a multitude of turnover and uncertainty.
"We lost our coach the first day on campus and had to deal with obstacles of having an interim coach my freshman year," Fittin said. "We didn't know what the future held for us...it was a shaky year."
Sean Schimmel was hired by the University of Maryland following the 2007-08 season and has worked tirelessly to build a sturdy, hard-working program ever since.
"When Sean came in - we had a sigh of relief," Fittin, an All-American in 2010, said. "He assured us that he was always going to be there for us. He had a plan to make Maryland a great team. Everyone bought into that. Immediately, people picked up their work ethic and commitment and that changed the dynamic of the team as a whole. From then on, our girls' team tried to excel inside and outside of the pool. We've really moved forward."
The Maryland women's program has grown exponentially in Schimmel's three seasons at the helm. The Terps landed in the top 25 last year at the NCAA Championships and have begun their assault on the ACC as well, climbing from fifth place to fourth in 2010. The men's team is also progressing - slowly but surely - into a championship-caliber squad.
"When Sean came in he had to be a bit of a disciplinarian. He moved the team, as far as the culture and the people on it, in a direction that he wanted it to go," Challacombe said. "The girls' team has made huge strides and gotten a lot better. It's taken the guys a little bit longer. We are still not where we'd like to be, but he has a lot of pieces in place to move the program where he wants it in the next couple years."
Fittin and Challacombe are two shining examples of Schimmel's plan as part of this year's nine-member senior class, joining Jessalyn Crawford, Blair Cross, Montana Puente, Stephanie Parker, Myles Poster, Roger Dent and Matt Gruszecki. The group will honored Saturday on Senior Day as the Terps wrap up the regular season against Georgetown. Combined, Fittin and Challacombe are part of 13 school-records.
"I didn't expect to do those things," Challacombe, who owns the 100 back record along with being part of record-breaking 200 free, 400 free, 200 medley and 400 medley relays, said. "I really credit Sean. When he got here, I really changed from being just one of the guys to someone that made a difference.
"The main reason for that is the training worked for me. He gave me a work load that I could handle. He gave me great stuff - stuff that made me more powerful in the water. My sophomore year, my first year with Sean, when I started dropping times and getting those kind of results and got the record, I was really shocked, but very excited."
Fittin is so enthralled with the program that she convinced her siblings to join the Terps as well. Her brother, Peter, is a freshman this season and her younger sister, Carolyn, is set to join the squad beginning next fall.
"I have nothing but positive things to say," the senior from Sea Girt, N.J., said. "I'm a huge fan of the Maryland swimming and diving program."
With a promising teaching career in the future, Fittin, an eight-time school-record holder, is focusing on a successful final trip to the ACC Championship as well as a third consecutive trip to the NCAA Championships.
"Honestly I want to leave no regrets in the pool," she said. "I want to give everything I can and go out on a positive note. My favorite saying is `Try your hardest and that's all that matters.' It's kind of corny, but it's the words I live by."
When the senior class of 2011 is honored on Saturday, it will be a bittersweet moment not only for the group but also for the man who helped mold each student-athlete into the final product fans witness today.
"I am really grateful for the men and the women in our senior class," Schimmel said. "Coming in here, I had real conviction on how I saw the program developing and my vision to bring us to the top of the ACCs.
"There were certainly some high standards that I was holding our team up to. The senior class really had to buy into that. They helped lead the way in helping that progress. It's not like it was smooth in the beginning by any means. Those guys and girls buying into it have helped paved the way to where we are now even with a long way to go."
Following Senior Day Saturday, Maryland will travel to Atlanta for the ACC Women's Swimming and Diving Championships (Feb. 16-19). The men compete Feb. 23-26.
