With only one school record holder returning and more than two-thirds of its roster made up of underclassmen, the Colorado College women's swimming and diving team might appear to have its hands full living up to precedents established under head coach Anne Goodman James. That is, at least, to someone unfamiliar with the program. 

During the last three seasons, a new set of expectations have led to some impressive accomplishments, including school records set multiple times in nine events and 18 podium appearances at the 2009 Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference championships alone.

The two most important expectations, however, are that the Big Cats will work extremely hard during the first two thirds of the season and that they'll see some amazing time drops at the end of the year for swimmers with varying levels of experience.

“We've seen it across the board,” Goodman James said. “Even our higher-level kids got huge drops.”

That's one of exciting things about Division III swimming and diving.

“Every year we have people who have been swimming year-round, age-group swimming since they were six, people who never swam before high school and everything in between,” Goodman James said. “You get the chance to really develop swimmers, not just take someone who is already at a high level and make them a little better.”

A trio of senior captains – Jean Fryefield, Stephanie Locher and Karen Rasmussen – will provide leadership and be a constant reminder to their young teammates of the kind of results that can be expected over the course of the season and throughout a career.

Rasmussen posted the team's top time in the 200-yard breaststroke last season and is less than six seconds away from Allison Dauble's school record of 2:27.89 that has stood since 2002.

Fryefield has the most experience in the sprints and will play an important role in the medley relays, especially early in the season. Locher's strength is in the backstroke and keeping her teammates all on the same page.

“Karen will be our leader in the breaststroke events,” Goodman James said. “Jean is not somebody who's going to make top-eight at the conference meet, but she's certainly a factor in our relays, and Stephanie is a great team-building person and a supporter throughout the program.”

While the Tigers don't presently have a dominating swimmer like Emily Stumhofer, who graduated last year as the owner of five individual and two shared relay records, a new wave of talent is ready to continue the assault on the Schlessman Natatorium record board.

Sophomore Carrie Markel made a statement that she would be a force in the distance events when she set a school record in the 500 freestyle last season, knocking 6.07 seconds off Leanne Dalton's record from 2006 with a time of 5.14.61 in the preliminaries at the SCAC championships.

“Carrie is certainly going to be a standout,” Goodman James said. “She has her eyes set on the two distance records, the 1,000 free and the mile, and I think those are very much within her reach.”

Two other sophomores – Whitney Petersen and Andrea Tukan – joined Markel on the record board in relay events. All three share the record in the 800 free relay, while Markel and Petersen were part of the record-setting effort in the 400 medley relay.

Petersen had the team's best time in the 100 backstroke and is within .64 seconds of Stumhofer's school record of 1:01.70, and Tukan is going to be a leader in the freestyle events with a year of experience under her belt.

“All three have only scratched the surface of their potential,” said Goodman James.

The team's success will likely depend on how the newcomers adjust to competing at the collegiate level. But there are three very talented women coming in who have the potential to find themselves on the record board at some point during their careers.

Mindy Stinchfield gives the Tigers a legitimate threat in the freestyle sprints, while Julia Rubenstein excels in the butterfly events. Each should have a positive impact in the relays.

“Mindy is going to be a difference maker in the sprint freestyle,” Goodman James said. “Within the first couple of years we'll see her at the NCAAs.

“Julia is a great addition in the butterfly events and I can certainly see her getting her name on the record board, too.”

Diving should be one of team's strengths, as freshman Nicole Fazio joins a trio of veterans in Jillian Bradbury, Brittany Moore and Andy Wang.

“Nicole is somebody to keep an eye on,” Goodman James said of Fazio. “She's very talented and has a real solid list on both boards. She could very conceivably make the NCAA cuts. Whether she is selected, it's way too early to tell. But she'll at least make the standard.”

The 2009 season begins on Oct. 31 with a home meet against Mesa State College, the first of six dual meets that will give everyone a chance to test the winters.

The Tigers will train in Southern California during half block and finish the trip by competing in the California Lutheran Relays on Jan. 13.

Nine days later, CC plays host to the three-day Colorado College Classic. There the Tigers will get their first true glimpse at what kind of times they can expect as they begin gearing up for the SCAC Championships Feb. 17-20 at the University of Louisville's Ralph Wright Natatorium.

“We gear up for the CC Classic mentally, but we don't cut back our training at all,” Goodman James said. “That's sort of the culmination of the hard part of our training.

“They are usually swimming tired at that meet, but for some reason, they typically swim very well there. There's a little drop in times, then we go into the tapering and get those next big drops.”

The big drops occur when the team tapers, goes down in altitude and gets to compete at a state-of-the-art facility.

“We'll be in another good facility this year at the University of Louisville,” said Goodman James about the conference championships. “It's probably at an equal level as last year as far as being a fast pool and providing the opportunity to swim the kind of time it's going to take to get into the NCAAs.”

And that is the ultimate goal for the program, getting swimmers on the podium at the conference championships and a spot at the national championships. And if the young Tigers have any doubt whether the training is worth the effort, all they have to do is look at what their teammates accomplished the last three years.

“It's momentum. It's confidence,” Goodman James said. “It just instills in our swimmers that the kind of work that we do pays off.”