University of Minnesota Athletics
Answer the Call
9/28/2015 12:00:00 AM | Men's Swimming & Diving
Coming off a sixth-place finish at the 2015 Big Ten Championships, the Minnesota men welcome a freshmen class that is hungry. The 11-man rookie team includes ten swimmers and one diver. At its core are three sprinters: Bowe Becker, Hunter Doerr and James Tidd.
Their strength has earned the Gophers' recruiting class a listing among the top in the nation for the first time in recent years by SwimSwam.com.
"This trio of young men are going to be a nucleus for our sprint program in the years to come," head coach Kelly Kremer said. "I'm really excited about our sprint program right now."
Doerr and Tidd come to Minnesota with 50-yard freestyle bests of 20.28, with Becker at a 20.49. At the 100-yard freestyle mark, Tidd's top time sits at a 44.80, followed by Becker's 45.40 and Hunter at a 46.04.
"Training has been much more vigorous than my high school, and I know I am getting a lot out of it," Doerr said. "I've already been the fastest during training than I've ever been."
Minnesota is no stranger to sprinters. In 2014, Derek Toomey became the fastest 50-yard freestyle swimmer in the history of the Big Ten Conference after breaking under 19 seconds for an 18.95 to lead-off the Gophers' 200-yard freestyle relay at the NCAA meet. The previous record was a 19.05 held by Toomey and former Gopher Michael Richards. Historically, the Gopher men have snagged the most individual Big Ten Champions in the 50-yard freestyle (12), followed by 10 titles in the 200-yard freestyle relay and 11 in the 400-yard freestyle relay.
With double the points available in relays, the three agreed it's a big focus at Minnesota right now to build in that area. Additionally, just one relay having each leg swim over 100-yards, the sprint-centered focus calls for a strong core with freestyle speed in order to score - and to win championships.
"My goals revolve solely around the relays," Doerr said. "I hope to gain a spot on the sprint relays, and everything I can to make my other teammates better, so our relays can be stronger".
A current staple to Minnesota's relays has been Daryl Turner, who was a member of the 200 free relay, 400 free relay, 200 medley relay and 400 medley relay at the 2015 Big Ten Championships. Now entering his junior year, Turner comes in holding the squad's top times in four individual events: 50-yard free (19.83), 100-yard free (43.19), 100-yard backstroke (46.85) and 100-yard butterfly (46.52).
"Being able to race guys like Daryl Turner and Paul Fair in practice has been a big help," Tidd said. "They're putting in the work and are there to race."
Kremer shared his excitement in the improvement he's seen from returning Gophers sprinters, noting growth from the likes of juniors Paul Fair and Noah Busch, who Kremer feels are truly leading by example.
"The quality of effort that I am seeing in their swimming, the detail work, is on another level now," Kremer said. "I can't say enough good things about [Fair] and [Busch]."
Busch posted four personal bests so far in 2015, was voted "Hardest Worker" by his teammates last season, and tabbed a supportive force by Doerr and Tidd. Like Busch, Tidd is a Minnesota-native who believes Busch's help throughout the summer has helped prepare him for this season, while Doerr has begun rely on Busch in tough practices.
"Noah Busch has been really supportive of my training," Doerr said. "We did a standup set against each other - there's no one better to be next to."
In addition to Busch, assistant coach Gideon Louw brings comfortability to the rookies. Louw, a 2009 graduate from Auburn, holds two NCAA records in the sprint relays. He also boasts the 2008 and 2012 Olympic Games on his resume, as a sprinter for South Africa. In his second season at Minnesota, Louw is known for creating challenging breathing sets.
"Having a coach with [Louw's] background is really reassuring," Becker said. "You know that he's got the experience to train and get to that level - no matter what he asks of you, you trust him".
Through training so far this year, the team has been centered on "answer the call" - a phrase and theme that fits for a team looking to build and improve.
"The 'call' for me is goals," Doerr said. "I want to answer our goals with success. Putting in the work, scoring those points and getting us to March."
Becker added that there's work to be done in the season ahead, but feels the young team will have the chance to do a lot of damage by spring.
Becker, Doerr and Tidd will make their collegiate debut this Saturday, Oct. 3 as the Golden Gophers travel to Tallahassee, Florida, to open their season against the Florida State Seminoles.
"I can't wait to get in the water, explode off the blocks and show them what I can do," Becker said. "I was given the opportunity to swim with the `M' cap, and I am ready to get started."
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