Diving in with Jake Butler and Jordan McGinty

Under the Surface with Jake

Major: considering Psychology
Favorite hobby (outside of sports): skateboarding
Favorite musical artist: Metallica
Favorite TV show/movie: Lone Survivor
Favorite meal: steak and potatoes
Favorite superhero: Superman
Strangest talent: juggling
Biggest fear: small spaces
Describe self in three words: introverted, funny, loud
Person you'd most like to meet: Ashton Kutcher
This year's Halloween costume: Frank Gallagher (from Shameless)
Dream vacation spot: Bali
Sport you'd like to try but never have: cricket

Under the Surface with Jordan

Major: Finance (International Business minor)
Favorite hobby (outside of sports): boating
Favorite musical artist: Juice Wrld
Favorite TV show/movie: Gossip Girl or 90210
Favorite meal: French toast
Favorite superhero: The Hulk
Biggest fear: snakes
Describe self in three words: dedicated, outgoing, hardworking
Person you'd most like to meet: Caeleb Dressel
Dream vacation spot: Australia
Sport you'd like to try but never have: hockey

With the 2019-20 swimming and diving season now underway, GopherSports.com continues to sit down which each of Minnesota's 24 newcomers in order to get to know them better as the Gophers progress through the present campaign.

This week's Q&A features two freshmen that have jumpstarted their U of M careers with a bang: Jake Butler and Jordan McGinty.

Butler has already been named the Big Ten Diver of the Week following his performance in the team's season-opening dual against Florida. Against the Gators, Butler swept the diving events while also posting NCAA Diving Zone qualifying scores in both the one-meter and three-meter.

McGinty also shined in the Florida dual, swimming her way to a first place finish in the 200 free. During her days at Wayzata High School (Minn.), McGinty was a four-time All-American and a 27-time USA Swimming State Champion.

GopherSports: Why did you choose to attend the University of Minnesota?
Butler: "Sarah Bacon and I used to be teammates and she's been a big influence on my diving career. I've learned a lot from her. My coach worked pretty closely with Wenbo [Chen] back when there was a National Training Center for diving, so I heard lots of good things about him. I just like the atmosphere here."
McGinty: "One of the big reasons was the team, the coaches and the atmosphere. What they're trying to promote, I really felt like I would fit in here. Also, the Carlson School of Management is well known and I'm studying business. Academics is really strong here."

GS: When did you first start swimming/diving and when did you know that you wanted to compete collegiately?
Butler: "I started diving after the 2012 Olympic Games, because I was coming out of football with a hand injury. I was winning my Junior National meet in 2015 and then I failed a dive. That really pushed me to be great, to be better. That's when I realized that I wanted to pursue this."
McGinty: "I started swimming club when I was eight, year-round. When I was 9-12, I came to swim camps here at the U. My counselors were the college athletes. After seeing how much fun they had when they were swimming, that's when I knew the U of M was where I wanted to go."

GS: What has been the biggest element of the transition to college for you?
Butler: "Classes are the toughest – self-motivation to get up. Coming out of online school, getting up and having to go to the classes and sit for hours at a time is the toughest thing for me."
McGinty: "Just making sure that I make enough time to get everything done. Just being a swimmer throughout the years has helped with time management, so I feel like I'm pretty good at that, but now I'm doing everything on my own. I have to do laundry by myself. All the little things that adults have to do, finding time to do those."

GS: What would you say is your biggest strength in the pool and what is one thing you're hoping to improve this year?
Butler: "My biggest strength is probably my physical strength, honestly. I hope to maybe win NCAAs, Big Tens this year. As a freshman, I think that would be pretty cool. My end goal is the 2024 Olympic Games. It's what I think about every day at practice. Getting there. Doing what I have to do to get there."
McGinty: "My biggest strengths are freestyle and my starts, which is something that I've worked on a lot with my coaches in the past. I think with the coaches here, I can improve on that even more, as well as all the other strokes. Also, mental preparation because now I have access to all these new resources."

GS: What is the most memorable moment of your career?
Butler: "My biggest moment was probably finaling at Senior Nationals – my first time ever at Senior Nationals. I was up against some Olympians and I almost beat one of them. It was pretty insane. It was just a very pumped-up moment. My family flew out to watch for the last day of finals, so it was pretty special."
McGinty: "NCSAs, two years ago. It's a national club meet. It was the 400 medley relay and we ended up winning it. That was a really big deal for my team, because I come from a smaller team compared to a lot of these other clubs. The teamwork and all of the motivation we had going into it, I had a lot of fun at that meet and I think that helped a lot, too."

GS: Who has been your biggest mentor or inspiration throughout your career?
Butler: "Sarah Bacon. She's tough on me. We butt heads a lot, but she's always been there for me. She's just a great influencer and makes we want to work hard, do better and be better.
McGinty: "My club coach, Kate Lundsten, for Aquajets Swim Team. She has been my biggest inspiration because she has been my coach since I was 12 and she's always believed in me. She's always pushed me to my max every day. Coming here, she definitely got me to where I am."

GS: Do you have any pre-meet rituals?
Butler: "Every time my dad is at a meet with me, he'll cook me an egg and cheese burrito. Super good. Every morning, before my meet, no matter how early."
McGinty: "Not really. I'm pretty outgoing, but as it gets closer to the race, I get very excited and anxious to swim. I just try to calm myself down beforehand and I get a little quieter as it gets closer to my race."

GS: You had an impressive debut performance in the season-opening meet against Florida. What was that like?
Butler: "It was pretty eye-opening to the fact that my work here in these first seven weeks has already started to show and pay off."
McGinty: "It was really exciting. First, because I was trying to do everything that I could for the team, because in the end, it is a team sport. Also, seeing the times I'm at right now, they're already right with my best times. That's just really exciting to see. The training is already working. I'm excited to see where it takes me individually, as well as our team as a whole in the end."

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Players Mentioned

Sarah Bacon

Jake Butler

Jordan McGinty