Elizabethtown College’s winter athletes are preparing for their upcoming season. The swim team and basketball team coaches gave insight on their goals and expectations for their athletes.
Head swim coach Mark Wilson has been coaching at Etown for six years. The swim team performed well in their 2015-2016 season, finishing sixth overall in the Landmark Conference.
“Our goal as coaches is to have a successful season, win meets, and have our athletes achieve their best times,” Wilson explained.
The swim team kicked off their season winning their first two meets, both hosted at the Alumni Pool. Saturday, Oct. 28, Etown beat Goucher College 191-169. The men’s and women’s teams also won their meet Saturday, Nov. 4 138-65 against Gallaudet University.
Wilson enjoys coaching at Etown and working with the Blue Jay athletes. “All the swimmers have great potential,” Wilson said. “We had two freshmen win medals at Landmark Conferences, [last season].” Last year, the team had multiple program records broken.
Wilson says that the most challenging meets this season will be against University of Scranton, Susquehanna University and Catholic University.
Wilson’s best advice to the swim team is to “fight for every inch of water [and] never give up. “If you don’t sacrifice for what you want, what you want becomes the sacrifice,” he said. Wilson is looking forward to another successful season with the team.
Veronica Nolt has been working with Blue Jay’s women’s basketball team since 2012. In 2016, Nolt was promoted to head coach. She has also served as the top coaching assistant and co-head coach.
Nolt advises her team to “be relentless in the pursuit of excellence in everything we do both on and off the court,” she said.
“Our goals for the season include bringing our best effort and energy each day, as well as improving collectively and individually for the good of the team,” Nolt said.
She also wants her athletes to improve as well-rounded people. “We want to make those around us better as people and as players,” she said.
The women’s basketball team have tough games in their winter season. But Nolt deems that the team has strong players from last season, as well as some aspiring athletes. “Our team is working to get the right chemistry on the court so that we can capitalize on the strengths we possess,” she explained.
Nolt remarks that the team is tight-knit. “I look forward to seeing their chemistry on the court grow as a result of that,” Nolt added.
Last year, “our strength of schedule in NCAA Division III was ranked 20th in the century,” Nolt explained. She says that the team has to bring their best efforts.
The women’s basketball team has a tough schedule ahead of them this season, “so our team has to come ready to play every game,” Nolt said.
Come support the Etown athletes in their upcoming sporting events. The swim team competes in its first away meet of the season Saturday, Nov. 11 at Catholic beginning at 1 p.m. The women’s basketball team makes its season debut on the road Wednesday, Nov. 15 against Haverford College at 6 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 11, the team will compete in the Terry-Greene Tip-Off Classic Tournament in Lancaster.
