Nevada swimmers preparing for 2005 season

Nevada Lady Tiger swimmer Brittany Braucher does laps at the Hinkhouse Center at Cottey College during practice Thursday. Braucher is one of three returning swimmers from the 400-meter Freestyle Relay team that set a school record in 2004.

By Joe Warren

Nevada Herald

Practicing in the three-lane pool at Cottey College, the Nevada Lady Tiger swim team went through a normal routine Thursday.

Swim some laps. Rest. Swim some laps. Rest. That did that for about 3,000 yards before calling it a day.

Of course there was much more to it than just starting and stopping.

The swimmers did exercises while doing their laps. One set was done just using their legs while the upper body rested on a floating board. Another was done just using their upper body while their legs supported a floating device of their own.

Another couple sets of laps were done focusing on stamina.

That is the life of the high school swimmer. There is no substitute for spending time in the pool.

The Lady Tigers do their preparation under the watchful eye of sixth-year head coach Dave Ketterman.

He says the workout won't create any world champions, but that it does the job for the high school swimmers.

"For a novice swimmer it's a good workout," he said.

Swimming is as much as any sport in high school, divided between the haves and the have-nots.

Some schools are swimming powers, where the swim teams boast numbers in the 40s and 50s. Others struggle to put together a team, fighting for what's left after track gets their pick.

While Nevada is hardly a rag tag team, they are closer to the have-nots. Their modest 13-person squad will compete well against teams of similar stature. It's just impossible for a school like Nevada to try and compete with Glendales, Kickapoos and Parkviews of the world.

Don't sell the Lady Tigers short though, they have some swimmers that have been in the pool competitively for anywhere between four and six years.

The team has a good returning core of Deidre Stacy, Brittany Braucher, Laura Lovinger, Hannah Ketterman and Claire Hissink. There are also some talented newcomers in Kristen Badgley, Abby Ruddick, Emily Ricketts, Erin Quest, Bethany Brower, Kellie Cooper and Brandi Beach.

"We try to compete with people that are the same numbers as we have," Ketterman said.

That means Nevada can stand up to Carthage and Webb City in the pool.

The three teams make up the unsanctioned Southwest Conference and compete in a triangular at the season's end.

The Lady Tigers will look to make it three consecutive triangular championships in 2005.

They will start by competing at Carthage Tuesday, when they face off with Joplin and Lamar.