Last updated on Nov. 23, 2025 at 07:09 p.m.
Swim & dive isn’t a traditional team sport. In most events, athletes compete individually and are scored separately. But according to competitors on the Illinois swim & dive team, it doesn’t matter if they are in the water by themselves — every single person on the team contributes to its success.
After placing 13th at the 2025 Big Ten Conference championships, the swim & dive program is prepared to return to the circuit. Its first home meet was the House of Paign Invite on Friday and Saturday, held at the ARC.
Alexis Wendel, senior butterfly and backstroke swimmer, is excited to see the group’s camaraderie and focus on the transition into a new season.
“I think we grew a lot as a team, both with the depth we had and then also the team culture,” Wendel said. “We all really rallied together, and I’m really excited to see that translate into results.”
According to Wendel, the team had a meeting at the beginning of the season to focus on its three major goals: protecting the house (winning every home meet), getting people to the NCAA championships and moving up in the ranks.
Individually, team members like junior diver Bethany Mercer expressed a desire to expand upon the foundations built in previous seasons. Mercer said she’s reached NCAA Diving Zones, the diving qualifying meet, for the past few years, but ends up feeling burnt out by that point in the season.
“I would really like to push myself and try to make it to (the) NCAA (championships) this year,” Mercer said. “I’d like to just keep the same mindset that I have in the beginning of the year at the end of the year.”
Last season, the swim & dive team won four of its five home meets and set 17 school records, 133 personal best times and 72 top-10 times.
“Aside from athletics, we’re also very dedicated to academics and community outreach,” Mercer said. “We’re dedicated … not just to swimming and diving, just to our lives all around.”
According to the College Swimming & Diving Coaches Association of America’s GPA rankings from the spring semester, the Illinois swim & dive team placed first in the Big Ten conference and tied with Drexel, Bowling Green, Liberty and Northern Arizona for 18th in the nation.
In order to maintain both academic and athletic success, these athletes stressed the importance of time management with their rigorous schedules.
While this looks slightly different for swimmers and divers, both have 20-hour practice weeks and regularly compete. For divers, part of their weekly schedule includes a trip to Purdue’s practice platform.
The reward of this shared effort goes beyond individual scores, instead showing through the team’s performance as a whole.
“You’re never swimming for yourself … you’re swimming for the whole team,” said Sara Jass, senior individual medley/freestyle swimmer. “It’s always a team sport, even if it’s just me in the water.”
For Wendel, one of the most rewarding aspects of last season was her fellow team members’ support and motivation. Every athlete knows each other’s objectives and holds them accountable for reaching their goals.
“Even if someone is swimming an individual race, they really have the whole team swimming behind them,” Wendel said. “They’re not actually there, but really, the encouragement and dedication is pushing them forward.”
Despite the physical and mental demands of being a college athlete, swim & dive members consider simply being on the team an honor.
For Jass, Mercer and Wendel, not only did Illinois swim & dive introduce them to the competitiveness of the Big Ten, but it also introduced them to their coaches and teammates, who have since become family.
As she looks toward this year’s upcoming season, Wendel hopes to achieve both her individual and team goals while also enjoying her last year in the program.
“Happy swimmers are fast swimmers,” Wendel said. “Just appreciating every last moment and taking in the whole experience is really my goal for this season.”
