Adversity has plagued the NIU women’s swimming and diving team so far this season, despite its current record of 3-1.

“Although we are 3-1,” coach Mike Burt said, “I was hoping to see a little better swimming to date.”

A reason for the slower times of the swimmers is because the first obstacle the team had to face was the fact that Anderson Pool was not ready for the team to practice in as soon as they had anticipated. Another hurdle for the swimmers is the virus spreading around the NIU campus, which has kept four of the members out of the water.

“We are struggling a little bit right now,” Burt said, “due to the fact that we didn’t get enough practice and we caught the infamous NIU virus.”

The Huskies have managed to notch dual-meet wins over Western Illinois University, the University of Northern Iowa and the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay. Their only loss came at the hands of Illinois State University.

The team has been relying on its’ seniors for leadership, yet it has a lot of inexperience.

“We are a very young team,” Burt said. “60 to 70 percent of our members are sophomores or younger.”

The squad’s best swimmer and one of the senior captains, Jenny Wendell has led the team so far. Wendell came up with three blue ribbons in the Illinois State loss. She won the 200-yard individual medley plus 100 and 200-yard breaststroke.

“She (Wendell) swims a lot of different events,” Burt said. “At this point, she is well ahead of where she was last year.”

Freshman diver Donna Gluth has been a plus for the team. Gluth came up with first-place showings on both the one and three- meter boards against UNI and UW-GB, along with a three-meter victory against ISU. Freshmen Kim Runyan, Mary Beth Dragas and backstroker Kristen Scholtz have helped alleviate some of the pain for Burt.

“They are making fast progress,” Burt said. “She (Gluth) has been a surprise—on the good side.”

The Huskies swim at the University of Wisconsin in a 7 p.m. meet on Wednesday, then they come home to host the University of Missouri in a Friday contest at 5 p.m.

“Wisconsin has a good facility, so I look to see quicker times from our people if their confidence level is up and the nervousness is down,” Burt said. “Missouri will be our fourth meet in eight days and will be a tough team. Being at home will be a definite benefit.”

Burt said the win-loss record is not important for the team, as long as it continues to improve for the upcomng Midwest Independent Conference Championships.

“We had a rough start, but we’re making a lot of progress,” Burt said. “At times, I’m a little disappointed, but I have all the confidence in the world that the efforts they are putting forth will pay off for us in four months. People won’t be able to recognize us.”