With just five seniors on a squad of 33 athletes, Becker Bulldog swim/dive Head Coach Tina Tamm will be relying on youth as her team hits the pool for the upcoming 2015 season.
Tamm is entering her 17th season as head coach at Becker. She is joined by her usual staff of assistants including April Greene and Kayla McCall with Cadie Pappenfus acting as the team’s student manager.
Tamm’s 400 freestyle swimmers (Andrea Molus, Jade Erson, Emma Lefebvre and Macy Erson) qualified for sections last year and all but Jade Erson will return this year. Molus and Lefebvre are seniors and Macy Erson is a junior. The foursome shaved nearly four seconds off their best time, but missed qualifying for state when they finished in fourth place.
Tamm’s 200 medley relay team of junior Maddie Thorn, sophomores Jalissa Johnson, Emily Lipinski and Melody Swanson dropped 22 seconds and finished ninth at last year’s sections. The 200 relay team of Jade Erson, junior Nicole Larrison, Macy Erson and Molus finished fifth.
Ninth-grader Emi Quill and senior Emily Skelton placed 10th and 16th in diving.
Tamm will be looking for more of the same from her girls this year as the program continues to improve under her tutelage. She’s also proud of how well her kids do in academics.
“The expectations I have for my girls is for them to always perform at their best ability, whether it's in the classroom or the pool,” said Tamm. “As for behavior - I have a great group and don't have many behavior issues but the expectations are still high - they represent the team.”
Tamm is especially pleased when her girls give their all, whether their swimming or diving talent is in par with others or not. When considering who to swim each year, Tamm has to consider more than just the kids’ grades, skill set and athletic ability.
“Effort is always a factor,” she says. “Every coach likes athletes who work hard and put in a 110% effort.”
Tamm and her associates also have to consider attitudes from the players as well as their loved ones, who are always looking out for the best for their own daughters.
“Swimming is a different kind of sport,” Tamm says.
“There are 12 different events during the meet, so the girls get moved around from meet to meet.”
Tamm says she annually explains this situation to the parents and athletes that this will happen.
“Every one of my girls will participate in every meet,” Tamm says. “Their ability and effort will determine what events those are.”
Tamm has seven seventh-graders, five eighth-graders, five freshman, seven sophomores, four juniors to go along with her five seniors on the roster.
Look for Molus to shine in her final season in the 200 freestyle, 500 freestyle and relay teams. Lefebvre is primed to compete against the best in the area in the 200 and 100 backstroke and Macy Erson should turn some heads when she hits the pool in the 50 and 100 freestyle events, as well as the relays.
The team roster includes: Alana Berger, Sophia Diaz, Alexis Drehmel, Hailey Ericksson, Macy Erson, Kamryn Gass, Melanie Gilles, Vanessa Gilles, Abby Hendrickson, Jalissa Johnson, Laura Johnson, Morgan Kappel, Nicole Larrison, Emma Lefebvre, Emily Lipinski, Andrea Molus, Cadie Pappenfus, Emily Quill, Madison Ratz, Piper Romfo, Allison Sanderson, Sarah Schmidt, Cecelia Schmitz, Morgan Schrader, Emily Skelton, Angelle Spaeth, Shelby Steffen, Melody Swanson, Avery Tamm, Makenna Thelen, Maddie Thorn, Ailee Titcomb and Monica Zimmerman.
The schedule is as follows: Sept. 8 at Foley; Sept. 17 at home versus Ogilvie/Mora; Sept. 24 at home versus Milaca; Sept. 26 at Milaca; Oct. 1 at St. John’s; Oct. 3 at Sauk Rapids-Rice; Oct. 6 at home versus Albany; Oct. 19 at Holdingford; Oct. 22 at Little Falls; Oct. 27 at Big Lake; Oct. 31 at home versus Albany.
