There are high expectations for the men’s and women’s swimming team this season. Head coach Sigitas “Siggy” Rudokas hopes the team at least finishes in the top three. “The team is much stronger than last year,” said Rudokas. “I hope the team will be in the top 3 of the best teams in the men’s and women’s category. If everything goes well, I think we can be.”
Rudokas has had an illustrious life in the world of swimming as he won the USSR National Championship at age 16, earning himself a spot on the national team. Rudokas was ranked top 10 in Europe and in the world in the 200 meter breath stroke, winning national titles and breaking Lithuanian records along the way.
While Rudokas has high hopes for this season, he admits the team has had some problems, mostly due to new requirements in sports medicine. “Sports medicine requirements have become a big problem,” he said. “They cause for there to be a lot of tests and sometimes kids don’t have the insurance, or don’t want to pay the money for these tests and we end up losing good swimmers,” he said. The tests include blood tests to check out the sickle cells of the swimmers.
While Rudokas admits there are some problems, he thinks the future will be right. “We’re not in bad shape for the beginning of the season,” Rudokas said. “After the new year we’ll have some really good swimmers.”
Rudokas will rely heavily on his captains throughout the season. For the men, their captain is senior Stephen Paul who specializes in the breast stroke, while the women’s captain is junior Christa Foerschner who specializes in the freestyle and back stroke. “I have a lot of responsibility,” said Foerschner. “Coach helps us during practice, but I have to be on a personal level with the girls. There is a lot of bonding and I have to make sure everyone is happy and does what they need to do.”
Much like Rudokas, Foerschner knows that there team has taken a step up from last year. “Compared to last year, we have a lot more swimmers and are way more experienced,” she said. “We’ll do a lot better than we did last year. We have a lot of diversity with international students on our team. It helps everyone improve.”
Rudokas thinks that recruiting diverse students is a huge step in the process of his team getting better. “Our main job is to recruit good players,” he said. “Our team is from many countries and we hope to get support from Europe next year.”
Swimming has been a part of Rudokas’ life since he was a little kid. “The coach has a lot of experience,” Foerschner said. “His life has been swimming he knows what everyone needs to do.”