A Welcome Debut
11/5/2009 12:00:00 AM | Swimming & Diving
Nov. 5, 2009
By MOISEKAPENDA BOWER
The bright sunlight that splashed the Rice Aquatic Center this week caused eyes to squint and skin to tingle, but it was glorious nonetheless.
Of the myriad benefits the Owls will experience by relocating to the Gibbs Recreation Center, the most appreciated was the freedom to wear two-piece swimming suits that produce those enviably chic tan lines. The aesthetic grandeur of the Rice Aquatic Center goes without saying, but the chance to look good while working requires acknowledgement.
"So far the pool has been great. We all really love training outdoors," Owls junior breaststroke specialist Ashten Ackerman said of the Owls' long-awaited move to the Rice Aquatic Center on Monday. "It's great to not be in six lanes and to be able to spread out (into eight lanes). We used to have to put four girls in a lane; now we can have two people in the lane and we're not hitting each other in practices anymore.
"We've been able to go back and forth between the different sides, so we're getting to work on all the different walls on the bulkhead. The depth of the pool seems to be about right, and we're all getting used to it. We're getting our tans going with our two-piece suits, and loving having a locker room right off the pool."
The Gibbs Recreation Center staff has a few bugs to work out before the Owls host the Inaugural Rice Aquatic Center Invitational this weekend, but the issues with flag and bleacher placement and touchpad size pales in comparison to everything the women's swimming program gained with the move. The advantages are both tangible and intangible, from the anticipated boost in recruiting and that which comes with hosting national-level events during the offseason, to the psychological aid of training outdoors in pristine conditions and before curious onlookers. For years the Owls were holed up in their Autry Court pool, so in many ways this week represented a reintroduction for a forgotten program.
"Now it's scenic," Ackerman said. "We not up in that little box clogged up by the chlorine - we can all breathe. It's really nice because we have people commenting on us having practice all the time; people are a lot more aware of our sport now. The fact that we have lanes open to students all the time, even when we're practicing, makes it to where it feels like the swim team is not trying to alienate everyone."
Added Rice swimming coach Seth Huston: "For the most part I look forward to going to practice, and I can only speak for myself, but I've really looked forward to (practice this week) especially with the weather the way it is. You just really look forward to getting to stand out here with the breeze blowing on you and the sun shining on you and the big, blue water and this big, glorious pool. It's really neat to come walking in and say, `Yeah, this is really ours,' after being (at Autry Court) for so long and waiting and waiting and waiting. It's quite a treat."
The Rice Aquatic Center Invitational, featuring men's and women's teams from Incarnate Word and New Orleans, is the lone meet Rice will host this season and marks the first step in maximizing the Rice Aquatic Center. The 50-meter pool has drawn raves from masters and age-group teams that utilize the facility, and this weekend's event will serve to showcase the Rice Aquatic Center to other collegiate programs. Huston had trouble convincing teams to swim at the old recreation center pool, but once word of mouth spreads following this event, he expects those issues to remain in the distant past. Evidence suggests that he is right.
The Rice Aquatic Center features deep water, wide lanes, ample buffer for wave reduction and sizable gutters, precisely what elite swimmers crave. Rice will host a masters meet here in the spring, and USA Swimming will conduct an age-group meet here next summer. Huston has fielded an inquiry to host an elite swim camp on campus in 2011.
Huston's ultimate goal is to host one dual meet at the Rice Aquatic Center every season plus an annual late-October fall invitational featuring three to five teams of similar national standing. Conference USA rivals SMU and Tulane have expressed interest in competing, and their presence should spark greater interest among other regional foes.
But, as Huston noted, `this weekend will get it started.' By the time they take the pool on Friday, the Owls will have examined every nook and cranny of their new home and will be eager to proudly put it on display. They will emerge from their locker rooms sporting reflective goggles to combat sunny skies with a throng of supporters admiring this campus jewel. What fans won't see are those tans the Owls worked to perfect.
"Since before I was a freshman I've heard that we were getting a new pool," Owls senior breaststroke specialist Pam Zelnick said. "Actually getting to be here for the first meet in the new pool feels like a momentous event. I'm really excited."
Players Mentioned
