By Craig Morgan, thesundevils.com Writer
TEMPE, Ariz. -- Bob Bowman knew that building the Sun Devil swimming program into a national power would be a multi-step process, and yet he offered a remarkably self-deprecating admission at the first team meeting on Monday.
"I felt like my first year here, we didn't do anything well other than recruiting," he said. "We were just kind of struggling to put it together.
"Last year, we did another good job of recruiting but we also put the college season together well. We performed very well at Pac-12s and we were reasonable at NCAAs, but after that we kind of dropped the ball. I don't think we did a great job this summer. Even though some people were training, they weren't thinking the right way yet."
The right way of thinking, Bowman said, means viewing themselves as year-round swimmers, but not just year-round collegiate swimmers; year-round, world-class swimmers.
"I don't think they see themselves as being or doing that yet," Bowman said. "I think they thought 'we're a pretty good college team and we overachieved greatly' and then it was over. I had a few who stayed here and trained, but we didn't have the whole group."
Bowman blames himself for the drop-off. After a grueling schedule that included building the program and his job as the head coach of the men's 2016 U.S. Olympic Team, Bowman needed a break, so he took July and most of August off.
"I wasn't here pushing them," he said. "That's over now. From now on, they know that when they start, that process isn't over until the end of next summer."
Bowman is brimming with optimism as the 2017-18 season begins. Pac-12 Freshman of the Year Cameron Craig returns after winning conference titles in the 100 free and 200 free. Freshman Grant House is a six-time individual state champion, and a two-time NSCA National Champion (2014-16) out of Cincinnati. House was a 2016 Olympic trials qualifier and competed at the 2015 Junior World Championships, winning a gold medal in the 800 free relay. According to collegeswimming.com, he was the No. 4 recruit in the nation.
On the women's side, Florida Gulf Coast star and Finnish World Championship team member Fanny Teijonsalo transferred to ASU, and joins a talented freshman class that includes Indiana high school state champion freestyler Emma Nordin, Tennessee state champ Erica Laning and California section champ Nora Deleske.
Teijonsalo will join fellow Finnish star Silja Kansakoski, who was Arizona State's best swimmer last year as a freshman. Kansakoski won a Pac-12 title in the 100 breaststroke and scored in two events at the NCAA meet.
"The men showed tremendous improvement last year and the women are probably going to do that this year," Bowman said. "I'm very excited to see what our freshman women's class does because it's going to give quality depth not only that can compete at the top of the Pac-12 and really the NCAA, but gives us some numbers."
Diving coach Mark Bradshaw also likes his depth.
"From top to bottom, if this is not the best group I've had, it's close to it," Bradshaw said "We've added a real strong group on our women's side with three fantastic freshman."
For the men, sophomore Youssef Selim qualified for NCAAs last year in the 3-meter springboard and platform despite arriving mid-year. Senior David Hoffer qualified for finals in the 3-meter springboard at USA Diving Championships this month, finishing fifth. Bradshaw said Hoffer was tracking for big things last year but suffered a knee injury in a critical part of season.
On the women's side, senior Mara Aiacoboae won the Pac-12 title in the platform dive last year. Freshmen Sarah Bathe, Frida Kaellgren and Ashley McCool give the Sun Devils talented depth. Kaellgren's specialties are the 1-meter and 3-meter springboard. She competed in the European Junior Diving Championships in 2016, finishing seventh in the 1-meter and 12th in the 3-meter.
McCool was a member of the Canadian Junior National Team in 2015 and broke a Canadian national record, placing second in 3M synchronized diving at the 2016 Junior Nationals. In 2017, she placed second on the 1-meter and 3-meter and 7th on the platform at Canadian Nationals, and at the Canada Summer Games, she earned three medals with a gold (synchronized diving), silver (3-meter), and bronze (1-meter).
Bowman said the recruiting classes coming in are accustomed to swimming on an international level so it will ramp up the expectations for the program and heighten its sense of identity. ASU's men finished 14th at last year's NCAA meet; the women finished 29th.
"I'm trying to enjoy this gradual building process and I like taking ASU to places they haven't been before, but this year is a big step in putting all the things together," Bowman said. "Going forward, we're going to be top-10 teams and we're going to start thinking about what it takes to be top-5, top-3, top-1."
TEMPE, Ariz. -- Bob Bowman knew that building the Sun Devil swimming program into a national power would be a multi-step process, and yet he offered a remarkably self-deprecating admission at the first team meeting on Monday.
"I felt like my first year here, we didn't do anything well other than recruiting," he said. "We were just kind of struggling to put it together.
"Last year, we did another good job of recruiting but we also put the college season together well. We performed very well at Pac-12s and we were reasonable at NCAAs, but after that we kind of dropped the ball. I don't think we did a great job this summer. Even though some people were training, they weren't thinking the right way yet."
The right way of thinking, Bowman said, means viewing themselves as year-round swimmers, but not just year-round collegiate swimmers; year-round, world-class swimmers.
"I don't think they see themselves as being or doing that yet," Bowman said. "I think they thought 'we're a pretty good college team and we overachieved greatly' and then it was over. I had a few who stayed here and trained, but we didn't have the whole group."
Bowman blames himself for the drop-off. After a grueling schedule that included building the program and his job as the head coach of the men's 2016 U.S. Olympic Team, Bowman needed a break, so he took July and most of August off.
"I wasn't here pushing them," he said. "That's over now. From now on, they know that when they start, that process isn't over until the end of next summer."
Bowman is brimming with optimism as the 2017-18 season begins. Pac-12 Freshman of the Year Cameron Craig returns after winning conference titles in the 100 free and 200 free. Freshman Grant House is a six-time individual state champion, and a two-time NSCA National Champion (2014-16) out of Cincinnati. House was a 2016 Olympic trials qualifier and competed at the 2015 Junior World Championships, winning a gold medal in the 800 free relay. According to collegeswimming.com, he was the No. 4 recruit in the nation.
On the women's side, Florida Gulf Coast star and Finnish World Championship team member Fanny Teijonsalo transferred to ASU, and joins a talented freshman class that includes Indiana high school state champion freestyler Emma Nordin, Tennessee state champ Erica Laning and California section champ Nora Deleske.
Teijonsalo will join fellow Finnish star Silja Kansakoski, who was Arizona State's best swimmer last year as a freshman. Kansakoski won a Pac-12 title in the 100 breaststroke and scored in two events at the NCAA meet.
"The men showed tremendous improvement last year and the women are probably going to do that this year," Bowman said. "I'm very excited to see what our freshman women's class does because it's going to give quality depth not only that can compete at the top of the Pac-12 and really the NCAA, but gives us some numbers."
Diving coach Mark Bradshaw also likes his depth.
"From top to bottom, if this is not the best group I've had, it's close to it," Bradshaw said "We've added a real strong group on our women's side with three fantastic freshman."
For the men, sophomore Youssef Selim qualified for NCAAs last year in the 3-meter springboard and platform despite arriving mid-year. Senior David Hoffer qualified for finals in the 3-meter springboard at USA Diving Championships this month, finishing fifth. Bradshaw said Hoffer was tracking for big things last year but suffered a knee injury in a critical part of season.
On the women's side, senior Mara Aiacoboae won the Pac-12 title in the platform dive last year. Freshmen Sarah Bathe, Frida Kaellgren and Ashley McCool give the Sun Devils talented depth. Kaellgren's specialties are the 1-meter and 3-meter springboard. She competed in the European Junior Diving Championships in 2016, finishing seventh in the 1-meter and 12th in the 3-meter.
McCool was a member of the Canadian Junior National Team in 2015 and broke a Canadian national record, placing second in 3M synchronized diving at the 2016 Junior Nationals. In 2017, she placed second on the 1-meter and 3-meter and 7th on the platform at Canadian Nationals, and at the Canada Summer Games, she earned three medals with a gold (synchronized diving), silver (3-meter), and bronze (1-meter).
Bowman said the recruiting classes coming in are accustomed to swimming on an international level so it will ramp up the expectations for the program and heighten its sense of identity. ASU's men finished 14th at last year's NCAA meet; the women finished 29th.
"I'm trying to enjoy this gradual building process and I like taking ASU to places they haven't been before, but this year is a big step in putting all the things together," Bowman said. "Going forward, we're going to be top-10 teams and we're going to start thinking about what it takes to be top-5, top-3, top-1."