DALLAS – Madeleine Herbert arrived at SMU this summer after spending her freshman year at N.C. State. It hasn't taken long to get to know her teammates within the women's swimming and diving program.
Yes, there have been dinners and outings, all the usual activities one could expect to build camaraderie during the preseason. But, when there's only 19 total athletes on the roster, the everyday bonding is equally as important.
"Because we're such a small group, we get the opportunity to just chat with different people. Almost every practice, we are rotating lanes with people so we're not always just in the same lanes, with the same people, talking to the same groups," Herbert said. "We get a lot of different experiences and different people we get to talk to, which is a lot of fun and I think that is what ultimately allows the closeness we already have and hopefully even more closeness in the future."
While the roster might not be as deep in size, the Mustangs are eager to showcase their level of skill, especially as the program transitions to competing in the ACC.
That starts Friday and Saturday as the school hosts the SMU Classic to begin the season with Texas A&M, Virginia Tech, Louisville, Auburn, Miami and Florida visiting Dallas. Each of those teams scored at the NCAA Championship last season, with Florida (third), Louisville (sixth), Texas A&M (14th) and Auburn (19th) cracking the top 20.
When assembling the roster, SMU women's swimming and diving head coach Ozzie Quevedo was hoping to see a convergence of people at various points in their college journeys combine for a common goal.
The roster features five true freshmen, four sophomores with prior Division I experience and a grad transfer from overseas. Coupled with returning talent, the blend of different backgrounds has melded together quickly, creating a close knit but competitive environment.
"People are going to be tested in so many different events and there's so many opportunities for them to step up. We don't have the luxury of having a second, third or fourth person in some of those events," Quevedo said. "It kind of pushes all the returners. They're like, 'Wait a minute, these girls are ready to go, so we have to elevate our standard.' That has basically been our message this entire time. We need to level up and we need to continue to elevate our standard."
Diving head coach Darian Schmidt echoes that sentiment, noting his five-person dive team consists of former All-American Jaclynn Fowler, a sophomore and three true freshmen. The new faces have not been intimidated, stepping up to dive any event when called up, even the platform.
That mentality is something the Mustangs will need over the course of the season, especially against ACC foes down the road. The College Swimming Coaches Athletic Association preseason poll features eight ACC programs in the top 25, including top-ranked Virginia.
"It'll be a new set of challenges for us. The competition is a lot deeper," Schmidt said. "It'll take a lot more to advance and move on to the final or whatever that next step is for each diver, but I think we have the right group to do it going into our first year."
It might be a bigger challenge with a smaller roster, but it's something Fowler believes can make SMU even better, especially as the season rolls along.
No matter where the journey ends up, the Mustangs fully intend to navigate it together.
"I think that's going to make us better overall. I think there's some stronger teams in the ACC and that's just going to make us stronger competing against those teams," Fowler said. "I think the team this year, we're just aware of each other and it's a really good environment to thrive in."
