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Home > Sports

Swimming, diving exit pool while tennis opens season

By Zac Taylor
ztaylor2@mscd.edu

Metro’s swimming and diving interim head coach Casey Story looks back on the 2007-2008 season as a success after Roadrunners’ diver Kenny Rhoades took All-American honors at Nationals and men’s and women’s swim teams finished third in the conference tournament.

“The season finished awesome,” Story said. “The team came together in a really great way.”

Rhoades was the only team member to make nationals, but the undermanned men’s and women’s swimming teams still managed to make waves in a choppy season.

The season began October 2007 under the direction of previous Metro head coach Winthrop Dyer. Dyer resigned for personal reasons Nov. 15, and beginning Dec. 1 Story took over the reigns to finish the 2007-2008 season. He admits the transition wasn’t always easy on the swimmers, but by the conference tournament Story’s coaching style was accepted.

“While we all kind of butted heads in the two weeks going up to the conference week,” Story said. “They all trusted me enough to buy into the program and swim successfully (at conference).”

Swimmer Alejandro Hernandez swam very successfully, making the NCSAA B-cut for the 100-yard butterfly, the only Metro swimmer to make the cut.

For the women’s team the results this year displayed the great team skills the seven swimmers have. The conference meet was especially great for senior Meredith Lanphier, swimming for Metro for the last time.

“We got to all say goodbye to Meredith (Lanphier),” Story said. “It was a really cool farewell swim for (her).”

The loss of Lanphier will not set back the women, according to Story. The new recruits entering the Metro program should make the team even stronger.

“There’s nothing but potential in these guys,” Story said.

Unfortunately Story himself is not able to contribute much to the recruiting process just yet. He will need to complete his NCAA recruiting tests if he becomes head coach for the upcoming season. His job coaching high school swimming at Bear Creek does, however, give him the contacts and knowledge of new recruits he will need if he continues at the collegiate level.

Story is excited to have the possibility to become the head coach at Metro and lead what he believes will be a team that will take Metro swimming and diving back to prominence.

Metro women’s tennis team couldn’t find their footing in Kansas, going 1-2 on March 15 in their first meet of the 2008 season.

In the first contest against Barton County, only Metro sophomore Katie Reitz came out with a win. She won 1-0 (6) in the third set after taking the first 6-2 and losing the following set 2-6.

The Roadrunners grabbed their second win of the season 6-2 in the next match versus Newman University. Sophomore April Hirad led the way in singles, shutting out her opponent 6-0 and 6-0, leading Metro in taking four of five in the singles matches.

Metro couldn’t keep up its momentum against final weekend opponent Emporia State, falling 8-1.