Katie Wells and Kelly McNamara earned statement wins against Illinois-Chicago.

By jake mosbach
[email protected]

When the Iowa women’s swimming and diving team defeated Illinois-Chicago last weekend, two inexperienced freshmen made waves with their impressive wins.

Katie Wells took home three victories in her first college meet, pacing the field in the 100 back and 100 breast. Wells was also part of the winning 200-medley relay. Freshman Kelly McNamara earned the victory in the 100 fly.

The pair weren’t necessarily expecting to get off to such a fast start in their first-ever college appearances.

“I was just expecting to learn the ropes,”McNamara said. “You know, it was my first college meet ever. The possibility for a win is always in the back of my mind, but this was kind of a surprise.”

Wells agreed, saying that her wins were gratifying, but a victory wasn’t her most important goal.

“I wasn’t expecting anything, really,” Wells said. “I just wanted to go out and have fun. That’s always the most important thing for me.”

Wells and McNamara came to Iowa as accomplished high-school recruits. Wells was a four-time all-state and all-conference selection at Glenbrook South High School in Glenview, Illinois. McNamara became a Hawkeye as a two-time All-American, three-time all-state, and four-time all conference selection at Willowbrook High School in Villa Park, Illinois.

Those accomplishments, however, were the furthest thing from either of their minds as they began their college careers.

“There are kids on this team who accomplished so much more than I did in high school,” Wells said. “High school was great, but this is a new season with a new team and new goals. It’s time to move forward.”

McNamara said her accomplishments meant little compared with the rest of her Hawkeye teammates and the competition.

“Everyone on this team accomplished a lot of great things in high school,” she said. “That’s why they’re here … you know, everyone up here is just so much better, and so much faster [than in high school]. You really have to wipe your slate clean when you get here.”

Head coach Marc Long spoke along those lines at last week’s media day.

“We know there’s a lot of development, and they know they’re competing in really the toughest conference in the country against worldwide competition,” he said.

What drew this pair of talented freshmen to Long’s squad wasn’t reputation, success, or facilities. What compelled them to become Hawkeyes was the secret to every successful team: chemistry.

“I visited Iowa first, and I didn’t really think about going anywhere else,” McNamara said. “The upperclassmen of the team and the whole coaching staff really sold it. It’s a great feeling to finally be here and to be a part of a team like this.”

“There’s just an overwhelming sense of community on this team, men’s and women’s,” Wells said. “We eat together, we live together, and we hang out together. That was the most important thing to me. The sense of ‘community’ and ‘team’ here was just incredible.”