WINONA, Minn. — A year ago, Saint Mary’s University swimming and diving coach Eric Lindquist had the luxury of a pair of rosters that were near-capacity.

And thanks to those large — by Saint Mary’s standards — numbers (12 men’s swimmers, and 13 on the women’s side) the end results were rather impressive.

The SMU men’s team not only won a pair of dual meets, but also placed a respectable seventh in the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Championships — and crowned a pair of all-conference divers to boot.

The Cardinal women may not have been able to pick up the program’s elusive first dual-meet win, but they did give a few teams a scare, and had a solid showing at the MIAC Championships, where they placed 10th.

“It was nice to have the numbers,” said Lindquist. “And I think everyone was able to see what this program can accomplish when we are at full strength.”

What a difference a year can make.

Instead of being somewhere in the middle in terms of roster size, Lindquist finds his teams on opposite ends of the spectrum as they prepare for the 2003-2004 season, which kicks off Oct. 31 at Macalester.

On the one hand, Lindquist has the luxury of a full compliment of swimmers on the women’s side. Led by seniors Heidi Andre (Fairbanks, Alaska), Jennifer Phillips (Red Wing, Minn.) and Abby Huot (Lake Elmo, Minn.), the Cardinals have the numbers it takes to be a threat in every meet they compete in.

On the other hand, however, Lindquist is staring at a men’s roster in which he can count all the members on one hand — and still have the thumb left over.

Senior Tony Gruenke (Sheboygan, Wis.), and juniors Logan Twedt (Hastings, Minn.), Sean Gibson (Chicago, Ill.), and Brian Travers (Chicago, Ill.) are not only the lone upperclassmen on this year’s team — they are this year’s team.

“It’s kind of a tough situation to be in,” admitted Lindquist. “Coming into the (school) year, I felt pretty good about our recruiting class, but once school started, people decided not to go out, for whatever reason, and so we’re left with just the four guys.”

Not that that’s a bad thing, considering the talent of those four.
“Obviously, with just four guys, we’re not going to win many duals,” said Lindquist. “But this group has taken on a small-battle attitude — their goal is to rewrite our record books.”

A lofty, but certainly attainable, goal..

“With such a small number, you can’t judge team success by (dual-meet) wins and losses,” Lindquist said. “I honestly expect great things from that group this year.”

Just like he does for the women’s team.

“The problem with having such low numbers on the men’s side, is it overshadows the fact that we have a full roster on the women’s side,” said Lindquist, whose women’s team is looking to climb out of the No. 10 spot at this year’s MIAC Championships. “There is so much talent on this (women’s) team. And we’ve got a good mix of upper and underclassmen.

“I’ve never seen a group of freshmen fit in so well,” continued Lindquist. “I really think that this could be a breakthrough year for this team.”