Men's Swimming and Diving | 1/17/2015 9:22:00 AM

WASHINGTON, DC --- The 2015 Spring semester has just begun, and despite the many Howard University students recently returning to The Mecca, the Howard Swimming & Diving team have been back for weeks. For the majority of the winter break holiday, the team traveled to Orlando, Florida for training and to get into the mindset of finishing out their season strong.

Throughout the 2014-15 swim campaign, the team has worked to surpass records and exceed expectations. Even though there are 11 seniors (eight men & three women) leaving the program, both teams are on solid footing, talent-wise, from top to bottom moving forward. First-Year Head Coach and Howard Swimming alumnus Nic Askew - affectionately known "Coach Nic" - understands the strengths and weaknesses of each team.

"The team is much smaller than a lot of competitors. Teams we compete with are usually much larger, but we have more depth," Askew said. "It helps to have quality when you don't have the numbers."

According to www.scholarshipstats.com, the average number of swimmers for a NCAA Division I Swimming & Diving team are 28 for women's teams and 29 for men's teams. Howard's program includes 15 women and 15 men, just over half of the national averages. Even without the full complement of athletes, Askew still has big plans for the program.

In previous years, Howard has been led by a part-time coach. Now, with Askew in a full-time role, support for the program has increased, fundraising has picked up and the energy around the program is more positive than ever.

"You can really feel his passion, his love for the sport,"  senior student-athlete Caleah Gregorie said. "That is something that makes a huge difference in transforming a team and that is going to allow him to make a big difference in the program in years to come."

The Howard Swimming and Diving team will have their senior day at 1:00 p.m. on Saturday, January 17th at Burr Gymnasium against Drexel University.