{"id":524102,"date":"2023-03-08T06:21:20","date_gmt":"2023-03-08T13:21:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/?p=524102"},"modified":"2023-03-11T20:02:10","modified_gmt":"2023-03-12T03:02:10","slug":"more-than-maggie-mac-neil-lsu-women-building-something-special","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/more-than-maggie-mac-neil-lsu-women-building-something-special\/","title":{"rendered":"More than Maggie Mac Neil, LSU Women Building \u2018Something Special\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

More than Maggie MacNeil, LSU Women Building \u2018Something Special\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n

Jenna Bridges<\/strong> got her hands to the wall on Friday night at Texas A&M<\/a> and then, well, wasn\u2019t quite sure what she was seeing.<\/p>\n

The LSU sophomore looked up at the board at the Student Recreation Center Natatorium and saw a \u201c1\u201d next to her name. That was the first surprise. She then saw a time, \u201cthat honestly I never believed I would be able to ever go in my life.\u201d The native of Forest City, N.C., gave a passing thought to the shoulder that got her here, on which she had surgery after SECs her freshman year and that she thought might force an injury redshirt.<\/p>\n

But soon, Bridges came to feel something else: \u201cAstonished,\u201d yes, but then a visceral understanding of how she\u2019d reached the top step of the podium.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was shocked, to be honest, that I was able to do as well as I did,\u201d she said. \u201cBut I also knew that all season, my coaches have been preparing me to swim at the highest level and to do exactly what I did. I felt really proud of being able to showcase where LSU has come from in the past year and a half since Rick<\/strong> (Bishop,<\/strong> head coach) came here.\u201d<\/p>\n

That quick volley of emotions pervaded LSU\u2019s performance in College Station. There was amazement at what they accomplished \u2013 some from the sheer jaw-dropping speed of Maggie Mac Neil<\/strong> \u2013 followed by a quick realization that yes, this was what they came to SECs to do. The Tigers\u2019 postseason story, which they look to continue at NCAAs this month, is about the instant impact of Mac Neil as a graduate transfer from Michigan. But it\u2019s also down to the women around her, who\u2019ve reached new heights and are bringing the program with them, a growth they hope to sustain once the Canadian Olympic champion\u2019s career ends.<\/p>\n

\u2018That\u2019s Not Me\u2019<\/h4>\n

Bridges\u2019 triumph in the 200 fly didn\u2019t do much to prepare Ella Varga<\/strong> for when she hit the wall Saturday<\/a>. The freshman from Canada entered the meet seeded 23rd in the 200 back, her best college time a 1:56.68. She clubbed four seconds off that in prelims to take the third seed into finals, then hacked away another six tenths to beat the field by a half-second, in 1:51.74.<\/p>\n

Her reaction at the wall should sound familiar.<\/p>\n

\"Image(2)\"

LSU’s Ella Varga with her gold from the 200 back at SECs; Photo Courtesy: Brandon Gallego\/LSU Athletics<\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cI think it was kind of just pure shock in a way,\u201d Varga said. \u201cI was not expecting that whatsoever. Seeing that board and seeing that I came in first, I was like, that\u2019s crazy. That\u2019s not me.\u201d<\/p>\n

The magic that LSU uncovered is how a training environment, led by Rick Bishop and Mac Neil, has made swimmers into the best versions of themselves.<\/p>\n

Mac Neil\u2019s SECs performance, on the way to a no-brainer Female Swimmer of the Meet, is instructive. Yes, she won the 50 freestyle, 100 fly and 100 free, setting SEC records in the former two. But it was easy to see the meet playing out like the opening 200 medley relay, in which Mac Neil delivered the fastest 50 back split in history (22.52) but the Tigers finished eighth, fading from a second clear of the field to 2.5 seconds back of winner Alabama.<\/p>\n

But the Tigers changed course. LSU won the 200 free relay, Mac Neil splitting an otherworldly 20.44 and the squad of Katarina Milutinovich, Peyton Curry<\/strong> and Michaela De Villiers<\/strong> excelling around her. (De Villiers, for instance, went 22.76 at the midseason invitational in the same pool, but the South African split 21.69 off the end to hold off the field.) It was LSU\u2019s first SEC relay title since 1986.<\/p>\n

The 400 free relay likewise stepped up to cap the meet with a win, Mac Neil joined by Milutinovich, De Villiers and Megan Barnes<\/strong> to go 3:10.57. The eight gold medals was the most in an SECs in program history<\/a>, and their fifth-place point total was the highest since 2014-15.<\/p>\n

The success didn\u2019t come out of nowhere. Bridges set the program\u2019s 500 free record as a freshman. Milutinovich swam at NCAAs in three freestyle events last year. But at SECs, the form proved contagious. To see swimmers rocket to their best times and know they\u2019ve done the same training you have for months, the confidence feeds on itself.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor the women to see, hey training has worked, taper has worked, everyone here has the opportunity to drop time and swim well, I think that momentum carried throughout the meet,\u201d Bridges said. \u201cAnd the next night, the 200 freestyle relay, winning a title for the first time in 37 years, it just continued. It definitely does snowball throughout the meet and everybody is like, \u2018hey that could be me. I could do something I never thought I\u2019d be able to do before.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cJust seeing when Maggie, the first relay on that first night and then getting gold the next night and seeing Jenna Bridges get the 200 fly gold, I think we were just like, \u2018ok, this is possible, to do extremely well here,\u2019\u201d Varga said. \u201cI think knowing that and seeing that and experiencing that, it gave you a better picture of what is possible.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Maggie Factor<\/h4>\n

Mac Neil has brought not just points but an atmosphere to Baton Rouge. An Olympic champ, a world champ, a world record holder, a NCAA record holder \u2013 it\u2019s no slight to say Mac Neil is the best swimmer to come through LSU, if only because Mac Neil is the best swimmer to come through just about all the places she\u2019s been.<\/p>\n

Training with her and witnessing how she goes about her business has given young swimmers a model to emulate. It\u2019s a cornerstone of what Bishop, who took over in June 2021<\/a>, has instilled.<\/p>\n

\"Image(5)\"

LSU’s Jenna Bridges at 2023 SEC Championships; Photo Courtesy: Brandon Gallego\/LSU Athletics<\/p><\/div>\n

Like the larger LSU effort, Bishop\u2019s coaching pedigree isn\u2019t down to one star pupil. While he had a hand in helping Mac Neil develop, he mentored plenty of standouts in nine seasons as the associate head coach at the University of Michigan and before that at USA Swimming. He\u2019s coached internationally since the 1990s. He helped Siobhan Haughey<\/strong> become an Olympic medalist for Hong Kong<\/a> and guided a slew of international swimmers.<\/p>\n

Bridges committed to LSU before Bishop had taken the reins. She recalled their first conversation in which he set his goal of having swimmers be happy with their swims at each season\u2019s end. Bridges bought into that mantra of continual improvement, and the results have followed.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s really been selling that this is the beginning, this is the movement we\u2019re making to becoming a top swimming program in the country,\u201d Bridges said. \u201cTo see it all come to fruition was really exciting.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mac Neil\u2019s decision to train in Baton Rouge, committing first to Cal and then shifting to LSU<\/a>, has accelerated that, but the process was already in motion. She brings a rigor and a professionalism that can\u2019t help but rub off on those around her. It\u2019s particularly profound for Varga, who committed to LSU before she knew an icon of the Canadian program would be her teammate.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s been amazing training with Maggie and with every single girl on this team,\u201d Varga said. \u201cThey push me a lot, and I think that\u2019s a huge part of it. Training with Maggie, it\u2019s pretty awesome to train backstroke with her and get to have someone to race in the pool, especially during the hard sets where you want to try your best with someone there pushing you.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe intensity is bumped up and the expectation from the coaches that we behave as professional athletes is something that Rick really drives home, that he wants all of us to be professional athletes and to take our success into our own hands,\u201d Bridges said. \u201cI think that level has really been increased this past year, and I think that definitely has to do with the fact that Maggie came in. She\u2019s an excellent role model as to what a professional is and what a leader is like in this sport and someone who takes ownership of their success.\u201d<\/p>\n

That last part of the message has been duly received. Mac Neil\u2019s teammates aren\u2019t just spectators watching her do cool stuff. They are pushing their times into realms they couldn\u2019t have fathomed.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s how culture gets baked into a program, something that can outlast Mac Neil\u2019s one year in purple and gold. And it\u2019s how you get reactions like Varga\u2019s and Bridges\u2019 at SECs: Surprise at the results, but on second consideration, a deep faith in the process that led there.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m surprised but I\u2019m not surprised,\u201d Bridges said. \u201cWith the work we\u2019ve been putting in in the year and a half since Rick has been here and knowing the excitement around it and the culture we\u2019re building here. It\u2019s the start of something special.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

More than Maggie MacNeil, LSU Women Building \u2018Something Special\u2019 Jenna Bridges got her hands to the wall on Friday night at Texas A&M and then, well, wasn\u2019t quite sure what<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8367,"featured_media":523236,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"dois","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[3,6],"tags":[132217,132095,5007,69617,2704,120489,4248,68469,132205,132088,546,120032,131253,46364],"class_list":["post-524102","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured","category-college","tag-2023-ncaa-division-i-womens-championships","tag-2023-sec-championships","tag-cal","tag-ella-varga","tag-jenna-bridges","tag-katarina-milutinovich","tag-lsu","tag-maggie-macneil","tag-megan-barnes","tag-michaela-de-villiers","tag-michigan","tag-peyton-curry","tag-rich-bishop","tag-sec-swimming"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"yoast_head":"\r\nMore than Maggie MacNeil, LSU Women Building \u2018Something Special\u2019<\/title>\r\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Jenna Bridges got her hands to the wall on Friday night at Texas A&M and then, well, wasn\u2019t quite sure what she was seeing. 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