Freshman swimmer strives for Big Ten success

Even though freshman Erin Smith has only been on the IU campus since August, she has already left her mark on the Hoosiers women's swimming team that is looking to vie for the Big Ten Championship in March.\n"I think she is leading the freshmen in training and in the meets," junior Tina Gretlund said of Smith. "I am impressed with how well she is doing. Usually it takes a little while to adjust, but she is doing really well for only being a freshman."\nSmith credited Gretlund as being an influence on her in the pool since she has came to IU.\n"(Gretlund) definitely keeps me consistent and gives me someone to measure against," Smith said. "She is very motivational and always encourages me to keep going."\nGretlund said the competition between herself and Smith helps each of them improve.\n"We train together everyday, and if you get beat in practice chances are you will get beat in a meet too," Gretlund said. "That helps to push each of us to get better."\nWhile the duo is very competitive in the pool, Gretlund said Smith has a very likeable personality when they aren't swimming.\n"She is really funny and very ironic," Gretlund said. "I like her and I think everybody on the team really likes her. She is the type of person that gets along with everybody."\nSmith, a product of St. Teresa's Academy in Kansas City, Mo., chose IU over Kentucky, Michigan and Northwestern.\n"The reputation of IU is incredible," Smith said. "Everyone (has so much school spirit). When I came for my recruiting visit, I fell in love with the team and (head coach Dorsey Tierney). I knew that at IU I would improve as a swimmer and be able to get a good education at the same time."\nOutside of the pool, Smith is planning to major in psychology and said her ultimate goal would be to become a psychiatrist and practice medicine.\nIn the pool, Smith holds the team best in the 100-yard butterfly with a time of 56.26, which she posted at the U.S. Open Swimming Championships. She also has the second fastest time in the 50-freestyle and third fastest in the 100-free. Smith has also been a prominent factor on all of IU's relay teams, often swimming the closing legs on the free relays and the butterfly leg on the medley relays.\nTierney has been pleased with Smith's improvement thus far, but believes Smith still has more in her.\n"It is exciting to see how far she has come, but I really think she will just keep getting better," Tierney said of Smith. "I still think she has only tapped one percent of her potential though."\nSmith has high expectations of herself and the team in the upcoming spring season.\n"Our team goal is to win Big Tens and place well at NCAAs," she said. "I would like to place in the top four in all of my events at Big Tens and I would like to qualify for NCAAs in at least one event. I think from what I have seen so far, we can definitely do it as a team, and I think that I can, too. I am pretty confident with the way we have been swimming."\nShe admits that while she doesn't know what to expect from the championship meets, she wants to be a Big Ten champion.\n"I don't really know how competitive Big Tens and NCAAs are," she said. "But I know that I definitely want to win Big Tens in a personal event at least once"