Redefining Swimming: Swim Coach Mark Fino’s Take on Recruitment

As I take a seat across the desk from Mark Fino, Sewanee’s new Swim and Dive head coach, I notice the simplicity of his room. It is clean and comfortable and yet there is a sense of assuredness that articulates that the man who sits in front of me means business. He is intentional with his words; lapses of time pass as I watch him search for the ideal words to articulate his thoughts. This intentionality, I have found, translates to his coaching style. To him, every lap, every stroke in the pool is equally important, not only for the individual swimmer but the team as a whole and their eventual performance at the end of season Conference. After his first year with the team, Fino reflects on the outcome of the season, and in particular Conference. 

“We had great attitudes on deck, I think people bought into ‘let’s have fun and just relax and swim’ and that was really exciting. We put in a lot of work throughout the year and we swam really fast.” 

Really fast is an understatement, though, as the team as a whole wracked up a total of over fifty season best times in a short four days. On top of that, there were two school records smashed by the women’s 400 and 200 Freestyle relays, with the 200 placing second overall. With these positive results, Fino and the team are excited to see what could happen in the coming year. 

“Coach Fino challenged how we defined the word ‘team,’ who we were as athletes, and in what direction we were going to help build the future of the program,” states senior Riley Carswell - a part of the two new record holding relays. 

This emphasis of the future of the Swim and Dive program was the bulk of  our conversation, specifically the recruitment process and who and what Fino is bringing to the table in the 2024-2025 season. 

“Currently we have eight [total committed swimmers], but we have approximately nine guys still trying to make up their decision, and six girls,” Fino says. His goal that he set at the beginning of the season was twelve, something he expressed seems quite doable by May 1st– the official date that prospective students must make their decision to attend Sewanee in the Fall.  

These new swimmers that have committed, though, will be valuable assets to the current team; Coach Fino is bringing in men who are proficient in short to mid distance freestyle as well as backstroke. As for the women recruits there are swimmers who excel in freestyle events that range from the 50 to the 1650 as well as a sought after breastroker who can hold 1:08.00 in the 100 breaststroke. Some of the recruits are even projected to procure team records in their specialty events. 

“I immediately knew Sewanee was the place for me. After visiting the team and campus I felt that there was nowhere else that could compare. The community that I felt was unmatched at any other college campus,” says commit Adelina Willett who applied to Sewanee Early Decision. 

This sense of community is what Mark Fino touched on extensively during the interview.

 “I think, for me, Sewanee’s community is what’s special about it. The hardest thing about Sewanee is that it is very hard to articulate that, but when people come here they see it and they very quickly recognize it,” Fino explains. 

This is not Fino’s first time recruiting, though, and so he understands the ins and outs of what recruits are in search of as well as what he and his team needs to be successful. There is both an emphasis on the team and the individual for him. When it comes to his new commits he strives for the best. 

“That’s kind of what we’re doing; recruiting strong swimmers. Strong swimmers, strong students. They are all very good students as well.”

This is the name of the game for Fino as he is both looking outwards for potential new swimmers that can enrich the Sewanee community as well as work inwards with the talented team that he already has. As he heads into his second fall season with this team, their confidence and performance on the pool deck hold ample potential.