It isn’t surprising the Showers brothers thrive off each other and are key members of the men’s swimming team.

“Thomas, (during) his first two years, worked really hard; they feed off of each other,” said team captain and senior Tim O’Hagan. “Cody is a fast freshman swimmer. It’s fun to have them in practice because of how well they motivate each other. They are both big assets to this team. When they are around and both in the pool, they are great to have.”

This season, Thomas has been a key addition to the 200-yard and 400-yard relay teams. At the Panther Invitational, he helped post a 1 minute, 39.93 seconds in winning the 200-yard medley relay, and also a first-place finish in the 400-yard medley relay in 3:38.65. Thomas also has become a force to be reckoned with in the backstroke events.

“He leads by example and is very motivating,” Cody said. “In the medley relay, he’s the leadoff in backstroke, so he’s a big help in the 400-yard medley relay.”

Eastern head swimming coach Ray Padovan said Thomas plays a primary role on the team.

“Thomas has been here for two years now and is our main backstroker, after the other backstroker graduated last year,” Padovan said. “Cody is coming along but has yet to show the state qualifying times he had in high school.”

Cody has shown signs of improvement throughout the season. Against rival Western Illinois, he improved his 200-yard medley relay time to 1:41.92, and at the season opener, he finished second in 100-yard butterfly (54.50 seconds).

Cody swam a 51.63-second mark when he qualified for the state meet in the 100-yard butterfly.

“He comes as a younger, faster swimmer that tends to push us harder,” Thomas said. “He’s doing well thus far; if he continues to do what he has done, it will push him to go faster for years to come.”

Though Cody is the younger, faster swimmer of the two, there still is a level of competition between them.

“We swam high school together, and having your brother there helps because he won’t let you down,” Thomas said. “I have to go out and swim faster than he does because I’m the older brother.”

Cody agreed.

“Having a familiar face around, and knowing you have someone to talk to always helps,” Cody said. “I was always on the same team as him growing up. He’s an inspiration to me. My dream was swimming at a Division I school. I just had to follow him here. I liked the campus and the program.”

In high school, the two brothers found swimming to be friendly competition.

“During high school, we didn’t swim in the same event,” Cody said. “We were competitive and would motivate each other. He said he would beat me in one event, and I would say I would get a better time than him. It was a sibling rivalry.”