Eastern swimming entered a new era after the departure of previous head coach Matt Bos in 2011 when a new young face was given the keys to the car.

Former Eastern swimmer Elliott McGill, 25, at the time became the youngest coach in the NCAA and took over after an impressive year by the men’s team.

Whether you are an athlete or a coach, you will experience many ups, but certainly many downs during your first year.

The year before McGill took over, the men’s team went 7-2 and finished with two second-place finishes in the Western Kentucky Invitational and Tunica Invitational.

McGill’s first year as coach saw the team lose six of its eight meets.

During this season, the men also finished fifth out of eight teams in the House of Champions meet, and in the Summit League Championships the team finished second to last.

But as a young coach he had a different perspective on the losing record.

“Of course we would rather win, but what we focus on is improving our times and getting better after every meet,” McGill said. “We cannot focus on the other team, sometimes we are going to run into faster swimmers and there is nothing we can do about that.”

Everyone wants to win all the time, but obviously that’s not possible.

What the second-year coach emphasizes to his swimmers is to personal responsibility.

There is no greater indicator of this mentality than of his younger brother, senior captain Colin McGill.

“I know if I go into the pool and have a bad practice I need to be better, [Coach] doesn’t need to tell me, because I already know,” the senior said.

But is it true? Has the team’s times gotten better? As a matter of fact they have.

Senior Joe Ciliak was part of the third-place finish of the men’s 200-Medly Relay at the Summit meet, which set a new school-record time of 1:32.27.

Ciliak also set a new personal best in the 200-Breast at the Summit meet.

He also swam the 10th fastest time for the Panthers in the 50-Free that same year.

Senior Michael Bower also improved during McGill’s first year as coach. Bower saw full-time action this season, and by the end of the year, he recorded three of his top times in the Summit League meet.

On the women’s side, Kelli DiCanio, who was a junior at the time received All-Summit League honors and was a part of new school record in the 200-Medly Relay.

Another swimmer who improved was Mary Lacine.

She bested her previous school-record in the 400-IM at the Summit League meet.

Although the win loss record was poor during his first year, McGill has seen many swimmers improve which is most important for him and the team.

Both squads have seen limited success in terms of tallies under the “W” column, but with a talented freshman class being led by Kaylee Morris and senior Hailey Foss, the future is bright for Eastern swimming.

Aldo Soto can be reached at 581-2812 or asoto2@eiu.edu.