Freshman Haley Haynes, junior Chelsey Walden and senior Tami Ritchie may have very different sources of inspiration, but one thing draws them together: They love water.

The three athletes, on the ISU swimming and diving team, spend roughly 20 hours training each week, in addition to being a full-time student.

Haynes has been diving since her freshman year in high school at The Woodlands High School in The Woodlands, Texas. She said she decided to make her way to the much smaller and colder state of Iowa to dive at Iowa State.

“When I came on my recruiting trip, it just felt right,” she said. “The team, the campus, the coach – everything just seemed right.”

Coming out of high school, Haynes was ranked 32 out of 101 other high school divers in the country. Her inspiration for her diving success came from Bill Travis, coach of the Conroe Diving Club.

Haynes said there are many differences between her high school and her collegiate career.

“The training is much more intense,” she said. “I have learned that I will not feel 100 percent every day, but I need to keep working hard, because hard work will pay off.”

Walden, a distance-free swimmer for Iowa State, obtained her inspiration from her father Drew Walden, who swam for Iowa State in the late ’70s and early ’80s.

“My father always had great faith in me and motivated me to work hard to achieve my goals,” Walden said. “Without his continual support, I doubt I would have reached the level of success that I have in swimming.”

She has been swimming competitively since age six, and said she chose Iowa State because of its small, family-like atmosphere.

“The girls were close and you could sense that right away,” Walden said.

She also said the enthusiasm and support of the team made the ’05 Big 12 Championship the most exciting meet she’s ever attended, at which she finished 12th in the 1.650 freestyle, 22nd in the 500 freestyle and fifth-place in the 800 freestyle relay.

“Personally, I swam much faster than expected due to the team’s success and the determination not to let the entire year pass me by,” she said.

Training continues to be an ongoing process for the entire team.

“You have to eat right, get enough sleep, manage your time correctly and be mentally prepared to compete,” Walden said.

Being a part of the swim team has helped Walden build some great friendships.

“When I first moved in, the swim team was there to help and it was like I immediately had 20 new friends,” Walden said.

Although Walden and Haynes displayed love for swimming from the get-go, Ritchie’s career almost never happened.

After dropping out of gymnastics when she was 10 because of Meningitis, Ritchie’s doctor recommended her to try swimming.

“I tried it, and then I just stuck with it,” she said.

Ritchie, who now competes in the free/fly position, decided to join Iowa State’s swim team based on its compassion and outgoing personalities, she said.

“Being a part of the Big 12 was appealing to me, and Ames is close to home,” Ritchie said.

She found her inspiration from multiple people in her life.

“On my club team when I was younger, I looked up to my coaches and the other older and faster people on my team,” Ritchie said. “I never really had one idol.”

All three team members help each other deal with athletics and education, and are steadily preparing for the conference meet in February.

“The hardest thing is definitely trying to find time for all the things you have to do and the things you want to do,” she said.

“Our goal as a team is to set new school records in relays and individual events, place well as a team and to send a few team members to conference.”