If we would have swam out of our minds and swam a perfect meet, we would have won. But in reality, we finished right where we should have.
If they don't swim well in the morning, they'll be sitting next to me during the finals, cheering instead of swimming. We're going to load up our gun and go guns-a-blazing because we really do have a shot at winning.
I'd like to say that everyone swam really well. We had a great meet. We had one slip-up, but we really responded well. I've seen teams crumble after they make a mistake in the first relay, but we didn't.
That was a great race (200 backstroke) for Helen, and Ashley had a great meet for us. Those two are a huge reason why we're in the position that we're in. Their leadership and how they act and their drive have really helped up us.
They're two of the best captains I have ever seen. They have done a good job of leading by example-but not only leading by example, but by being vocal too. They have been the most responsible for the place where we are at.
Anytime you're a national champion, it's incredible. I couldn't be more proud of Helen. She's been one of the best captains I've ever seen. She won because she deserved to win.
There are as many as six teams that can win it. We see us as one of those teams. It's wide open.
