How is your season going so far?

Jack Redell: It’s a lot of fun. It’s a very enjoyable team to be on. We’re also doing very well in our meets. The guys’ team is 3–1 and the women’s team is 4–0, undefeated. That’s pretty great. I think we’re a real scrappy team.

Luke Harrison: The new coaching staff has definitely revitalized and rejuvenated the team’s energy.

What are your expectations for the rest of the season?

JR: Pain and suffering [Laughs.] No, I think our in-season meets are going to continue to go pretty well. It’s been going well and that begets more success.

LH: I think we’re going to take fourth place at conference. It’s possible. Because we’re not tapering mid-season, I think everyone is going to drop a lot of time at conference.

What’s it like having Andrew Brabson as the new coach of the team?

JR: He’s excellent. On a scale of zero to one, he’s a one.

LH: We operate exclusively in binary.

When did you start swimming?

JR: I was a junior in high school. I’m still pretty fresh to the sport, but Luke has been worn down by years of abuse.

LH: I started swimming when I was 9 years old. I’m jaded at this point. [I think] “curmudgeonly” describes my approach to swimming.

Do you swim a lot in the offseason?

JR: Not one bit. We get our fair share during the season. I love it, otherwise I wouldn’t play the sport, but in the offseason I really enjoy the break. It does my body well to not be breathing in chlorine all the time.

LH: No. I try to stay as dry as possible. No showers.

What are the best and worst parts about being on the swim team?

LH: Best part: free Applebee’s [at road meets]. Worst part: the 200-fly.

Talk about the team’s chemistry.

LH: [Sophomore] Marshall Waller is the heart and soul of the team.

JR: It’s a very widely spread group of guys, but we get along really well. Everybody is there to have a good time and work really hard.

What is unique about the attitude of a swimmer?

JR: We just abuse ourselves, and you get addicted to putting in a lot of work all the time.

LH: Masochism. You also have to be really self-motivated to get up in the morning and go swim.

What is your favorite race to swim?

JR: For me, it’s the 200-medley relay. I swim the breaststroke leg of that. It’s my type of race. I’m a sprinter. The breaststroke is a lot of fun, you get to spend a lot of time underwater just gliding. Being a part of a relay is a lot of fun because everyone gets real excited. The team yells a lot.

LH: I like the 200-freestyle relay.

Does the swim team have any pre- or post-game rituals?

JR: We have our men’s team cheer, which is top secret. We also do a song called “Riff Raff Ram.”

LH: Our old coach, Mark Fino, wouldn’t let us sing that song.

Do you know any good jokes?

JR: What do you call a cow with no legs? Ground beef. How many tickles does it take to make an octopus laugh? Ten tickles.

If you could be one U.S. president, who would it be?

JR: I heard Washington had wooden teeth, so I kind of relate to that, because I have my own dental implants. I’d also really enjoy being the father of a nation.

LH: Be or eat? If I could eat one, it would definitely be Taft, because he was the fattest. I’d go with the familial thing and be William Henry Harrison. He was president for nine weeks and that’s about as much time as I’d like to be president.