At the core of the Michigan men?s swimming and diving program there are three values: leadership, hard work and responsibility. These ideals were set when the program was first established in 1921 and continue to be the driving the force behind the team.

"Fast swimmers are a dime a dozen," senior captain Nick Douville said. "But there is a special kind of man that is called to swim for Michigan."

As Douville looks back on his past four years at a Wolverine, he maintains that his experience has molded him not only into a better swimmer but a more complete person. As a co-captain of the team, Douville has bought wholeheartedly into Michigan's program and epitomizes the three values that the team stands for. His quiet leadership is reflected in the framework of the program. His hard work is seen in his ability to push the freshman class. And his responsibility is idealized in his determination to make the team the best in the country.

In order for the transition from former coach Jon Urbanchek to current coach Bob Bowman to go smoothly, Douville and fellow senior captain Mike Galindo took a serious leadership role in facilitating the change.

"Mike and I took a lot of responsibility so that the transition went in the right direction," Douville said. "We spent a lot of time reflecting on the team and talking to past swimmers. We defined the core values of the program and made sure Bob knew exactly what he was getting into, we wanted to make sure there were some things that weren't lost."

Bowman credits the captains with helping him learn how to work with college student-athletes to get acquainted with the program.

"When I became a part of the team, they sat me down and talked to me about the Michigan tradition," Bowman said. "They set some expectations and goals, and I set some of my own. When we put our goals together we basically laid the foundation for the program of the future."

One specific goal that the three set was to get the program primed to win consecutive Big Ten titles and ultimately an NCAA Championship like it did between 1985-1995, when the Wolverines won 10 conference championships in a row. That run culminated in an NCAA title.

"We want to rekindle that decade of dominance," Douville said. "We want to make sure that the program is as successful for the next eighty years as it has been for the past eighty years. We look at it not just as a responsibility to our teammates or Bob and the coaching staff, but we look at it as a huge responsibility to any guy that has put the block 'M' on their suit."

Douville and Galindo have spent a lot of time this season working with the freshman class to help them understand the importance of the Michigan tradition. They hope the class will help develop the program into one that will lead the Wolverines to a national championship in the next three years.