Martin determined to impact team

Junior swimmer Kristy Martin struggled through her sophomore season, but now having been able to train in the fall and through winter break, she is hoping to make a big impact.\n"Being able to train the whole year has been a benefit, and being able to do all of the team things has been much better," Martin said of her junior year. "I really don\'t like to set goals for myself; I like to just get in and race usually. But I think ultimately I would like to make the NCAAs."\nMartin suffered through the fall semester of her sophomore year with a dislocated kneecap that prohibited her from training until the spring. Martin was still able to post two sixth-place finishes in the 400-yard individual medley and the 200-yard butterfly at the 2001 Big Ten Championships. She also finished tenth in the 200-IM at Big Tens and was awarded the team's Most Improved Swimmer award.\nIU head coach Dorsey Tierney expects Martin to perform well, especially in light of her performance without a semester of training.\n"I have kind of been dreaming of this season to have with Kristy, just having the opportunity to actually train her for an entire season," Tierney said. "Right now Kristy is a joy to coach. She is enjoying herself and has stepped up the level in her training group."\nRoommate and teammate Colleen McCracken also benefited from Martin's experience of fighting through an injury.\n"When I was injured at the beginning of this year, it was really good living with Kristy," McCracken said. "She was very supporting and gave me advice whenever I got down."\nMcCracken said Martin is a positive influence outside of the pool, as well.\n"She is always positive and is very good at helping people up and is one of the hardest workers on our team by far," McCracken said. "She is so much fun to be around."\n Martin came to IU via Gardner High School in her hometown of Gardner, Mass., where she was a state champion in the 200-IM and the 100-butterfly. Martin said she began swimming competitively when she was 8-years-old with her lifelong club coach Don Lemeiux at the Greenwood Memorial Swim Club. Martin competed in the 1997 U.S. Junior Nationals, which were held at IU, and that was when she became attracted to the University.\n"When I came here for the (Junior Nationals) meet, I thought the campus was beautiful," she said. "The swim team is great; when I came and visited, I just loved the team. The facility is awesome, and Dorsey (Tierney) is great."\nCurrently, Martin holds the fastest time on the squad in the 200-fly. Tierney gives credit to Martin for how much she has improved since her first days as a Hoosier.\n"From a coaching standpoint, it is very gratifying to watch somebody mature and challenge themselves and to overcome some of the fears that were there when they first came into this program," Tierney said. "Kristy has done that and it is a complete credit to her"