Maier, RedHawks Hoping to Make a Splash at MAC Championships

A lot has changed for RedHawk swimmer Nicole Maier in the past two and a half years.

In the fall of 2020, Maier arrived at Miami University as an admittedly shy freshman from Bottrop, Germany just trying to figure out life in a new country.

She had never stepped foot on Miami's campus before, and her first visit started with a mandatory two-week quarantine for all international swimmers at the Miami Inn due to the COVID pandemic. "We couldn't see anyone, so it was just through the window that we were waving and trying to talk!", Maier remembered.

Even after finally getting to connect with her new teammates in person, it took some time for Maier to get comfortable. "I was so intimidated, and I would say almost scared, because it's a different culture with different people," she said. "I was a little overwhelmed at first…but everyone has been supportive from the first day I've been here. The more I've been with my team, the more I knew I had made the right decision."

One thing that hasn't changed for Maier during her evolution from quiet first-year student-athlete to junior captain and leader, however, is her success in the pool. Maier made an impact with the RedHawks from the get-go, capturing Mid-American Conference Freshman Swimmer of the Year honors in 2021 and earning All-MAC First Team recognition in each of her first two seasons in Oxford. She took first-place finishes at the conference meet in her favorite events, the 500 freestyle and 400 IM, as both a freshman and a sophomore.

And now, with this year's MAC Championships about to begin, Maier is eager to build on those past performances in front of a home crowd at the Corwin M. Nixon Aquatic Center.

Miami's program will host both the women's and men's championship meets over the next two weekends, and Maier is looking forward to hopefully earning some more postseason hardware in her home pool.

"I'm really excited that it's here because I think the energy will be really high," Maier said. "I think some alumni will come as well, and that will be really nice, just to see them and talk to them. Having the home support and not having to travel will hopefully just let us relax and have fun."

Of course, Maier has been having fun swimming for nearly her entire life.

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The first line on Maier's LinkedIn profile says she's dedicated to three things: 'Languages, Writing and Swimming.'

The Professional Writing major comes by all of those passions naturally. She got her start in the water around the age of six and has never looked back. She grew up speaking a variety of languages: Russian with her family (who came to Germany from the country of Russia), German in her native homeland, and English from learning it in school at a young age. (She also dabbled in French and Italian, but said she's struggled to keep up with those languages because she doesn't use them regularly!). And she realized early in her college career that she especially loved communicating via the written word, which made it easy to decide on what type of degree she should pursue. "I think [writing] is what I'm good at, and if it's something I'm good at, I probably have more fun doing it," the CSCAA Scholar Academic All-American said. Nicole Maier

Both swimming and writing allow Maier to express herself, albeit in different ways, and she's thankful for the opportunities she has to do the things she loves on a regular basis.

"If you're passionate about something, I think you should do it," Maier said. That mindset was what helped convince her to make the leap into attending college on the other side of the Atlantic from where she'd grown up, even though it meant living thousands of miles from family and friends for the majority of this four-year chapter in her life. "It can be really scary to make the decision to go to a different country, but that's something I did because I really wanted to be here," Maier explained.

"I feel like you won't regret going here, but you might regret not going. And then you'd ask your whole life, 'What could have been?'

"I don't want to have to ask myself that."

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What makes Nicole Maier a great swimmer?

Ask Miami head coach Hollie Bonewit-Cron that question, and the answer sounds remarkably like a grandmother's recipe or mathematician's formula: A little bit of this, multiplied by a little pinch of that.

"She's disciplined and she's ambitious," Bonewit-Cron said recently. "And I'd add a little touch of grit to go with that.

"Basically, when she gets into practice, she gives it everything she has. She's a '100% full tilt' kind of athlete, and she's going to push herself harder and harder. Her discipline comes in everything she does, both in the pool and outside of the pool…her ambitious nature is then going to catapult her into more success more often.

"And that little bit of grit helps her push harder even on a bad day."

Maier is known for her finishing surge in the final stretch of a race, which was on full display in her most recent 500 freestyle competition at this month's Miami Classic Invitational.

Nicole Maier Xavier

Maier's splits kept shortening during the final half of the race: 29.67 seconds, then 29.26…

29.13…

28.79…

And when the final bell rang, a 27.80.

Although she had been neck and neck with teammate and fellow German Greta Kolbeck with 150 meters to go, Maier pulled away convincingly over the final six lengths of the pool to win by nearly three seconds.

"Nicole starts out strong, but then is going to get stronger," said Bonewit-Cron. "There's no question that she's probably going to dust the competition the last 100-150."

Maier said her approach to swimming a race is anything but rocket science.

"I honestly just try to go as fast as I can," she laughed. "I used to have a little bit of a strategy, but I think if I try to go all out, it's better for me."

To say Maier's plan of attack has worked out well for her seems like a ridiculous understatement. Maier has already been named conference Swimmer of the Week four times in the 2022-23 season alone, including in December when she did her best Michael Phelps impression by going eight for eight with first-place finishes in her finals at the Miami Invite. Maier won the 500 free, 400 IM and 200 butterfly and was also part of five victorious relays (200 free relay, 400 free relay, 800 free relay, 200 medley relay and 400 medley relay). She also set a handful of program and pool records in the process.

Just another day at the office for one of the most decorated athletes in Miami swimming and diving history.

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Bonewit-Cron is looking forward to seeing what Maier and her teammates are able to accomplish in the postseason over the next few days and weeks, especially as the RedHawks get the chance to showcase their skills on a championship stage in their own facility. This will be the first women's MAC championship event in Oxford since 2017, although the MAC men competed at the Nixon Aquatic Center in the spring of 2021.

The Miami women are aiming for a third consecutive top-three conference finish and chasing their first league crown since 2013, while the men will be attempting to seize the MAC trophy for an unprecedented third year in a row.

So what should fans in the stands (as well those watching online, like Maier's family in Germany) expect to see from the host RedHawks? Nicole Maier

"Our excitement and enthusiasm and overall investment in each other as a team," Bonewit-Cron said. "We're going to celebrate all of the success that we've earned and worked for the entire season, and what we get to achieve at the end of the season."

Maier hopes to parlay the momentum from her successful junior campaign into not only a memorable MAC meet this weekend, but also a solid showing at the NCAA Championships in March, assuming her times earn her an invitation to the event in Knoxville, Tenn. After qualifying to compete in three events in the 2022 national meet (500 free, 200 free and 100 free), Maier believes she can improve on her NCAA results now as an upperclassman.

"I was really grateful that I got the opportunity to swim at the NCAAs…but I wasn't really happy with my performance [last year]," Maier said. "I still tried to be positive though, knowing that not everyone's getting the chance to do that.

"This year, I'm just going to try the best I can, have fun, hopefully be more relaxed because I've already been in this situation, and enjoy the moment."

Purchase your tickets now to support Nicole Maier and the Miami swimming and diving teams as they get the postseason underway with the MAC Championships in Oxford! All-session passes to the women's and men's conference championships are on sale now; single-session tickets will also be available for purchase at the door. The women's meet runs from Feb. 22-25, and the most up-to-date schedule can be found here. The men's meet is set for March 1-4, with the schedule of events posted here.

Find more Front Row Features at MiamiRedHawks.com/FrontRowFeatures.

Maier, RedHawks Hoping to Make a Splash at MAC Championships

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