Landreneau Benefitting From Dobson Push

Marie Landreneau had a really productive freshman 12 months on the Georgia girls’s swimming and diving crew, competing properly in a number of occasions on the SEC and NCAA championships. It was a 12 months of studying and growth, and a 12 months that impressed her to push for even larger issues as a sophomore.

“Probably the biggest difference is just trusting the process and just enjoying what I’m doing, and just racing,” she stated. “I’m just enjoying the simple side of swimming, instead of overthinking and putting pressure on myself.”

Along with Duné Coetzee, Shea Furse and Ieva Maluka, Landreneau earned second-team All-America honors with an Eleventh-place end within the 800 relay eventually spring’s NCAAs. In the 100 free, Landreneau positioned 69th; within the 200 free, she was twenty ninth. Stefanie Williams Moreno. Georgia’s Tom Cousins Women’s Swimming & Diving Head Coach, stated Landreneau has improved in various areas this season.

“She’s always been mature, but she’s stronger, she’s fitter; she’s always taken things super seriously, but she’s also playful and fun,” Moreno stated. “Marie did a great job last year, and she’s just building on the foundation from last year and then the spring and summer.”

One key distinction for Landreneau as a sophomore is the presence of standout freshman Kennedi Dobson, who has already twice been named the SEC Freshman Swimmer of the Week. At final month’s Georgia Fall Invitational at Gabrielsen Natatorium, Dobson received the 1,650 free (by greater than 9 seconds), the 200 free, and anchored the Bulldogs’ profitable 800 free relay crew. The 200 free and 800 relay occasions have been each the fourth-fastest in program historical past, and her 1,650 time was the fifth quickest.

“I’ve never had a training partner that I’m this close with, and that pushed me so hard every day,” Landreneau stated. “It’s so fun and it’s so exciting, and it’s also so comforting. Whenever I see her swim something, I’m like, okay, she’s swimming fast. I know I can do something fast because we do it together every day, so I really love it.

“I really like having the ability to be on the crew together with her, as a result of she’s not simply an incredible swimmer, she’s an incredible individual, too, and she or he’s all the time so supportive.”

A star recruit and already named to the 2025-26 USA Swimming National Team and the 2026 U.S. Pan Pacific Championships Team, Dobson has Georgia’s fastest times so far this season in the 200, 500, 1,000 and 1,650 freestyle events. During the Georgia Fall Invitational, Landreneau placed second (1:43.47) behind Dobson (1:42.19) in the 200 free and was part of the winning 800 relay team, swimming the third leg in 1:43.96, second only to Dobson’s 1:41.91 in the anchor leg.

“Kennedi makes everyone higher, and she or he and Marie have a fairly good apply tag-team, type of pushing one another to the bounds,” Moreno said. “It’s been actually enjoyable to look at, and I feel it has been actually good for Kennedi.”

Landreneau’s improvement shows up in her times. She’s already posted faster times than last year in the 50, 100 and 500 freestyle, with the 200 times nearly identical. A lot of that she attributes to training and racing with Dobson.

“Being subsequent to her in any race is simply all the time so energizing and thrilling, simply because she’s a fantastic swimmer and she or he makes me higher,” Landreneau said.

Swimming is in her blood. Both of her parents are swim coaches, so getting into the sport “was type of non-negotiable,” she said. Landreneau said she first started swimming when she was 5 years old, “and I all the time cherished it and caught with it.”

A little more than a quarter of the way through her collegiate career, Landreneau is excited by what she’s already accomplished and for what the future holds. And a big part of that is being a part of this Georgia team, which inspires her every day.

“The most satisfying half will not be solely seeing the place I’ve come, however the folks I got here in with and seeing the place they’ve come,” she said. “Seeing the place we’re going, seeing how the freshmen are enhancing in simply the few months they have been right here. I simply find it irresistible.”

 

Assistant Sports Communications Director John Frierson is the employees author for the UGA Athletic Association and curator of the ITA Men’s Tennis Hall of Fame. You can discover his work at: Frierson Files.