COLUMBIA, Ky. -- The first of Lindsey Wilson College's three new sports will make its debut Saturday when the Blue Raider swimming team competes at Asbury (Ky.) College.

It will be a modest beginning for the program - just four men and one woman will compete for the Blue Raiders in the meet, which will also feature Berea (Ky.) College and Campbellsville (Ky.) University. The meet begins at 3:30 p.m. CT at Asbury's George E. Luce Physical Activities Center.

LWC swimming coach Bart Garlick eventually hopes to have a full complement of swimmers to compete for an NAIA national title. But for now he said the thrill is starting a program from scratch. (LWC's other two new sports are wrestling, which debuts later this school year, and football, which opens next September.)

"I took the job here because I wanted the challenge," Garlick said. "It's an opportunity that you don't see every day, with the building of a new facility and the resources the school wants to put into fielding a successful swimming program."

The resources to which Garlick refers are, like his program, still a work in progress. The Doris and Bob Holloway Health & Wellness Center - which will include an eight-lane swimming pool and a 17-foot diving pool - is nearing completion. It will be opened later this school year.

So since Aug. 24, the Blue Raiders have trained at Russell County High School Natatorium and Auditorium in Russell Springs, Ky., about 15 minutes from the A.P. White Campus.

"The administration at Russell County High School and staff at the Natatorium have been very accommodating," Garlick said. "The pool opened in May of this year, and we were the first people in the water."

All of the five Blue Raiders who will compete Saturday in Wilmore are freshmen. Garlick said they are excited to be pioneering a program.

"I have a great group of kids," he said. "They've developed into a close group that really supports each other. They seem to really love what they are doing and appreciate the chance to be the first to swim here as a Blue Raider."

Garlick was head coach at the University of Colorado from 2005-08. While coaching the Buffalos, Garlick led the men's and women's programs to four straight American Swimming Association National Championships and seven national records.

At Lindsey Wilson, Garlick has implemented a distinctive training program.

"A lot of college swimmers and coaches don't get the physics of water," Garlick said. "My swimmers learn what the water is doing with all the different weights of gear we use in practice. They will work a lot harder than most other teams, but they'll also go faster. Not a lot of coaches take fluid dynamics in school."

Leading the freshman Saturday at Asbury are Ivan Ivancic of Zagreb, Croatia, and Alex Medley of Vine Grove, Ky.

"Those two (Ivan and Alex) are good free-style swimmers," Garlick said. "Since they're so well-rounded, they'll race a lot of events on Saturday."

Daniel Lyle of Lawrenceburg, Ind., and Daniel Pulliam of Crestwood, Ky., round out the men's roster. The pair will join Ivancic and Medley in an attempt to qualify for the national NAIA meet in medley events.

Megan Humphress of Louisville, Ky., is the sole woman competing this weekend. She is the only member of the program Garlick did not recruit. She joined the program at the start of the semester, and Garlick said she has performed very well in practices.

"Megan will enter some races this weekend," Garlick said. "I like her a lot, she has a great desire to improve."

As Garlick adds to the program's roster, he hopes to recruit more student-athletes from Kentucky.

"I want to recruit the best of the best to Lindsey Wilson," he said. "I really want to get the top Kentucky swimmers. It's a sport (swimming) picking up momentum in the state. I'd love to see a group of Kentucky kids on the podium winning a national championship."

Once the college's $9 million Holloway Health & Wellness Center is completed, Garlick said a lot of student-athletes will be attracted to the program because they will have an opportunity to build a program while training and competing in one of the top small-college swimming pools in the state.

"Really good swimmers want to come here," he said. "A top athlete can come here and make an impact for us right away."

The Mid-South Conference, of which LWC is a member, does not sponsor swimming. So the Blue Raiders will compete as an independent team in the NAIA.

"It's a very cool thing to be here and start from scratch," Garlick said. "I wouldn't want it any other way."