The members of the University of Vermont Women's Swimming and Diving team became conference champions last month — the first time they've held the title in the program's 48-year history.

For the past 11 seasons, the team has placed third at the America East Conference championships. This time, they emerged victorious in the field of seven Division I teams, narrowly edging out the four-year-consecutive champion University of New Hampshire by 12 points. For a team that has struggled with budget cuts, it's a meaningful milestone.

"It's something that I will never forget," said cocaptain Kara Campbell, an all-conference honoree who placed third in the 400-meter individual medley, a combination of butterfly, backstroke, breaststroke and freestyle. "I'm smiling just thinking about it."

According to head coach Gerry Cournoyer, the difference this year was the depth of the team's talent. While the team has consistently had a few top performers, all 18 scoring athletes need to execute to pull off a win, he said.

Cournoyer points out that the victory is especially impressive given the program's lack of resources. In 2018, UVM announced it would stop awarding new scholarships to swimming and diving athletes as part of a department-wide cost-cutting initiative.

The team has managed to bring back 1.5 scholarships, the equivalent of $100,000 per year, with the help of private donors — a far cry from the 5.75 scholarships it used to offer. An anticipated decrease in donations means the team will likely only offer 0.67 scholarships next year, according to Cournoyer. The facilities aren't a selling point, either: The team practices in a small, 25-yard, six-lane pool in the basement of the Roy L. Patrick Gymnasium. Both were constructed in 1963.

Cournoyer, who started coaching at UVM in 2000, adapted his recruiting strategy to the dearth of funding. His "bread and butter," he explained, is finding athletes with room to grow whom other teams might overlook — and then helping them reach their full potential.

As "one of the least funded programs in the conference," UVM Swimming and Diving has "a little bit of a chip on their shoulders," Cournoyer said. "I take a lot of pride in building what we built without a lot of help."

Cournoyer said he's up front with prospective swimmers and divers about the limited number of athletic scholarships, while noting that academic scholarships or need-based aid may be an option. Most athletes don't qualify for in-state tuition, either: Only one of the 40 athletes currently on the team hails from Vermont.

The women's swimming and diving program isn't alone in its scrimping. As money at UVM has gotten tight, athletics programs have consistently been on the chopping block. The running joke is that UVM's football team has been undefeated since 1974, when the program was abolished. (The school still offers club football.) A more up-to-date wisecrack: UVM men's swimming has been undefeated since 2004, when that program was eliminated as part of budget cuts, too.

The total number of varsity sports at UVM has shrunk over the past few decades, from 27 in 2001 to 18 today, according to athletics director Jeff Schulman. Most recently, men's baseball and women's softball were eliminated in 2009.

As the longest-serving head coach at UVM, Cournoyer has been a constant. He said he's stayed because of the strength of the community, even when he received offers to coach elsewhere.

"It's not a big program with all these fancy facilities," said Nancy Stearns Bercaw, who worked as an assistant swim coach at UVM from 1999 to 2001 and again in 2006. "The strength of the program is Gerry's personality."

A 1990 graduate of Norwich University in Northfield, Cournoyer swam during his college years, though he is quick to add that he "was not very good." He served as head coach of swimming and diving at Lycoming College in Williamsport, Pa., for four years before coming to UVM. Swimming runs in his family: His wife, Jennifer, is head coach of swimming and diving at Norwich University, and his daughter currently swims at the University of New England in Maine.

During a recovery practice on a Wednesday afternoon, after the team's championship win, Cournoyer joked that his role was that of a "glorified lifeguard." Knowing when to push athletes and when to hold back is an important aspect of coaching, he said, and on recovery days, he tends to take a back seat. After explaining the workout for the day, he bantered with the swimmers between laps.

"Two more!" Cournoyer yelled, keeping track of their sets.

"One more," a swimmer corrected him.

"I can't count," Cournoyer responded.

"You're always off!"

"And never in a good way," Cournoyer quipped.

At the beginning of his career, Cournoyer said, he was fiercely competitive and focused on winning. But age has taught him it's more productive to emphasize process over outcome. He pointed out that in the pool's isolated lanes, swimmers can't affect their competitors' performances; they only have control over their own.

University of New Hampshire Swimming and Diving head coach Josh Willman said he's witnessed the evolution of Cournoyer's coaching philosophy over the years.

"He was really competitive and kind of wore it on his sleeve. But over the past eight or so years I've known him, he's come into his stride," Willman said. "He does a nice job getting them to swim their best without adding the pressure that a lot of coaches can."

Cournoyer also fosters a fun environment during competitions. One benefit of the small pool: It gets jam-packed with fans, he said. Several athletes said the program often gets compliments for hosting one of the loudest, most supportive crowds on the pool deck.

"Every single dive, when I turn around, people are cheering the whole time," said Tannah Proudfoot, a first-year diver from Johannesburg, South Africa. "It doesn't matter how I do, whether I win or come in last — the team is going to be there for me."

Hally Laney, a junior from Decatur, Ga., also said the supportive team culture and Cournoyer's tendency to de-emphasize winning helped draw her to UVM. With a positive attitude, she noted, winning tends to come naturally. At the conference championship, Laney set a pool and varsity record in the 100-meter butterfly.

"The environment here is better than getting a nicer locker room," Laney said. "I wouldn't want to be at a school with more resources. I'd rather be here with my teammates."