TicketsDec. 22, 2010
By Jeff Gentil
GoBEARCATS.com
The UC swimming and diving teams are officially on a break between the fall and spring portion of their schedule. And while most of Cincinnati shoveled snow, the swimmers and divers traveled to Naples, Florida for 12 days. But that doesn't mean they were on vacation. They were training for their second half push toward a BIG EAST Championship.
"This was our fourth year (training in Naples) and it was great," UC coach Monty Hopkins said. "The staff and the local club team did everything they could to make us feel welcome and have a successful training camp."
Training for swimming is not like training for any other sport. It encompasses an entire day and if you don't believe that, Hopkins breaks it down step-by-step.
"One of the guys posted on Facebook that his Christmas break consisted of: wake-up, eat breakfast, swim, eat more, nap, wake-up again, eat more, swim again, do weight or dry land, eat more, sleep...then do it all again tomorrow."
So while they are on a break from competition, swimmers are never really away from the pool.
"The intent is to be swimming better at the end of camp than we were when we arrived," Hopkins said. "Unlike the old-school approach to grueling 'hell week' training camps, I don't want to exhaust anyone to the point they need a month to recover. We do have a half day off once every three days. That said, it is a training camp and the priority was to get breakthroughs; both in training performance and in race performance."
Due to UC's late start to the school year, the performance of the swimming and diving teams aren't necessarily on pace with the rest of its competition, but Hopkins was encouraged by the ground his team made up.
"We had a really good fall both in our training and competitions," he said. "The focus, for us, is on the end of the season so we have to put together the foundation to bring about great championship results. Don't get me wrong, I really like to see our teams win meets and truly hate being on the losing end, but if the work we do in the fall generates the great swims at the end of the year, we will have done the right thing."
Although the results for the fall meets may not be what Hopkins would want, there have been some outstanding individual performances.
"We have two women who have already made NCAA consideration times (Liz Hansson - 200 back and Josefin Wede - 200 breast)," he said. "Josefin broke the UC school record that has stood since 1987. Brittany Teneyck has been diving well and showed it by winning both one and three meter diving events at the Miami Invitational."
While Wade and Hansson have broken some UC records, there are several others who are close to doing the same.
"Kinsey Kowalski, Anna Bersani, Erin Frye, Victoria Jacumski and Stephen Cunningham have recorded times that place in the UC all-time top-10," Hopkins said. "There are also some swimmers who are well ahead of where they were last year at this time and will make significant contributions by the end of the year."
The standouts don't stop there. The diving team, in particular, has had an impressive first half.
"Kirtley Krombholz, (Teneyck) and Lindsey Bakan are among the best in the BIG EAST," Hopkins noted. "And any one of them could, with a great performance at NCAA Zones, get to the NCAA Championship."
For future success, Hopkins will rely heavily on a handful of swimmers to carry the team. No doubt senior leadership and experience will be a big factor.
"The trio of senior middle-distance guys (Nathan Williams, Nate Kramer, and Cunningham) continue to provide practice and meet leadership," he said. "They are the top point scorers (along with transfer Haywood Miller) and the undisputed heart of the team. Miller and Roberto Nevarez both made the championship finals at the Miami Invitational. The male breaststroke swimmers, in addition to Haywood, have been outstanding the first half of the year (Britton Van Dissel, Mike Whipkey, and Matt Hargrove)."
On the women's side: "Bree Rossi and Bailey Laban have started to fill the place in the lineup left by the graduation of Lange Gilby and Elinore de Jong," Hopkins said. "Stephanie Conklin is on pace to swim even faster than her championship final and all-time number four breaststroke swims from last year. Laurie Caudy is making good on her promise to be totally focused on going fast this year and has been one of the most consistent and reliable swimmers on the team."
Hopkins has also been encouraged by some young and improving swimmers who could help elevate the team at some of the important late season meets.
"Three freshmen (Rob Walsh, Seth Poitinger, and Joe Scherpenberg) are making a real difference so far," he said. "(For the women) Katie Nemann, Weronika Wasiakowska, Sammie Wheeler, Amanda Hardewig, and Victoria Jacumski are doing really well and all should develop into point scorers."
Looking toward the spring portion of the 2011 schedule, Hopkins hopes to continue improving.
"The goals are to have our best ever BIG EAST Championship and qualify people to the NCAA Championship," he said. "Then, (we want) to have an even better NCAA meet and bring home a couple of NCAA All-Americans. After NCAA's, most everyone will get back to work so that we can have more people than ever before training hard to compete in spring-summer meets. That is what it takes for our team to move into the top-four in the BIG EAST and score at NCAA's. In addition to the athletic goals, we expect to continue our tradition of academic excellence."