Racing is what makes swimming great! Good racing that is. After all that is why we train every day - to see how fast we can go in a certain stroke and certain event. What makes racing fun is not just competing against yourself but competing against someone else who is also trying to go as fast as they have ever gone. It is athlete vs athlete - there is no one to pass the ball to and no one to block the challenger. It is the pure test of individual skill, preparation and ability.
Yet it is the team aspect of collegiate swimming that makes racing even that more special. Two teams with multiple athletes competing in 16 events with five scoring places per race. In a close meet, every race, place and athlete plays a part in the final outcome. It is a chess match of athletics and which team is ahead can change with each event. Rivalries can make this experience even sweeter as the emotions running through the teams and in the stands can bring the best out of each individual. It can provide that little bit extra which allows the athlete to perform at a higher than usual level. It is this kind of experience that surrounds the Colby-Bates-Bowdoin rivalry in all sports.
Now don't let the beginning of this email mislead you. The Mules went down to Bates this past weekend and won two meets in a very convincing fashion. Our team loves to race!! And, it showed this weekend. While on paper it appeared that we might have a slight advantage over the Bobcats between the lane lines - we are also competing this January without any divers and would therefore be starting both meets down by 32 points. This is not a comfortable place to begin a meet and it also leaves the door wide open for unexpected possibilities. Our goal was to set the tone right at the start of the meet, and make up for the diving points as fast as possible.
In the 200 Medley Relay the women did just that dropping a 1:51.90 (even with an injured swim in the breaststroke leg from Kelly Norsworthy). This swim was a 3 second drop from our previous in-season best. The great thing was that our B & C relays came in at 2:00.4 and 2:01.1 which is a strong indication of our depth right now. The men were not to be outdone. We mixed the two relays a bit to set up a 1-2 finish which we did with a 1:41 and 1:44, and as with the women, solid splits all around. From this point forward we never looked back and both teams had the meet well in control by the first diving break.
The exciting thing about the men's win is that it evens the rivalry with Bates (which for swimming began in 1982) to 15-15-1 while the women extended their advantage to 16-13. The meet also represents the first peg in the quest for the CBB title. We swim Bowdoin in two weeks and it will have all the makings of a great meet!!
As always, after we review the meet and recognize team members who achieved season and life time bests (kind of fun when those happen prior to the shave and taper), the team votes on the performer of meet.
This week the women unanimously nominated Kelly Norsworthy '08. Kelly our top breaststoker and IMer has been battling a small groin pull for the past couple of weeks and used this meet as an opportunity to show her versatility by competing in some freestyle events. She did swim a tender 50 Breast in the Medley Relay splitting a casual 30.73. Kelly then won the 200 freestyle in a lifetime best (she's never swum this event shaved at Colby) in 1:58.17 and followed that race with a 55.39 in the 100 free. Congratulations Kelly!!
The men nominated, discussed and the voted for two team members. Both very deserving in their own rights.
David Hirsch '10 has been having an incredible season this year! He is already posting times this year right at his shave and taper times from last season. This is always an impressive feat but when you consider that David is a distance swimmer it is even more so. David brought home two big wins this weekend. His first wins in his collegiate career. The first came in the 1000 free where David dropped an impressive 10:43.33. David then came back for a tough double and won the 500 Free in 5:14.59. Congratulations David!!
When Charlie Wulff '11 joined the team last November one of his goals was to be a contributing member of the team. Little did he know at that time that this goal might turn him slowly into a distance (ok maybe middle distance) swimmer. Charlie has met this challenge head on and against Bates he had his best meet as a Colby swimmer. In the 1000 free Charlie posted an 11:28.26 bringing in second place points. This represents a massive 28 second drop from the previous weekend and in all 58 seconds cut since the first time he swam the event in December. Then in the 500 free, Charlie placed 3rd (completing Colby's 1-2-3 finish in the event) with a time of 5:33.94. This represents a solid 3 second drop from last week and an overall season improvement of over 29 seconds. Congratulations Charlie!!
The Mules are now focused on the Cardinals from Wesleyan and Bantams from Trinity (and we will also get a preview of Bowdoin although we do not score against them at this meet). The quad meet always has great swimming and the heat format allows for some real nice racing opportunities. No matter the outcome - it will be a fun weekend for the Mules!
cb
Yet it is the team aspect of collegiate swimming that makes racing even that more special. Two teams with multiple athletes competing in 16 events with five scoring places per race. In a close meet, every race, place and athlete plays a part in the final outcome. It is a chess match of athletics and which team is ahead can change with each event. Rivalries can make this experience even sweeter as the emotions running through the teams and in the stands can bring the best out of each individual. It can provide that little bit extra which allows the athlete to perform at a higher than usual level. It is this kind of experience that surrounds the Colby-Bates-Bowdoin rivalry in all sports.
Now don't let the beginning of this email mislead you. The Mules went down to Bates this past weekend and won two meets in a very convincing fashion. Our team loves to race!! And, it showed this weekend. While on paper it appeared that we might have a slight advantage over the Bobcats between the lane lines - we are also competing this January without any divers and would therefore be starting both meets down by 32 points. This is not a comfortable place to begin a meet and it also leaves the door wide open for unexpected possibilities. Our goal was to set the tone right at the start of the meet, and make up for the diving points as fast as possible.
In the 200 Medley Relay the women did just that dropping a 1:51.90 (even with an injured swim in the breaststroke leg from Kelly Norsworthy). This swim was a 3 second drop from our previous in-season best. The great thing was that our B & C relays came in at 2:00.4 and 2:01.1 which is a strong indication of our depth right now. The men were not to be outdone. We mixed the two relays a bit to set up a 1-2 finish which we did with a 1:41 and 1:44, and as with the women, solid splits all around. From this point forward we never looked back and both teams had the meet well in control by the first diving break.
The exciting thing about the men's win is that it evens the rivalry with Bates (which for swimming began in 1982) to 15-15-1 while the women extended their advantage to 16-13. The meet also represents the first peg in the quest for the CBB title. We swim Bowdoin in two weeks and it will have all the makings of a great meet!!
As always, after we review the meet and recognize team members who achieved season and life time bests (kind of fun when those happen prior to the shave and taper), the team votes on the performer of meet.
This week the women unanimously nominated Kelly Norsworthy '08. Kelly our top breaststoker and IMer has been battling a small groin pull for the past couple of weeks and used this meet as an opportunity to show her versatility by competing in some freestyle events. She did swim a tender 50 Breast in the Medley Relay splitting a casual 30.73. Kelly then won the 200 freestyle in a lifetime best (she's never swum this event shaved at Colby) in 1:58.17 and followed that race with a 55.39 in the 100 free. Congratulations Kelly!!The men nominated, discussed and the voted for two team members. Both very deserving in their own rights.
David Hirsch '10 has been having an incredible season this year! He is already posting times this year right at his shave and taper times from last season. This is always an impressive feat but when you consider that David is a distance swimmer it is even more so. David brought home two big wins this weekend. His first wins in his collegiate career. The first came in the 1000 free where David dropped an impressive 10:43.33. David then came back for a tough double and won the 500 Free in 5:14.59. Congratulations David!!
When Charlie Wulff '11 joined the team last November one of his goals was to be a contributing member of the team. Little did he know at that time that this goal might turn him slowly into a distance (ok maybe middle distance) swimmer. Charlie has met this challenge head on and against Bates he had his best meet as a Colby swimmer. In the 1000 free Charlie posted an 11:28.26 bringing in second place points. This represents a massive 28 second drop from the previous weekend and in all 58 seconds cut since the first time he swam the event in December. Then in the 500 free, Charlie placed 3rd (completing Colby's 1-2-3 finish in the event) with a time of 5:33.94. This represents a solid 3 second drop from last week and an overall season improvement of over 29 seconds. Congratulations Charlie!!The Mules are now focused on the Cardinals from Wesleyan and Bantams from Trinity (and we will also get a preview of Bowdoin although we do not score against them at this meet). The quad meet always has great swimming and the heat format allows for some real nice racing opportunities. No matter the outcome - it will be a fun weekend for the Mules!
cb
