Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell Women's Swimming and Diving Blog - Kaitlyn Sweeney
12/2/2010 7:00:00 AM | Women's Swimming and Diving
Dec. 2, 2010
November was both an interesting and exciting month this year for our women's swim team in terms of dual meets and practices. We went into this past month not sure how we would fair against our close rivals, Navy and Colgate, or how much our practices would challenge us. But, I think that we have been pleasantly surprised by our efforts.
The training this past month has been pretty challenging especially since we have had a meet every weekend on top of our weekly training. Even though we have been pushed to our limits at times, I am really proud of how our girls have handled the challenges and supported each other. Personally, I am more positive this year than I have been the past two years, and it has come from the positive energy and support that my teammates exude. Our freshman class is a strong group of girls who have brought a renewed energy to this team, which really helps to keep our spirit alive. I also think that the veterans have improved as leaders and have really helped the team progress.
The fact that we have improved in these ways has helped us to perform better as a team at meets. There are many upperclassmen that have had season best times or even lifetime best times this year, which is very impressive considering the season is only halfway done. Our freshmen have really stepped it up in the dual meets as well, helping us to score points that were lost by the alumni that graduated last year. I think we had a really good run against Navy and Colgate this season even though we did not win against them, but I think that we are definitely prepared to face them again at Patriots and we will for sure keep them on their toes. Our Rutgers invite was a true testament to how we could perform against multiple teams in a championship setting with prelims and finals, which I thought as a team and individually, went really well. We had a lot of season and personal best times, which I believe will still be improved upon at Patriots and ECACs.
I think the key ingredient to this year's performances, both the team's and my own, is attitude. We want the best for each other and our team and I think that quality has made us perform better than we ever have. My high school coach always said to me that swimming is 20% physical and 80% mental, which I never really took to heart until this year. I have found this statement to not only be helpful in the pool, but in other aspects of life. With this concept, I think that our team can do great things this year and make a mark in Bucknell swimming history.
