Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell Women's Swimming and Diving Blog - Emily Wright
12/15/2011 7:00:00 AM | Women's Swimming and Diving
Dec. 15, 2011
Nationals was a great experience, I had never been to a meet of that caliber before. The atmosphere was very different from my meets in high school or here at Bucknell. The energy was incredible and it was very exciting with so many world-class competitive swimmers in one venue. One big adjustment for me was that because this is an Olympic year, the meet was set up long course. Although challenging, it was great to get some experience swimming in a different format and I felt I could focus more on racing the competition instead of comparing my times. Another adjustment was that there was no team atmosphere. Instead of people competing to score points for their teams, individuals were competing to place or to make various cuts. Cheering for my teammates and having that same energy when I'm up on the blocks definitely motivates me to swim faster, and this was something I missed.
Still, being among such competitive swimmers was exciting. Their dedication and commitment to the sport was amazing, and I admire their drive. After our events from the first two days we left to make it to our dual meet against La Salle on Saturday. Although exhausted from all the traveling, it was great to be back with the team. This was a very exciting experience and I'm glad I had the opportunity to compete at this level.
We are now getting ready to leave for Florida for our training trip. With finals almost over, it will be nice for everyone to just be able to focus on swimming for the next few weeks, and hopefully in warm weather!
