Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell Men's Swimming and Diving Blog - Chris Devlin
1/19/2016 1:03:00 PM | Men's Swimming and Diving
With 2015 officially completed, the Bucknell men's swimming and diving program has its sights set on 2016, and with the new year comes its new challenges. Coming back to school early provided us with a chance to begin this year with each other, both in and out of the pool. Getting back into our training was extremely important, as we have meets looming on the horizon before we reset for championship season, and we had to be ready.
Now more than ever, our camaraderie and energy needed to be strong in order for us to stay focused and continue to work toward our goals. The first week back gave us a chance to get back into the swimming routine after a nice break for the holidays. It was a tough week, but it had to be for us to be prepared for a busy weekend on the road in New York. Both Army and Colgate provided different challenges and in order for us to step up and perform, we needed to execute during that first week of training.
The trip out to West Point on January 9th began with a long bus ride, which can have its effects on swimmers trying to compete immediately after. It had been a while since we had raced in a meet format, but as the meet went on it seemed like we were getting back into it. Even though we lost, we definitely finished stronger than we started. By the last event, the team was more confident and more energized than we were at the beginning, and we were determined to continue that build of momentum through the weekend as we traveled to race Colgate the next day. That is exactly what we did, as we stormed into Colgate with an unparalleled level of energy and sustained that energy throughout the entirety of the meet, winning convincingly.
Then, once again, the focus shifted back to training for another week before our final home meet of the season against Colombia. As we had seen in the past, they were a very strong team year in and year out. After a solid week of practice, we geared up for one last racing opportunity at Kinney. This meet was especially important, as it was our senior day. Honoring our seniors was a fantastic way to start off the meet, as we paid them the respect they deserved through their years of hard work and dedication to this program. Immediately following the ceremony on deck, the team huddled up in our locker room, buzzing with an excitement I had never seen before. Everyone was excited, everyone was motivated, and we had one of our best meets of the year. Even though we did lose in the end, it was a huge step towards our ultimate goals come championship season.
Now, with one final dual meet remaining, everyone is getting excited for championships in February. We're training harder than ever, pushing each other to be better every day, and encouraging one another to continue working towards their goals. With all eyes on the upcoming weeks, there is a ton of excitement amongst the team. Everyone has worked incredibly hard all season long, and we are just waiting for our chance to show just how well that work will pay off.
Players Mentioned
