Senior Night

Hello! And Happy Monday ("Monday, Monday, so good to me...")! It was a fairly mild day here on the Union College campus and rather pleasant all-around. But besides the weather, today was quite enjoyable because it was the start of TAPER for the Union College Swimming and Diving Team!

Never heard of taper before? Think it sounds a bit like "tape worm" (eww!)? Well, to a swimmer, the period of leading up to the championship meets, known as taper, is like "the final sprint at the end of the marathon," as one of my teammates puts it. It is those two-ish weeks at the end of season that we don't have to wake up at 5:30 for morning practice and our muscles have the chance to grow big and strong because we're resting them after a long 4+ months of hard training. But it also means that the practices mimic championship races in their intensity and we have to readjust ourselves to the changes. And so, it is a wonderful time, but also difficult sometimes!

But let me back up a bit to this weekend. The reason we are starting this taper period is because the team has just completed the regular competition season, meaning that this past Saturday was our last dual meet and Senior Night! That meant that the senior class was honored as they completed the last home meet of their athletic careers. Pretty impressive, eh? For many, this month is the home stretch, upwards of fourteen years in the making. That's right, many collegiate swimmers have competed since they were 6 years old! That's quite a long time, indeed!

So, I wanted to make sure to honor the Union College Swimming and Diving Class of 2011 one last time: Congratulations to Annora Brennan, Taylor Connolly, Andrea Marois, Alex Connell, Conor Donahoe, Kevin Jung, Brian Scarlett, and Lucas Tiziani for their hard work and dedication to the sport of swimming and to the Union Swimming and Diving program! Your leadership and camaraderie will be remembered for years to come, and you will most certainly be missed! Best of luck to you all in your future endeavors!

Before I run the risk of turning into an inspirational speech giver and/or a greeting card, here's a couple of videos from the last relays of the Senior Night Meet. The videography (yes, I just made up that word) and most of the wonderful commentary is by diver, Lia D'Ambrosio '12 (Thanks, Lia!). The first race is the Womens 200 yard freestyle relay (think you can spot me?), but unfortunately, I am having some trouble uploading the Mens 400 yard freestyle relay (check back later for an update on that). For the seniors, this was their last competition in the Union pool, so it was quite an exciting meet!

Well, it is getting late for a swimmer in taper, so I must bid you all adieu. If you'd have any questions about the sport of swimming and/or the Union Swimming and Diving Team (or anything else for that matter), feel free to ask away! And remember: "Keep your Speedos tight and your arms a flappin'!"