Starting Monday, March 9 through Sunday, March 15, UCSD swimmers and divers will write a daily blog, reporting from the NCAA Division II Championships in Houston, TX. Check in everyday to get a behind the scenes view of Championship Week.

Sunday, March 15, 2009

Anju Shimura -

Wow, what a meet! It's been a long week, but the meet has finally come to an end. Today was definitely the toughest day of the meet for everyone, including the coaches. As all our coaches are fighting a nasty bug that's flying around, the swimmers are also squeezing their last bit of energy out to finish the meet strong. The day started out a bit slow, as you could tell everyone was super tired and broken down. Unfortunately, our coach Corrie got super sick and couldn't make it to the meet. With one coach down, and our three other coaches barely hanging on, we entered the last day feeling a bit defeated already. As we walked onto the pool deck, we did the usual routine of stretching and our daily pump up speech. After we stretched, scott gave one of his best speeches that definitely lifted the spirits of everyone and sparked that triton pride that's in all of us. My favorite part of his speech was when he told us to just smile. So that's what I did. During warm up they always play songs on the loud speakers and before jumping into the icy cold pool we just let loose and danced around on the bulked  (sp?). I knew at that moment that I have slayed the “last day of the meet” daemon and was about to do some amazing swimming. And that's what happened. We all had amazing morning swims and ended the morning with great mile swims from kyle and kneif. The final session was even better. Both kendall and Daniel defended their titles of national champions and everyone else had life time bests. The highlight of my day was when I broke 2 minutes in the 200 backstroke, which has been one of my lifetime goals. After the last race, they handed out the overall team awards. It was so exciting to get the whole girls team together on that podium and celebrate our achievements together. One thing that really caught my eye, were the parents. The lovely Mr. Panis, Mr, Simmonds and the Mrs. Bohn and Mr. Lohse rocked the speedos and shirts that spelled out UCSD and cheered like there was no tomorrow. It was great. After the meet, we went back to the delicious Mexican place we ate at the first night...CABO!!! Of course it was delicious again and I tried not to eat too much again so I don't get a food coma. After we ate, the senior gave their speeches. This was definitely the most emotional part of the whole trip. Our team is so close and to say farewell to our favorite seniors who have guided us through the ups and downs and brought the team to where we are today was super tough. I was definitely balling my eyes out the whole time, it was a definite tear fest in that restaurant. Now I am sitting here in my hotel room writing this blog, as I hear the cheers and hollers of all the athletes who have completed their meets. This is going to be quite an interesting night...all athletes from swim/dive, track/field, and wrestlers in the same hotel, with everyone done on the same day? Oh boy. We entered Houston with high spirits and high hopes, and now we are leaving with more than we came for. We had some amazingly fast swims, some tears and some laughs, and hot humid weather to pouring rain. But now that its all over, I am definitely ready to go back to san diego! Bye, bye Houston!

Anju Shimura is a sophomore backstroker from Northwoods HS in Irvine, CA and is an Environmental Sciences major from Sixth College.



Saturday, March 14, 2009

Ashtyn Douglas -

Day Three. Our coach warned us that today would be a test of mental toughness for everyone. After two long days of swimming, the third day is usually a psychological and physical hurdle for all the athletes at the meet. It was
our job to be the toughest.

We started the meet off with great swims in the 500 free, one of the hardest races in the sport. The backstrokers posted best times for our team and our breaststrokers showed the crowd what Triton domination is all about. The final individual event of the night was also the final race of Jenn Sims' college swimming career. This bittersweet moment brought tears to many eyes; a precursor to the mass amount of tears I will be shedding during the senior recognition tomorrow night :-( The seniors have made my college experiences so far indescribable and I know
all of us underclassmen will do our best to make their last meet unforgettable.

Anyway, I had to choke back my tears and get pumped for our last relays. Both men and women clocked school records in the 800 freestyle relays?the women breaking the last year's NCAA record. Unfortunately, Drury beat us to it. We were all thrilled with the time none-the-less. Tomorrow is our best day as a team and we can't wait to chase down those other girls.

So were we the toughest team on the most exhausting day of the meet? I sure think so.
Ashtyn Douglas is a sophomore middle distance freestyler from Woodcrest Christian HS in Riverside, CA and is a Cognitive Science major from Warren College.



Friday, March 13, 2009

Kneif Lohse -

So Houston definitely took some getting used to. The humidity was the hardest part. As soon as we walked outside the air just felt thick and made you feel all sweaty and gross. After the first two days though, the weather cooled off and today it actually rained and was gloomy and foggy all day. Anyway, the weather hasn't really been too much of a factor, and the meet has been crazy fast. National and school records are dropping like flies, a great deal of which can be attributed to the ballin' new suits we got... the same ones that Mike Phelps wore at the Olympics when he broke all the world records. I think six school records were broken today, which brought the total up to 12 in two days, pretty damn impressive.

So since I don't really know what everyone else goes through to prep for their races, and what they all think about, I figured the coolest thing I could do was give a kind of play-by-play from my race today. I qualified in the morning to swim in the championship finals for the 200 freestyle, which is one of my favorite races. I was super-stoked because I had yet to make a final heat at Nationals before. I was seeded sixth which meant that I would swim in Lane 7. I kind of like swimming on the outside, because it allows me to see the whole field when I swim. Anyway, coming out for a final heat is SICK. They put all the swimmers in this janky little curtained off area that they call the “ready room” which is kind of tight because it's just you and the competition sitting in there. I do my best to psych everyone out, bumping my headphones as loud as they can go and giggin' around to the Mac Dre beats that I jam before I swim. They give you the nod and some local with a big sign walks out in front of all the swimmers, and the number one seed gets to pick the song that the whole arena hears. They introduce everyone and each swimmer's respective team goes nuts when they announce the names. I was pumped at this point?everyone in the place is watching you, and it's like you better do something special because it could be your only chance to swim in finals.

Anyway, I thought going in that I had a leg up on everyone else because most of the other guys are sprinters, which means they swim the 50 and the 100 free, but the 200 is my shortest event, so I have more of a distance background from swimming the 500, 1000, and the mile. I figured beforehand that I would be able to gut out the last 50 yards of my race better than everyone else because I'm used to swimming distance. This however, was not really the way the race played out. I dove in and I guess my nerves got the best of me because I went out a little too fast. My first 100 yards I was in control, I even think that I was leading at one point, or at least in second. I saw the dude in Lane 5 coming on strong though. This dude was big, some crazy Russian that won the 50 freestyle the day before. All I could think was that I was racing Drago from Rocky IV. This guy is like 6' 5'', at least 215 or 220. A beast, with the gnarliest mullet you've ever seen. Dude doesn't even wear goggles or a cap, straight up crazy. Anyway, at the 150 I was still in second, but I was dying, and I knew it. I turned and just started kicking as hard as I could but it was no use. My arms and legs were going numb, and I just couldn't hold on. Drago smoked me, as well as a couple other guys in the middle lanes. It sucked, I'm not gonna lie. I touched when it was all over and was immediately pissed at myself because I felt like I could have swam the race smarter, and got a higher place. My time was a 1:37.8. A new school record and the fastest time I had ever gone, so I couldn't really complain. Tomorrow is my best race, the 500 free, so I'm gonna give em' hell, and hopefully best some of the foreigners who make up a pretty high percentage of the rosters of the other top teams. We'll see, right.

Kneif Lohse is a senior distance freestyler from Granite Hills HS in Ventura, CA and is a Communications major from Warren College.

Thursday, March 12, 2009

Todd Langland -

Here we go. The first day of the meet was today, bringing with it lots of surprises and victories at the pool. We started off with our usual routine, heading down to breakfast, but today everyone had to be at the meet at the same time so it was a little crowded. Swimmers and their food, better not get in the way.

We all then packed up and headed out to prelims where the 200 IM, 50 Free, and 1000 Free would be swum. The meet started out awesome, everyone was super excited to finally be competing and showing what we have worked for all year. As expected, times were dropping like crazy and there were meet records being set in prelims, something that would usually be almost unheard of. Our team followed the trend and was putting out best times and great finishes to set the stage for finals, where we would have the chance to score points toward the team total for the week.

Afterwards we grabbed our lunch, a highly-anticipated Chipotle burrito, and headed back to the hotel for some rest. People all have their own routines when we get back, some get some TV watching in, some sleep, some might even go so far as to do school work that we are missing or study for finals. But after what becomes a very short two and a half hours, those who made it back to finals (the top 16 swimmers in each event) were on their way back to the pool to warm up again.

Finals are run a little different than prelims. For one thing, there are only two heats of each event but there is a little more of a show that goes into each start. The Final heat (top 8 swimmers) get to “walk-out” for their race which consists of being paraded around a section of the pool before stepping up on the blocks. It all went by very fast, with more records dropping and people moving up places to score plenty of points for the team.

Some notable swims of the night were Dan Perdew's 2nd place 50 Free with a school record time of 19.6 seconds, Kneif Lohse's 7th place school record 1000 free, Alex Henley's 3rd place 200 IM was under the school record and previous national record, and Erinn Deters 6th place 50 Free school record. The women finished off the night with a victory in the 200 Medley relay in school record time, with a little help from a disqualification by Drury University. For those of you keeping track at home, that would be five school records in one night. The men's 200 medley relay which had set its own school record (so make that six on the day) in the morning was unfortunately disqualified but it is only a minor setback and everyone is ready to come back strong for tomorrow and the rest of the meet.

Overall it was a great first day and I am personally very excited for the rest of the week and to watch everyone keep getting better and swimming faster. My best events are coming up so I am looking forward to those as I know many on the rest of the team are as well. I can't finish this off without acknowledging the efforts of our diver at the meet, Kevin Sullivan, who placed 10th on 3-meter today and will be back in action on his specialty, one meter, on Friday.

Todd Langland is a junior sprinter from Carmel HS in Carmel, CA and is a Biology major from Marshall College.

Wednesday, March 11, 2009

Dan Perdew -

Today is the last day before the meet actually starts. It's a little nerve-wracking knowing there is nothing else you can do and you have no more practices to work on things. After breakfast we started off the day by going to the pool. This would be the last time before we get in for the first prelim session. There were more teams there this morning than the last couple of days as everyone is finally here. Practice went as usual, working on the little things such as relay starts and getting used to a different pool. Practicing with so many teams is pretty annoying especially since so many swimmers from other schools don't really speak English. Other than having to deal with other teams, everyone is really excited for the meet to start.

After leaving the pool we went back to the hotel to get lunch and rest before the NCAA dinner. Most people spend the day watching TV or for those of use who are swimming tomorrow we spent some time shaving. Swimmers shave parts of their bodies that aren't covered by their suits to get the fast feeling in the water. Things are a little different this year because we are part of an “NCAA Festival” and there are championships for three sports going on in one city (Swimming, Wrestling, and Indoor Track and Field). Also, all the athletes are staying in the same hotel. It's a little weird being in the same hotel as every athlete you're competing against. It's a pretty tense atmosphere walking around the hotel, seeing swimmers from every school in the Midwest.

After relaxing in the hotel most of the day we made our way to the NCAA dinner at the Aquarium in downtown Houston. Usually this dinner is only with swimmers, a few people get up and talk, and we go home. This year all three sports had dinner together. Pretty much it was a mad house. There was salsa dancing, people dressed up in sea animal costumes and 2,000 athletes roaming around. The lines for food weren't really lines as much as a free for all, but we managed to do pretty well for ourselves. We got out of there as quick as we could so we could get back to the hotel and get ready for tomorrow.

As for myself, being here for the third time, this all seems pretty routine. Coming into the meet I thought I would have a target on my back after last year, but that doesn't seem to be the case. Somehow I'm not the favorite in any of my events, again, but that is fine with me. It doesn't matter to me what other people think, and I'm not going to let my events go to someone else just because people think I can't win again. If they think that's the case, everyone is in for a surprise.

Dan Perdew is a junior sprinter from Damien HS in La Verne, CA and is an Business Management major from Marshall College.


Tuesday, March 10, 2009

Cari Cunningham -

"Well today is our first full day in Houston after flying out here yesterday. It is nice getting here a couple days before the competition starts in order to get acclimated to the time change, humid weather, and pool we will be racing in. Ever since we have arrived, I have been comparing Houston to San Diego, and I have to say, Houston has about two points and San Diego has 50. If the weather is this humid now, I can't imagine being here during the summer! And there are one way streets everywhere! We have seen pretty much all of downtown Houston from all the times we have gotten lost, but I have to say it makes the trip a lot more fun! Houston is actually pretty exciting with all its tall buildings. I just think that nothing can compare to San Diego!

Similar to when the meet begins and we have to race in prelims and finals, today we made two trips to the University of Houston's aquatic center to practice. Everyone was especially excited for the warm-up this afternoon as it was all of our first times wearing the "Lzr" swim-suit. The suits are the big hype this year, after watching the Olympics this past summer and seeing all those world records set. At first I was not sure the suit was worth the time to put it on (It took me over 20 minutes and I don't even have a full leg suit since I am a breastroker)! However, my opinion of the Lzr quickly changed as soon as I hit the water. It feels like you have something pushing you through the water while also helping you keep afloat. The suit comes with an instruction manual to put it on, some statistics on how it helps your performance, and a nice picture of Michael Phelps wearing one, but all I know is that the suit makes you ridiculously fast! It was fun watching everyone's reaction after their first sprint with the Lzr on. I have never seen grins so big!!

It is nice not to have to worry about cooking all this week. As much as I love making pasta and taco salad, the food we are getting here is much better! Every morning there is an athlete breakfast where we get to eat, and size up our competition. Since all the Division II athletes are staying at the same hotel, we run into teams anytime we leave the room. We also have team dinners at night. which are a lot of fun. Since we still have another day of practice before the meet begins, everyone on the team is pretty relaxed. We are still adapting to the time difference and aquatic facility. However, I am pretty sure everyone has been excited ever since we arrived in Houston, and especially now that we have worn our new suits and seen how fast we can go in them.

Since we aren't training hard now, it is tough to conserve our energy when the anticipation of the meet is so high. When we aren't at the pool, we spend our time in each other's rooms watching TV, or studying. It would be easy to forget about school now, but I know finals are going to be waiting for us as soon as we return back to UCSD. Even though this is my third year competing on the swim team, it is the first year I have qualified for Nationals. Having sat at home for the past two years, refreshing my browser and calling my teammates every couple of minutes to get the results, it feels amazing to be here experiencing it all firsthand. I can't wait for the meet to start, because I know everyone is going to swim lights out!"

Cari Cunningham is a junior swimmer from San Clemente HS in San Clemente, CA and is an Undeclared major from Muir College.



Monday, March 9, 2009

Shannon Simonds -

"Well, we made it Houston in one piece. Surprisingly enough, even with almost 30 people, the trip from San Diego to Houston was relatively uneventful. It was definitely weird though waking up this morning knowing that I was about to leave for the last swim meet of my life. When you have been swimming this long, you never really think the day is going to come when its all over, yet as I sit here in my hotel room it's hitting me that the last day is going to come this week. Pretty weird, to say the least. But I am more excited than I am sad about swimming ending. Our team has been swimming ridiculously this year and I can't wait to see everyone in action...especially now that we have our lzrs. When Scott passed out our lzr suits on Saturday, it was like Christmas morning. They are so intense looking that all of us are acting like they are our new born children. I swear, I was more concerned that something would happen to my suit on the flight over than to my computer--haha. But everything did make it here perfectly. Kendall (Bohn) and I even managed to make it here with a bit of San Diego with us...in the form of Santana's burritos. After a long day of travel those burritos saved us for sure.

After the flight, we headed to the hotel to settle in and then it was off to the pool to shake out all the plane jitters. Although Houston is hot and humid and the pool deck is hot and humid, the pool feels fast and I think there are gonna be some great swims coming out of that pool this week. Going to and from the pool is pretty sweet too because we are riding in a bunch of minivans. The coaches have had fun trying not to get lost while racing each other around the downtown Houston area. I'm sure we look totally cool too since they are minivans after all. The hotel is really awesome. We are staying at the NCAA DII Festival hotel so they are hosting all the athletes from swimming and diving, track and field, and wrestling. We are on the 26th floor so we have also had fun riding up the elevators that overlook the middle of the hotel. There are posters that say NCAA Championships all over the hotel and there is an athlete lounge so the hotel feels pretty legit and makes us feel pretty special.

Since we just got here today, not a whole lot has happened. Everyone is exploring the hotel or playing Battlestar Galactica with the huge circluar pillows in our room. Today is basically just the travel day where we get acclimated to being on the road and living out of suitcases. I am just, once again, admiring our crazy suits and watching Desperate Housewives. The good news about traveling is that there are TVs in our rooms so I don't have to get behind on my viewing. But really, it is a little hard to be gone the week before finals and having that fact linger in the back of our minds. The truth is, as much as I need to be studying and making up missed work, the reason we are here is to swim so that's my real focus. Once the meet gets closer, I'll start getting nervous but for now I am just excited. So, I guess that's it. Houston so far is treating us well and everyone is pumped to get the meet started!"

Shannon Simonds is a senior swimmer from Archbishop Mitty HS in San Jose, CA and is a Communications major from Sixth College.