University of Richmond Athletics
A-10 Championship Blog: Thursday Edition
02/24/2012 | Women's Swimming & Diving
Editor's Note: Head coach Matt Barany will continue his annual tradition and pen a blog over the duration of this week's A-10 Championship. His fourth championship week entry can be found below.
Feb. 23,
2012: Nerves Shaken, New Inspirations Awaken
The snow is gone, and so too is Travis' voice.
We started today with bundled nerves from our seniors to our freshmen. It was frighteningly obvious. Tonight, we were a much goofier group, and things started to click. I believe the best is yet to come.
Jessie was an inspiration today. Jessie braved the 500 with renewed focus and renewed energy. I know she is disappointed in her times, but the way she "shook off" last night's relay contribution to refocus on her schedule inspired many. I don't think we would have become our confident selves tonight if it weren't for Jessie.
Allison won the final of the 500 free, and Lexi won consols in the race. I know Allison and Lexi learned from Jessie. These are the connections that make a team strong. Jessie turned misfortune into valuable lessons, and Lexi and Allison turned Jessie into an inspiration. Jessie would deflect this by pointing out that Allison's inspiration came from her accidental trip into the men's locker room.
I hesitate to think we are growing a fresh crop of IMers. We'll wait to see the 400's tomorrow before we judge. For not "training" IM, we tend to do well in the event. Anna, Meredith and Mali dropped their best times tonight. Mali broke the A-10 meet record in the 200 with her 1:59.49. Erin time trialed in the afternoon and dropped three seconds to a 2:06.65. Jillian also time trialed the 50 Free (23.84) to land her a spot on the winning 200 free relay with Mali, Ace and Cha.
Liz finally broke the :24.00 barrier after many years of flirting with it. It is so fun to watch a senior smile like a little kid after her race. I think Liz and the rest of our seniors will put together two great days.
How nice is it to have a diver landing on the podium? Katherine scored third tonight on 1m and was a calm model for all.
We're accepting of a team race. With 55 points separating us from Fordham, it looks like the weekend will be a challenging one.
Thank you for taking a second to read this. We appreciate your time.
