The UR men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams participated in the Harvest Relays this past weekend. The event was hosted by UR, but unfortunately having the meet at home did not help either team on this day. Both the men and women placed fifth out of six teams.
The men finished with a total of 160 points, 30 behind Ithaca College, the meet’s winner. The Ithaca women were also victorious and defeated the Yellowjackets, who scored 167 points, by 30.
The men and women were forced to treat the relays as a grueling practice, which involved a pre-meet lift and participation in off events ? those which are not the regular events for the swimmers that participated in them. “We wanted to see how they could perform when tired,” said assistant coach Eric Stefansky.
Due to the intensity of the meet and the workout beforehand, there were no expectations for either team. “It was supposed to be a fun meet, there were good swims all around, but no outstanding performances,” said Stefansky.
Two men and women should be commended for their participation in the relays. Junior Tiffany Siu and sophomore Ann Richards swam in every event of the meet for the women. Their counterparts on the men’s squad that participated in every event were senior Mike Reinhardt and sophomore Alex Provan. “Considering the workout and the number of events they swam, all four did a great job,” Stefansky said.
With this meet behind them, the coaching staff hopes that the teams will learn how to swim when tired and compete until the end. Every meet is preparation for the future UCAA and UAA Championship meets. This tapering process will payoff if the Yellowjackets are able to peak when at the Championship meets. The faster UR swims now, the faster they will be able to swim when it really counts.
Next up for the UR men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams is Union College, at home on Saturday at 2 p.m. The meet against Union is one of the most anticipated meets of the year for the women. Both teams are getting a bit of rest this week and will look to do extremely well.
