Swimming and Diving Struggles To Get On Winning Track
Beina Xu '08
Issue date: 11/12/04 Section: Sports
- Page 1 of 2 next >
It is said that the true measure of a champion is not how he handles victory, but how he handles defeat. Raider head swimming coach Steve Jungbluth believes that his swimmers are champions.
The Colgate swimming and diving teams have yet to win a single meet; their most recent losses to Lehigh and Navy over the weekend brought the men and women's team records to 0-5 for the season thus far.
Jungbluth, however, is not discouraged. His confidence in the team has not ceased - and neither has his faith.
"I know that there are brighter times ahead for this program," he said with conviction. "I can see the light at the end of the tunnel, and I am not going to become discouraged simply because my team was knocked down a few times in a row. This team understands that as well and they will continue to pick each other up each time we get knocked down. That's the sign of the ultimate champion."
In the Lehigh meet, the Raider team continued to dominate the diving competitions. Senior Lane Ellis once again won both men's diving events, defeating his closest opponent in the one-meter dive by 45 points. The veteran diver also placed first in the three-meter dive with a score of 267.25, which came up short of his score of 297.95 in the one-meter event.
On the women's side, junior Emily McAuliff imitated Ellis with a win of her own in the three-meter dive with a score of 254.45. First-year Kacy Reams doubled up in victories with two top finishes in the 100-yard and 200-yard breaststroke, touching in at 1:08:75 and 2:29:06, respectively. Reams has consistently won the 100-yard breaststroke this season for Colgate, with first place finishes in meets against both Boston College and Army.
Despite these individual performances, the Raiders finished up on the wrong side of the score, with the men losing by a score of 189-102 and the women by a smaller margin, 172-126.
For the team, patience is its greatest virtue at this point in the season. Practices have suggested encouraging and consistent improvement, yet these efforts have not shown in meet results. This, to say the least, has been the most frustrating part of the season thus far for the persevering athletes.
The Colgate swimming and diving teams have yet to win a single meet; their most recent losses to Lehigh and Navy over the weekend brought the men and women's team records to 0-5 for the season thus far.
Jungbluth, however, is not discouraged. His confidence in the team has not ceased - and neither has his faith.
"I know that there are brighter times ahead for this program," he said with conviction. "I can see the light at the end of the tunnel, and I am not going to become discouraged simply because my team was knocked down a few times in a row. This team understands that as well and they will continue to pick each other up each time we get knocked down. That's the sign of the ultimate champion."
In the Lehigh meet, the Raider team continued to dominate the diving competitions. Senior Lane Ellis once again won both men's diving events, defeating his closest opponent in the one-meter dive by 45 points. The veteran diver also placed first in the three-meter dive with a score of 267.25, which came up short of his score of 297.95 in the one-meter event.
On the women's side, junior Emily McAuliff imitated Ellis with a win of her own in the three-meter dive with a score of 254.45. First-year Kacy Reams doubled up in victories with two top finishes in the 100-yard and 200-yard breaststroke, touching in at 1:08:75 and 2:29:06, respectively. Reams has consistently won the 100-yard breaststroke this season for Colgate, with first place finishes in meets against both Boston College and Army.
Despite these individual performances, the Raiders finished up on the wrong side of the score, with the men losing by a score of 189-102 and the women by a smaller margin, 172-126.
For the team, patience is its greatest virtue at this point in the season. Practices have suggested encouraging and consistent improvement, yet these efforts have not shown in meet results. This, to say the least, has been the most frustrating part of the season thus far for the persevering athletes.
2008 Woodie Awards