8:47 a.m. – Good morning everyone and welcome back to the swimming and diving travel blog! I am currently sitting in the media room located poolside at the Conroe Natatorium.
The team was wide-awake at 7:00 a.m. for its morning walk and breakfast. If you aren’t currently following “gusties” on snap chat, you should. I’ve been documenting this journey the best I can on the snap chat front and have been getting great feedback from the footage. One message I received yesterday came from junior swimmer Morgan Field who appeared to be spending her whole day watching the live video feed and studying (that’s what I could gather from her own Snap Chat story anyway).
Coach Carlson began this morning’s team meeting reflecting on yesterday. He talked about the fact that this team is tapered and ready to compete. Day one proved that these Gusties deserve to be here. “If you do things the right way, you will swim fast. You are ready to go physically and that should give you a ton of confidence moving forward,” he said. Carlson once again told the group to continue to do the little things right and stressed the importance of both the warm up and cool down.
Coach Lindstrom discussed tempo and racing smart. “Passion goes a long way but those who are able to swim smart are the ones who stand out at this level,” he said.
Coach Weyandt said, “You are representing the MIAC and Minnesota swimming and you are doing a terrific job. Right now, you are the best team at Gustavus and the whole Gustie community is proud of you.”
Today is a big one for Gustavus. After being idle on day one, Danielle Klunk and Michelle Campeau both join the fray. Leah Anderson still has to wait until tomorrow. This morning will feature the 200-free relay comprised of Kate Reilly, Klunk, Campeau, and Olson. Jenny Strom and Hayley Booher will swim the 400 IM, Reilly will go in the 100 fly, and Campeau will compete in the 200 free to round out the individual swims. The morning will conclude with the 400-medley relay of Booher, Strom, Reilly, and Olson – the same group who earned All-America honors last night.
It was overcast and cool in Shenandoah this morning. The Texas heat has yet to truly hit us since arriving early in the week. From the outside and as you walk up, the Conroe Natatorium looks calm and peaceful. Once you step through the doors and onto the deck, reality hits you. This building is anything but calm and peaceful. The sound of splashing water and bouncing boards, the sight hundreds of swimmers both on the deck and across every stretch of the pool, the feel of humidity, and the smell of chlorine all attack your senses. For the coaches and swimmers, this is their life and this is the norm. For me, it’s an eye opening experience every time.
The Gusties have taken back their spot near the scoreboard at the northwest corner of the pool. They are currently going through their morning warmup. They look relaxed and confident. I like their demeanor already.
Below are the live links for tonight. I will be checking in periodically throughout the morning.
Katie Olson swims her leg of the 400-medley relay.
10:23 a.m. – Boom! The Gustavus 200-free relay has earned a spot in tonight’s finals after what was a gut-wrenching several minutes following the race. At first glance, it looked as if the Gusties finished 10th overall – missing out on a finals spot. At second glance, the Gusties were in. A sigh of relief washed over the group when the results were finally straightened out.
In talking to the coaches after the race, it sounds like it was nowhere near perfect. That means there is room for improvement and an opportunity to move up in tonight’s finals. Coach Carlson has discussed this on several occasions leading up to the meet; even though one individual is a little off, these are women are so good that they will pick each other up. That’s what happened in the 200-free relay. A few small tweaks from each individual will go a long way tonight. One-for-one thus far.
10:57 a.m. – Jenny Strom and Hayley Booher just swam the 400 IM. Strom finished 21st, and Booher finished 27th. The coaches thought both races went as expected and were happy with both Strom and Booher’s performance.
The meet is clipping along with one heat after another. There is a short break – maybe two minutes – between races. The swimmers of each heat are lined up and marched in. The NCAA has this process down to a fine art.
11:47 a.m. – After Reilly’s swim in the 100 fly and Campeau’s swim in the 200 free, Gustavus’s individuals are now done for the morning.
There have been ups and downs throughout the morning, and the Gusties are looking for a strong showing from the 400-medley relay to close out the prelims. Pacing has been huge today – good call coach Lindstrom. A slow start at this level can prove deadly, which is what we’ve seen this morning. With one more race to go, however, the group is focused on the task at hand. Each individual has something to prove and that’s going to make for an exciting finish.
12:34 p.m. – The 400-medley relay will be swimming tonight in the consolation finals after a tenth place finish in the prelims. A word I heard used to describe the performance was “timid,” which seems to be the theme of the morning.
I am back in the media room going through pictures from the morning. The team is currently cooling down across the pool. The women will be on their own for lunch, and it is back to the hotel for Coach Carlson and I. I will finish up this morning’s blog from there.
1:44 p.m. – I am back at the hotel sitting across from coach Carlson who quickly got back to work on tonight’s strategy.
It’s hard to describe this morning. Although we have one relay swimming in the championship final and another swimming in the consolation final, I get the feeling of underachievement amongst the team. That’s a crazy thing to think about when you consider all the programs in the nation that would kill just for an opportunity to place LAST at the NCAA Championships. That, however, is not Gustavus women’s swimming and diving. This is the new normal for this program.
Kate Reilly swims the butterfly potion of the 400 IM.
The team held a meeting after this morning’s session. Coach Carlson focused primarily on dealing with disappointment. He said that although the team is doing a lot of good things, it is not handling adversity well and needs to come up with a new strategy from this point on. He told the swimmers that they simply can’t dwell on the last race and certainly can’t allow it to affect their next performance. This whole meet, said Carlson, is about dealing with disappointment and having short term memory. Washington University had a horrid first day and lit up the pool this morning. Chicago also had a bad of a first day yet didn’t respond well, thus following up with another disappointing morning. At last year’s NCAA Championships, Jenny Strom was the model of mental toughness. After what a throw-away swim in the 400 IM, Strom bounced back with an incredible meet from that point on.
When things go well, momentum starts to build and it can snowball into something great. The opposite is also true. At this meet and at this level, those who have the ability to learn and move on are the ones who find success. Carlson said that of the 25 medley relays this morning, only four went faster than their seed time. A lot of teams were disappointed in their performance, but how many of those teams are anxious to get back work tonight? How many have the mental toughness to put that earlier race in the past? The question heading into tonight is, “How will the Gusties respond?”
The coaching staff capped the meeting saying how proud they are of the swimmers. They have never been disappointed IN them, only disappointed FOR them. In swimming, the coach can’t take a timeout in the middle of the race to give his/her athlete advice. All that is done prior and it’s up to the athlete when the gun sounds. It is, at times, a feeling of helplessness so often feel during races.
I am going to sign off for now and will be back with you tonight. The Gusties will be swimming in both relays this evening beginning at 6:00 p.m. Expect a formal recap and a photo gallery coming up shortly.
To give fans of behind the scenes look at this year’s NCAA Championships, Sports Information Director Ethan Armstrong will be with the Gustavus swimmers in Shenandoah. Over the course of the four-day meet, Armstrong will be blogging, posting pictures and videos, and providing day-by-day recaps of all the action. His blog posts will be entitled “Lone Star State Of Mind” and will be updated on the Gustavus athletics website throughout the meet.