By Erika Ronning
UMBC Swimming and Diving Senior Class
Being a graduating senior has its advantages and disadvantages. Last week I was able go on my first real Spring Break and not have to worry about staying in shape for swimming. It was the first time this year I was able to take a relaxing vacation and not worry about anything. However, now that I no longer have to attend 9 practices a week, I don’t get to see some of my teammates as much as I would like to. The swimmers here at UMBC are around each other roughly 17 hours a week when we are in season. Now that the seniors no longer have to attend practices we have a lot more time on our hands but we also don’t get to see everyone everyday, which means our college endeavor is coming to an end
Freshman, Emily Escobedo
Two swimmers on our team kept training after their conference championships in order to compete at the NCAA Championships. This past weekend Emily Escobedo competed at the women’s meet at the University of Minnesota. Emily swam a lifetime best time in the 200 IM and had her fastest morning swims in the 100 and 200 breaststroke.
Senior, Mohamed Hussein
This coming weekend Mohamed Hussein will be swimming the 200 IM, 100 backstroke and 200 backstroke at the men’s NCAA’s competition in Austin, Texas. NCAA’s will not be Mohamed’s last meet for this season, he will be swimming the 200 IM, 100 backstroke, 200 backstroke, and 50 freestyle at Egyptian Nationals April 5-9. He will continue to train in hopes of qualifying for next years World Championships in Kazan, Russia.Out of the pool, I have continued my internship with the Athletic Department and I have been able to work some more home athletic events. Last weekend, I worked two softball games doing the batting music for the girls. I have also been able to work a couple men’s lacrosse games. I have enjoyed learning what goes on behind the scenes at these different events.
Check out the UMBC Athletics website for updates on Mohamed’s 200 IM at NCAA’s this Thursday and stay turned to the Dawg Blog for more entries about UMBC athletics!
By Erika Ronning
The swimming and diving season has almost come to a close. With only ECAC’s and hopefully NCAA’s for swimming, and Zones for diving the season is rapidly ending. This past weekend the men’s swimming and diving team made the trip down to Tennessee to compete in the CCSA Championships. The team finished second overall, but there were many outstanding swims and records broken.
Two weeks ago the women’s swimming and diving competed at the America East Championships. The team also finished second breaking pool and team records along the way.
This photo was taken at the America East Championships Senior Ceremony (left to right: Tadena, Ronning, Pavelkova, Hallberg, Dean)
I have been a swammer, which is someone who swam but no longer swims, for almost two weeks now and it has been great. After 14 years of constantly being in a pool, my career is finally over. Although my career did not end the way I would have liked it to, I can’t complain given the circumstances of this year. My one pride is still being able to split a high 22 on the medley relay.
When not participating in a Division I sport, your life opens up to so many possibilities. The amount of time and energy you gain is amazing. However it is now up to myself to get motivated to stay in shape.
I have now worked two games for my internship, taking action photos for both a men’s basketball and lacrosse game. The experiences were really awesome. I was able stand right next to the action and do what I love, photography. I am excited to be able to attend more games and be able to contribute to the UMBC Athletic Communications and Marketing department.
This weekend a group of men and women are swimming at Navy in the ECAC Championships. Check out the UMBC Athletics website for updates on those swimming in ECAC’s and stay turned to the Dawg Blog for more entries about UMBC athletics!
By Erika Ronning
It is that nerve-wracking time of the year again. Two days until the America East Swimming and Diving Championships commence. The UMBC women’s swim and dive team will be departing tomorrow, February 12, to make the trip up to Worcester, Mass. Competition begins on Thursday night with the 200 medley relay and the 800 freestyle relay along with one-meter diving.
This year I am entered to swim the 50, 100, and 200 freestyle in addition with the 100 breastroke. Along with individual events a swimmer can swim four out of the five relays: 200 free relay, 200 medley relay, 400 free relay, 400 medley relay, and 800 free relay. The nice thing about my events is that I only have to swim one event in prelims each day. Some athletes may have a morning off but this also means they will have to swim two events another morning. Doing two events is very taxing when swimming in finals especially if you are in a relay as well.
Tapering is often thought of as the key to an entire season’s success. After endless weeks of grueling workouts, we are finally getting a much-needed break. All of the swimmers are getting very restless in the pool. The women’s team has stopped doing doubles and lifting. We have also been coming down a lot in yardage and dryland to get our bodies ready for a taxing weekend full of fast swims.
This year will be different than all my other AEC Championships. Only five women’s teams will be competing and the UMBC men’s swimming and diving team will be heading down to Tennessee a week later to compete in the CCSA Championships. The deck’s atmosphere will be a lot different without the men’s team behind us cheering so is going to be a weird change but it isn’t anything that we can’t handle.
Check out the AEC website this weekend for updates on the swimming and diving championships and stay tuned to the Dawg Blog for more entries about UMBC athletics!
By Erika Ronning
The UMBC Women’s Swim and Dive team is preparing as we are getting ready to head up to Worcester, Mass. for America East Conference February 13 through 15. This year AEC Championships will be a little different. Only five women’s teams will be competing. The UMBC Men’s Swim and Dive team will be making the trip down to Tennessee a week later for CCSA Championships. This is the first time in my four years here that the men’s and women’s teams will not be competing at AEC Championships together.
My name is Erika Ronning and I am a senior captain on the UMBC Swim and Dive team. I swim sprint freestyle, which includes the 50, 100 and 200 yard freestyle events. I am an Illinois native pursing a degree in graphic design with a minor in print media here at UMBC. I am currently beginning an internship with UMBC’s Athletic Communications and Marketing Department for this spring semester. During my internship here this semester I will be working different sporting events, such as basketball and lacrosse, as well as completing office hours every week. Even though I have just started my internship here, I can already tell I will enjoy everything that I will be participating in.
This year has been my toughest year swimming-wise. Starting in June, I began experiencing shoulder pain. Since then I have done therapy and rehab, and have received a couple of Cortisone injections. This injury has severely hindered my training this year. I have found other methods of training in order to keep in shape and I have tried to keep my spirits up and focused on the end goal, the AEC Championships meet.
The UMBC swim and dive team is in it’s final stretch of the season. The women’s championships are in 16 days and the men’s championships are in 20 days. Both the men and women have been decreasing weight and repetitions in the weight room. The swimmers are starting to feel jittery in the water and can tell that the end of the season is near. Right now, our team is coming down in yardage in order to rest, or taper, for championships. Taper is something all swimmers know and love. It is the time of the year where we get to rest our bodies by doing less yardage, lifting, and dryland.
Swimming is a yard-round sport. Our season starts in September and ends in February. After a short two-week break after Championships we pick training right back up where we left off. Once the outdoor pool opens in April we will train long course.
Both teams are very excited to be competing in Championships so soon. Stay tuned to the Dawg Blog for more entry’s about UMBC athletics!
By: Rob McCabe
As the 2013 fall semester continues, student-athletes at UMBC are hard at work preparing for their seasons ahead or competing hard on the playing field for the black and gold. After our first month of fall baseball, we are really starting to come together as a team and beginning to play well with each other. After our scrimmage on Thursday, Oct. 3rd against CCBC-Catonsville, we proved to ourselves that we will be a much more explosive offensive team than we were last year. While the game was a chance to prove ourselves as a team and see where we still need to make improvements, it was also a chance for our freshmen to get their feet wet against collegiate competition and see how different the game is at this level.
Our schedule is certainly a grinding one in the fall because we need to best simulate how our bodies are going to feel after playing 40 games in the spring. Between lifting three times a week, attending class every day, and practicing Tuesday through Saturday, our schedule is enough to make an iron man tired. Our fall season is short but demanding and we only have a few weeks left to make sure that we are ready for the spring. We have a goal every day and every week at practice, and it is posted in our dugout when we arrive to practice. The goal is to get better every day and if we achieve that goal every time we step in between the lines then there are no limits on how far our team can go this year.
Homecoming weekend is quickly approaching and although we do not have an alumni game, we do have two games scheduled for Saturday, Oct. 12th against Navy. This will be a real test for our team due to Navy’s quality pitching staff which is always one of the top in the country. Homecoming weekend is also a great time to see alumni that you have played with throughout your career here and meet alums who have shaped this university and our team.
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