GLIAC CHAMPIONSHIPS
Swimming and diving to send five individuals to NCAA DII Championships
By Crystal Abrell | Opinion Editor
The University of Indianapolis men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams advanced five athletes after the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) Championships hosted by Grand Valley State University Feb. 11-14.
According to head coach Gary Kinkead, the team was getting prepared in every aspect for the championships.
“We [were] trying to get everyone prepared mentally and physically, while trying to give the team rest from the arduous season by cutting out morning practices,” Kinkead said.
According to senior captain Greg Jarvis, UIndy is in the time of season called ‘taper’.
“This means that as a team, we have been decreasing training yardage and increasing the intensity of our workouts,” Jarvis said. “After continuing this trend for a few weeks, we spend the last week or so resting to regain energy and conserve for the four-day-long meet.”
On Feb. 11, the first day of competition, sophomore Alican Alacli took second for the men in the 1650-freestyle obtaining an NCAA A-cut time of 15:45.83. Senior Ashley Clifford took eighth place win an NCAA B-cut time of 18:01.57 time in the 1650-freestyle, knocking almost a half-minute off her time. The women’s 200-medley relay team finished fifth, while the men’s 200-medley relay took second place to finish the day.
In the second day of the GLIAC Championships on Feb. 12, UIndy had many top performances. Among those top performances was junior Manuel Stiem who placed first in the 200-yard IM with a 52.12 time to qualify him for the NCAA Division II Championships, and senior Isabela Tafur, who was third in the 50-yard freestyle with a time of 23.84.
The third day of competition, on Feb. 13, resulted in more qualifiers from UIndy.
The women’s 800-freestyle relay qualified for the national meet with of a time 7:35.96. Junior captain Erica Smith broke former Greyhound Valery Crosby’s record in the 100-meter butterfly, clocking a time of 55.24, registering her for nationals.
On Feb. 14, the last day of competition, the Greyhounds ended the GLIAC championships with both the men’s and women’s team placing third. According to the UIndy Athletics Web site, the Greyhounds had four GLIAC records at the 2009 championship.
“We had a lot of hard training in the weeks leading up to conference,” Smith said.
After the GLIAC championship, the five individual ‘Hounds and who qualified for the NCAA Division II Championships will head to Houston, Tex., March 11-14.
According to Jarvis, the team ended the season with exceptional leadership and chemistry. He also said that their aren’t any cliche’s among the players, allowing many to step-up and lead.
“The team this year, as in past years, has been pretty tightly-knit,” Jarvis said. “A team of this size needs as many people to step-up and lead by example as possible.”
The University of Indianapolis men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams advanced five athletes after the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) Championships hosted by Grand Valley State University Feb. 11-14.
