The Online Reflector

Women’s Basketball: Senior Guard Megan Gardner

Q: How has the off-season gone so far, and how has the team has improved?

A: The off-season has actually been going really, really well. The first week or so was kind of hard to adjust because we have three new girls, two freshmen and one transfer, and a brand new coach. So everything has been completely different. Everyone has been really positive, and everything has been going really well so far. Everyone is working hard, so I really can’t complain.

Q: What should fans look for this season when they come to watch a game?

A: Transition, transition, transition. This is our third week now of preseason, and they changed the rules so we can have two hours of team practice during the day every week. So [Head Coach Constantin]Popa has taken advantage of that, and we’ve been doing a lot of up and down the court. Every drill has been up and down the courts, and we’ve been really working on our transition game, because we kind of went away from that last season, and that is where our success has been in the past.

 

 

 

Wrestling: Senior David Lopez

Q: How high would you say the team’s confidence is for this season?

A: It’s pretty high, and we’re feeling pretty good. But all this success from last year was last year, so now we’re looking to build some new success for this upcoming season. We love feeling freely okay. Last year, it was good to have some success with Nick Walpole being our first national champion, but that was last year so now we’re looking to build off of that and hopefully continue building this program.

Q: What goals have the team set for this year?

A: For this year, as in many years, is to one, be competitive in every match, every meet and in every  tournament; to work as a team; to push each other to reach our full potential and just to be successful on and off the mat. Not only being good athletes, but being good student-athletes as well.

 

 

 

 

Women’s Swimming: Senior Meghan Donahue

Q: Do you feel as an individual, that the team has improved since last season during the off-season?

A: Yeah, [Head Coach] Gary [Kinkead] and [Assistant Coach] Orel [Oral] have actually stepped up our intensity these first two weeks of practice. So it’s nice to see the team step up and see that we have improved on over the summer, and that we are able to keep up with their hard practices and not just slack off during that time.

Q: What should fans expect to see from the team this season?

A: Just come out to see what the swim team does. We don’t have very many fans come out, so it would be nice if people came out and actually supported us and see that we are athletes, and that it’s not just swimming up and down the pool. That we really do have some good meets coming up and really good competition, and it will be some really fast meets.

 

 

 

 

Men’s Swimming: Senior Austin Biefnes

Q: What goals have the team set for this season?

A: Well, the ultimate goal is always to, I guess, just move up from the last season. Obviously, we liked to get to the top of our conference, try to break that top 10 or top 15. I think improving in the end is really what is important. I mean, we’re in one of the fastest conferences in the nation as far as DII goes. Improving is what is most important, trying to break that top three or top two even in conference. Then in nationals, just move up and get those swimmers to nationals. We didn’t have a ton last year, but we keep moving up, and the improvement is really the most important.

Q: What should the fans be expecting to see this season?

A: I think they will see excitement in the pool. Hopefully we are getting faster; hopefully we can get more people out to come and watch the meets and pay attention to what we’re doing. I know a lot more people start to ask how you did at least if they don’t show up, so hopefully we just get more people into swimming and then see how it can be pretty exciting.