Through several meets, the St. Bonaventure University swimming and diving teams have seen underclassmen perform well.
Freshman freestyler Nick Burdo gave credit to Coach Sean McNamee for making the transition from high school to college easier by bringing in like-minded individuals.
“It’s definitely a big jump. Coach McNamee is really good at recruiting and is able to spot the guys who will have the work ethic to make it at the Division 1 level,” said Burdo. “When you have an entire freshman class with the same work ethic and willingness to strive for the success that Coach McNamee can provide us, it helps. But, the hardest part is definitely training and waking up at 5 a.m. every single day.”
Sophomore freestyler Sam Kuchinski said that while the time commitment is obviously much greater at the Division 1 level, she thinks that sports in college require the athlete to think about what they are doing a lot more.
“Our coach was just saying that in high school, you go to school, you go to practice, you go home and you just go through the motions,” said Kuchinski. “But at the Division 1 level, everyone can do that and has been their whole life, so you have to switch it to a being more detail-oriented and really thinking while you’re swimming.”
Sophomore freestyle and backstroker Jack Pietrucha said that a difference between swimming in college versus high school is the athlete’s mindset.
“The major difference is being one of the fastest swimmers on your respective high school team, and learning to train at the same level as the athletes we have here at St. Bonaventure,” said Pietrucha. “We have some top-level swimmers who help the underclassmen understand what it takes to be at the top of the A-10. College swimming is tough, and you have to adapt quickly in order to succeed.”
Women’s head coach Brian Thomas said the coaching the swimmers receive as they grow up is the reason for good performances from underclassmen.
“Swimming is lucky in the [United States], to basically have professional coaches at every level. With our club programs in the United States, up through the college level, up to the professional level, we have pro coaches at every level,” said Thomas. “When swimmers come in and they have that extensive club background, they’re usually better prepared for the work that we do.”
For the divers, coach Bill Williams said one of the main points of emphasis he believes leads to diving success is mental strength.
“Diving is a very mental sport, so I focus a lot on mental toughness. It’s not easy performing in dead silence in front of a crowd with all eyes on you,” said Williams. “If I can help them become mentally tough, the physical aspect of the sport is muscle memory from all the hours of training.“
Kuchinski said that by sophomore year, the athletes are accustomed to the early practices, and the workload of school, and being able to focus on swimming more. That shows in the times they are producing.
“For the sophomores, I think we’ve gotten used to it by now,” said Kuchinski. “Freshman year is kind of a shock to the system. With the new coach and us feeling comfortable now, we’ve been putting in a lot of work and it’s starting to show how hard we’re working, and it’s getting results.”
The next meet for both teams is Sunday, Nov. 13 at 11 a.m. against Canisius at Erie Community College.
Thomas said this meet would provide an opportunity for the teams to get a feel for what the conference meet will be like.
“It’s a great facility. It’s an eight-lane, 50-meter tank with a separate warm-up and warm-down pool, so just the logistics there in terms of how we’re preparing for our races is a little bit closer to what we’d do at a conference meet,” said Thomas. “Being able to use that facility is a huge benefit, and I think it’s a good thing for our swimmers.”
Burdo said that while the past few weeks have been tough, he hopes the team can bring energy into the meet.
“Personally, I’d like to go under 21 seconds in my 50 freestyle,” said Burdo. “We’ve been swimming a little tired lately, so I’d really like to see the energy get brought back up and to have some really nice swims.”
Kuchinski agreed, saying that the team needs to be able to perform well now in order to perform well at the conference meet.
“I think being able to perform at a high level while we’re beat up is important,” said Kuchinski. “Once conference time comes, we’ll be able to swim fast once we’re rested.”
signorra15@bonaventure.edu
