Undefeated Bulldogs heat up the pool for Army

Unless being part of a team that swam 26,000 meters in under 24 hours is your idea of a good time, look elsewhere for an extracurricular activity. "We arrived in Florida and hit the pools for our workout from eight to 10 in the morning, met again at 4 p.m. for another two hour workout, and woke early the next morning to start at 6 p.m.," Head Coach Frank Keefe explained.

No less amazing is the Bulldogs' undefeated record in head-to-head competition and a second-place finish behind tough-as-nails University of Virginia at the UVA Invitational before winter break.

Hoping to escape the unforgiving weather and boredom of New Haven, the men's swimming and diving team traveled to Orlando, Fla. on Wed., Dec. 28, to begin a week-long training session. The unusually cold weather that the Bulldogs met in Orlando did not deter the team from its rigorous training regimen. Swimmers and divers began two-hour practices at 6 a.m., primarily focusing on strengthening their aerobic base for endurance. Immediately afterwards, the team visited the weight room for another hour of workouts. After a brief break, swimmers and divers returned to the pool at 4 p.m. for another two-hour workout, focusing on quality and speed drills tailored to their specific events.

This training routine lasted until the Bulldogs returned to New Haven on Thurs., Jan. 4. During pool workouts, swimmers were divided into three groups: sprinters, middle-distance, and long-distance. Within each group, swimmers were further divided into two groups of varying intensity levels. "The longer workouts allowed me to create specific workouts for each swimmer, allowing every individual to focus on his event," Keefe explained.

Even with an undefeated record, the team focused on helping each swimmer overcome personal obstacles. "Coming into Florida, the team had no general weaknesses, but every swimmer had somewhere to improve," Jimmy Veazey, PC '04, explained. Because of the shortened winter break, the Bulldogs did not have any off days and had only one day without practicing twice. "The training was very hard work, but the coaches told us that our time trials were faster than previous year time trials and even in our dual meets," Captain George Gleason, TC '01, explained. "It was surprising because we trained as hard this time as we have any other year."

There was no rest for the weary, though. The Bulldogs faced Army on Sun., Jan. 7, while most Yalies were boarding planes to return to New Haven. Gleason led the way with three victories in the 100-meter and 200-meter freestyle and 200-meter individual medley races, recording personal unshaved bests in both freestyle races. Mike Schulte, TC '02, added another victory with a personal unshaved best in the 1,000-meter freestyle. Veazey added a victory in the 200-meter butterfly and helped win the 400-meter relay along with Alex Nash, BK '04, James Esposito, BK '01, and Jack Cooney, BR '04.

Managing so many personal unshaved bests after such hard training made the Army win even more special. Meanwhile, the diving team, consisting of Josh Gallant, MC '04, and Rich Birrer, JE '02, captured the one-meter and three-meter dives, respectively. The Bulldogs posted a convincing 128-102 victory over Army. Yale's win was even more decisive than this 26-point margin, since scoring stopped after victory was clinched. "After such an intense and tiring workout in Florida, none of us expected to swim so well against Army," Veazey said.

This weekend, Yale faces a strong Navy team that's ranked fourth among mid-major schools (Yale's category). Yale will also host Cornell, marking the beginning of the Bulldogs' Ivy League duels. Soon Yale will also be traveling to Princeton to compete in the annual Harvard-Yale-Princeton (HYP) duel. Yale will be looking to avenge its third-place finish last year against the two swimming powerhouses.

"Harvard and Princeton have dominated swimming for the past few years, so the winner of the HYP meet will more than likely be Ivy League champions," Keefe said. The Army victory following a rigorous training trip is a good omen for future performances. "If we continue swimming the way we have, we will be strong contenders for the win. It will all come down to who has the better day," Gleason said. Photo by Julia Tiernan.

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