Bulldogs ready for fresh start

By Tamar Schwartz

Men's swimming Head Coach Frank Keefe has been at his job long enough to know that there's no magic formula for success. Instead, he thinks hard work, determination, focus, and leadership will bring his team to the top of the Ivy League. And this year, his team is right behind him.

Last season ended on a disappointing note, with an unexpected loss to Brown that Keefe regards as the "sloppiest [match] of the season." Even though the Bulldogs finished fourth in the Eastern Intercollegiate Swimming League, they remained distant from top rivals Princeton and Harvard.

In spite of last year's shortcomings, Captain Patrick Dennis, BK '02, said, "It's a new season and we are more motivated than ever." Under the leadership of Keefe and Dennis, the Elis are approaching this winter season with motivation and lofty goals.

FILE PHOTO In addition to summer training, some Elis competed in the Maccabiah Games and U.S. Nationals.

High on Yale's list of priorities is reaching 1,000 wins. The team is only 12 victories away, and the Bulldogs hope their 10 home meets this season will be an advantage in bringing home the prestigious benchmark.

Still, the team's number-one priority at this point is capturing the Ivy title, a task that would require beating No. 1-ranked Prince-ton and No. 2-ranked Harvard at their annual HYP meet this seeason on Sat., Feb. 1 and Sun., Feb. 2,. According to Dennis, coming out of that weekend undefeated would almost ensure a league championship, which is an "exciting prospect" for a squad that has been on the heels of its rivals for years now.

However, Dennis echoed the sentiments of many of his teammates when he said that "Yale still has a lot of hard work ahead just to be at the position where we are actually in competition with Harvard and Princeton."

"We can't control how they swim, only how we do," Dennis said. Keefe also noted that additional work is needed before the team's first regular-season meet on Fri., Nov. 30 and Sat., Dec. 1 at the University of Virginia Invitational. A strong showing there could put the Elis in position to beat top Ivy squads.

FILE PHOTO With a new crop of freshmen talent, the men's swimming team is trying to make its mark on the Ivy League.

Until then, the team hopes to continue conditioning and fine-tuning the skills needed to surpass its future opponents. If the swimmers' summer activities are any indication, the team boasts a core group of athletes dedicated to improving and excelling in their sport. While some team members stayed in New Haven to train with Keefe, Hanan Levin, PC '04, and Steve Edell, DC '03, competed in Is-rael's Maccabiah Games, where the two swam in the 100-meter backstroke event and placed second and third, respectively. Edell also finished third in the 200-meter backstroke event. Other Yale swimmers atten-ded the U.S. Nationals in August.

Despite Keefe's emphasis on rigorous training, he worries about the "complacency" he sees among team members heading into the season. According to Keefe, the Eli squad is "strong, committed, and talented," but has had a problem focusing. Although Keefe detects a lot of potential, he said the swimmers must work harder at practices before any determination of their standings can be made. These "early season blues," according to Keefe, are often exacerbated by the lack of tough meets early in the season that would "force the team to step up and be ready to compete."

The team has also suffered the loss of last year's talented seniors, including former Captain George Gleason, TC '01, who competed for the Virgin Islands in the 2000 Sydney Olympics and was a multiple record-setter at Yale. "[This year's senior class] has some holes to fill and stepping up to do," Dennis said. "But last year's seniors did a great job of instilling the leadership skills in their underclassmen." Dennis looks forward to a "shared responsibility as far as leadership goes" among his teammates.

In the pool, Yale hopes to continue to dominate in the distance and freestyle events as it has done in the past. Other events, however, require more "stepping up," according to Keefe. The breaststroke event is now being carried solely by seniors, and Keefe hopes the addition of three new freshmen will alleviate some of this pressure.

"The freshmen see the way things should work—they are quick learners and are following our examples and leadership," Dennis said.

Perhaps Dennis most accurately summed up the team's mentality approaching the season. "We're looking forward to the new season," he said. "And while we do have a lot of training ahead of us, we are not intimidated."

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