This weekend, an atmosphere that is common on most university campuses will make its annual appearance at Loyola. A sold-out, raucous crowd will be on hand at the Mangione Aquatic Center for the MAAC swimming championships, and both the men's and women's swim teams are preparing in a way that confirms the importance of the task at hand. All of our NCAA teams show the utmost dedication to their sports, but the swim team goes above and beyond for their postseason meets and recently, they have gotten the results to justify it. By committing themselves to a strict dry season in which nobody drinks alcohol, the swim team makes a decision that most college athletes find very difficult to ensure they perform to the best of their capabilities, just as the men did last year in winning the MAAC title. There's more to their training than just not drinking, of course. Two-a-day's and early morning practices were the norm throughout the season. Over the past two weeks, that has been tapered down to just conditioning, with only one practice per day and one Friday morning session. And while such training is common for any Division 1 athlete, it's the dry season that is especially worth noting. It shouldn't come as a surprise that these extra steps are taken to ensure they perform to the best of their abilities at the MAAC championships, but this extra level of dedication separates them, as does the success it brings. Of course, there are consequences outside of poor performance if they don't comply. "The captain's make sure we don't go out, and the rest is up to us to just follow it. If you get caught [drinking], you probably wouldn't swim at MAACs," junior swimmer Colin Chenet explained. Chenet, who is looking to improve on last year's second place finish in the 100 yard breaststroke and third place finish in the 200 (which teammate Matt Fralinger won), said that there is 100 percent participation among team members. The men's efforts to repeat as MAAC Champions, along with the women's attempt to improve on last year's third place finish, is an attempt to continue a very successful stretch after both teams placed third the previous season. This success is due in no small part to the talented individuals who make up the swim team. In each of the past two years, Loyola has boasted 11 MAAC winners, with eight men's and three women's titles in 2009 following 2008's equally impressive haul of seven men's and four women's victories. Even with such talent on the team, their alcohol policy stands out among the other teams at Loyola. The women's track team is also in the midst of a dry season, but no such thing exists for high profile teams like men's soccer and lacrosse. Many other sports, such as men's soccer, men's and women's tennis, and men's and women's lacrosse, have rules in place which prohibit drinking for 48 hours before each game. Several student athletes at other schools have reported similar rules, which in all fairness is a reasonable policy. While men's soccer has been extremely successful over the past few seasons, it's no secret that they also enjoy the nightlife, both in and out of season. The same goes for many student athletes, and that's well within their rights. To that end, is it even feasible for any of the other teams to have a dry season? The swim team is in a unique position for this to work for them. The upcoming stretch of the MAAC Championships and the ECAC meet represents the most important part of their season. Regular season meets aren't meaningless by any stretch, but the goal of those is to qualify for MAACs and build toward the postseason. Other teams, such as soccer and lacrosse, have much longer seasons with important games strewn throughout. There's no ECAC tournament for men's lacrosse, so qualification for the NCAA tournament depends on winning the regular season conference title. As a result, it would be difficult to justify denying many of these athletes sacrificing aspects of their social life for months at a time. Though there's no doubting the positive effect that it might have, each team has their own policy that works for them. For the swim team, the dry season has been a very successful policy that shows a unique commitment among athletes here at Loyola. Within the team, the men expect to repeat as champions if everyone swims to the best of their abilities. Given the dedication they have shown in the lead-up to the MAAC Championships, it's safe to say they are putting themselves in position to do so.
Dry season pushes Loyola's swim team to the top
Published: Tuesday, February 9, 2010
Updated: Monday, April 19, 2010 01:04
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