Feb. 5, 2009
Swimming & Diving Notes vs. UNLV
Lobo Swimming & Diving
What: Lobos vs. UNLV
Diving: 3 p.m., Saturday, Sandia High
Swimming: 5 p.m., Saturday, West Mesa Aquatic Center
Results: On GoLobos.com
By Richard Stevens — Senior Writer/GoLobos.com
Coach Tracy Ljone and her Lobo swimmers and divers are about to say goodbye to a couple of old friends. These Lobos might even say “good riddance” as they leave the waters at the West Mesa Aquatic Center and Sandia High behind them.
It’s nothing personal. The Lobos are just ready to swim in Lobo water. It’s been a long wait.
The UNM swimming & diving team ends its 2009 home season Saturday with the divers hitting the boards at Sandia at 3 p.m. and the swimmers making their final splash at West Mesa at 5 p.m. Next season, the Lobos will be in their new pool on the UNM campus.
“The City of Albuquerque has been fantastic to us for two years,” said Ljone. “We’re so thankful for what they have done. But we can’t wait to get into our own pool and that’s exciting for us.”
The initiation of the UNM pool is a few months away, but the Lobos still have a reason to be smiling as they battle the UNLV Rebels on Saturday. The Lobos have started tapering their workouts in preparation for the Feb. 25-28 Mountain West Conference Championships to be held in Oklahoma City, Okla.
The strategy for swimmers is to push their bodies to the max in an effort to build up strength and endurance for the big meets. They swim long and hard. Then, prior to the big meets, the workouts become shorter and easier so the swimmers are rested and fresh. This is called “tapering.”
“This is the best time of the year because everyone is happy,” said Ljone. “We have started to cut back on time and laps in the pool. They love it.”
Ljone says her Lobos also will be looking at the dual meet with UNLV to do some “tapering” mentally. “The girls have been working hard and we’ve had four meets in three weeks, so we’ll let them take a mental break, too,” said Ljone. “We’ll be letting the girls race in some different events and we’ll try some different orders in some of the relays.”
The meet also is “Senior Day” for the Lobos, but that day probably could be called “Katrina McLoughlin Day.” The Lobos versatile senior is the only senior on the team.
“It would be nice to have another senior to share it with,” McLoughlin told GoLobos.com earlier in the season. Said Ljone: “Katrina has been a great Lobo and we’ll have something special for her before the meet.”
The Lobo swimmers will be paced by freshman Marissa Campbell, a Manzano High product. Campbell has multiple wins this season in the 50-yard freestyle, the 100-yard freestyle and the 100-yard backstroke. The freshman already has set a UNM school record in the 100-back.
The Lobo divers got a first place from Aubrey Bush and a second place from Ashlee Erickson at the Air Force Diving Invitational on Jan. 30-31. Bush’s win was the first for UNM this season at an invitational meet.
“She has been exceeding my expectations,” said UNM diving coach, Abel Sanchez. “And I had high expectations for her. She is a very focused person with a great work ethic. You give her a workout and she’ll do it and come back for more. She is new to the sport and she is hungry.”
Bush was an accomplished gymnast for around 11 years, but left the mats in favor of the water after a series of injuries, including a broken forehead and a broken nose. Her win at Air Force came on the 10-meter tower.
“This year was supposed to be more of a learning year because she is relatively new to the sport,” said coach Sanchez. “Her next season will still be a fine-tuning season and then for her junior and senior year, people had better watch out.”
Said Bush: “My improvement has been leaps and bounds. Abel has been the best coach ever for me. My technique has improved so much and I’ve been diving really well. I have done all the dives so many times now that I’m comfortable and my confidence is way up.”
Editor’s Note: Richard Stevens is a former Associate Sports Editor and sports columnist for The Albuquerque Tribune. You can reach him at rstevens50@comcast.net. Previous GoLobo.com articles can be found on The Richard Stevens Corner.