Miami Swimming- Brendan Melling

Hello and Greetings my name is Brendan Melling and I am a junior here at Miami from Cleveland, Ohio.  I am an Economics major and a Statistics and Actuarial Science minor.  I swim distance free and IM and like to dabble in the 50 free as well.

            As John said in his last post we have just come off two duel meet victories to start off the New Year and the team couldn’t be more pumped up.  It is exciting to see my teammates swimming so fast despite being broken down from winter training.  The last two weeks, however, we have been preparing ourselves for our next duel meet this weekend against Eastern Michigan.  For those of you that don’t know, there is a long rivalry between Miami and Easterns’ swim programs and quite frankly… well… we really don’t like them.  Though it can be intimidating facing off against last years MAC champions, the team has been using this as motivation and I feel that we are the most prepared to face them than we have been throughout my previous 2 years here.  The team has trained extremely hard and has the mental edge that will be required to travel up north to beat them.

            So apart from our determination to take down that school up north, we have also had the (dis)pleasure of starting up classes for the second semester.  It is always tricky starting the second semester because we must immediately juggle swimming and school work, as opposed to the first semester where practices don’t start until the second week and meets aren’t until October.  From what I have heard my teammates have made the transition and are already spending there nights at King Library and not playing Call of Duty…  

            Anyway, the end of the season will be here before any of us know it and our team has our goal and we haven’t lost sight of it.  The meet this weekend will be a good test of our skill and a good precursor to what the energy at the MAC meet will be like.  Make sure to check out the results this weekend.

Love and Honor,

Melling

Miami University- John Eick

The first semester of our season is complete, and I am very pleased with where the team is right now. With two wins under our belts this second semester already, I think our hard work is starting to show. The word ‘hard’ is hardly stressful enough of a word to describe our training trip that took place here in Oxford this winter. We experienced ten days straight of strenuous workouts comprised of swimming, dryland, and weights. Every practice was difficult and most are now blurs as I can hardly remember when one ended and another began. This past winter was certainly the most difficult winter training experience of my life, but the rewards are already showing as I also feel in the best shape of my swimming career and am swimming faster in duel meets than ever before.
As a senior and having completed most of my required classes already, my schedule this semester is what one could describe as ‘comfortable’. For my last year here at Miami I wanted to make sure that I could fully prepare for our conference meet without the stresses of having to make multiple deadlines for many of my classes. One class that I am in now that I highly recommend no matter where you attend college is Intro to Personal Finance. It is a lot of useful information about the basics of saving, stocks, credit, and preparing for retirement. Yes, retirement. It is still a long ways away but you need to prepare while you’re young! I’ve already learned this and many other handy things.
I am very excited for taper to start, which for a sprinter is almost as fun as Christmas, and I am excited to see my teammates perform as the season nears its end. I am also excited to figure out where I will be attending medical school next year. If you are reading this and still trying to figure out where you want to go to school next year, I am right there with you. I wish you the best of luck!

John Eick
Class of ‘11

Miami University- Sean Minderlein

Hello and welcome to the 4^th post on the Miami University men’s swim team blog, my name is Sean Minderlein. I am a freshman here at Miami; I am a biomedical engineering major with a minor (at least) in distance freestyle. I am from Mullica Hill New Jersey.

 We just competed in the Miami Invite, we placed second overall, we were unshaved and didn’t fully taper. Considering that we did pretty well, we even had several lifetime-best times. Coach Pete was pleased with what he saw, so was Coach (now an uncle) Scott. Some highlights of the meet: Brendan Melling placed 4^th in the 400 IM with a time of 4:03.01, and our 400 free relay placed second with a time of 3:07.46. We had 2 record breaking performances out of diver Jimmy Beres, on the one meter and the 3 meter. To see all of the results please go here: http://www.muredhawks.com/livestats/w-swim/09-10swimming/

We had our first “real” snowfall this year, with a whopping measurable half an inch on the grass. Since we had it during the Invitational meet this lead to some very bewildered and amused Florida swimmers. This also led to some snowmen. Then snow ball fights. Not necessary in that order.

After the meet the team went over to the Western Cabin, there we ate dinner and talked about our successes and the work that we have to do over break to ensure future successes as well. At the cabin we also picked our Secret Santa’s, mine is… what it is a secret.

As the end of my first semester comes closer, along with the Dred of finals, I find it the mazes of text books and labyrinths of notes grow larger. Other than a lost roommate, this means that the joys of winter break are around the corner. But before winter break we have finals, as my professor put it “the semester learning assessment.” I know my N-64 has been powered down for over 48 hours, but my books on the other hand are starting to overheat from constant use. As students find themselves staying up later and later with the help of caffeine, the coaching staff plans, what can only be described as, “fun activities” that we will be doing over winter training.

This winter break we are staying to train here in Oxford, much to the delight of my parent’s bank account. I get to experience Miami’s cabin out in the woods for two nights, and participate in the Secret Santa out here for the first time.

If you would please excuse me, I must say Bah Humbug to my exams.

Sean Minderlein ‘14

Miami University- Thomas Delves

Hello! My name is Thomas Delves and I am a sophomore from St. Charles Illinois. I am a Mass Communications major and I swim mid-distance freestyle.

We have returned from Thanksgiving break and are ready to start with Miami Invitational. This our mid season “rest” meet. We hold it every year here at the Nixon natatorium and it is usually a time where the team gets extra pumped up and some fast times get thrown down. I am personally really excited to see what the team and myself can do in the pool.

Thanksgiving was a great time to get away from school and from the demands of the team (I had not been home since August, so it was nice to be in my own bed). Finals are right around the corner so I have started to stress about those. Most of the guys will start to freak out after invite. 

Anyways, Miami Football is going to the MAC conference championship this Friday. I know it is not swimming but we like to support our Miami athletic family. Also, for the first time since 2003 we will be heading to a bowl game! (Hopefully I can make the trip) That’s all I got for the blog this week.

Make sure to check our times after this weekend at Miami’s athletic website.

Love and Honor,

TD

Miami University- Chris Gunnels

Hi my name is Christopher Gunnels and I am a Junior Psychology major from Chapel Hill, North Carolina. I swim mostly mid-distance freestyle and backstroke.

Picking up where Darin left off last week, we just came off a big meet weekend swimming at Ohio State on Friday and then traveling to Kenyon Saturday. For some time now, we have swum both of these teams on a yearly basis. Friday in Columbus we swam well, which was good to see for our first away meet of the year. It has been really nice to see several of the freshmen step up and swim how they need to this early in the year. The next day we traveled to Kenyon, which we knew would be a very close meet after tying them last year. Once again we put up some very good times and showed Kenyon that we have some firepower. There are still things to work on, but so far, we are performing very well. Like every team, we have some weak points but my teammates have done a good job of stepping up to the challenge and swimming events that we may not usually do. After the Kenyon meet, Coach Pete noted positively how consistent we have been so far this year for every dual meet we have competed in. The hard work and determination we have been putting in is slowly paying off and we are all extremely excited for our conference meet, coming off our last dual meet in the fall.

Monday morning we were back in the pool ready to improve and have some fun. Since this is the first week in some time without a dual meet, Pete and Scott decided to kick our teeth in a couple of times. So far this week has been pretty tough but it is definitely something we need heading into our thanksgiving break. The rest of the season goes by very quickly and soon enough we will be heading to Southern Illinois for our conference meet. We leave Oxford next Tuesday for thanksgiving break and return to campus on Sunday. This is a pretty important part of the season because even though we are not training with the team, it is essential to stay in peak shape so we can hit it hard when we return.

Other than swimming, we have been up to the usual activities including hitting the books of course. A lot of us had tests this week so we got good amounts of studying done. We have also been taking some pretty serious naps and making sure our Xbox’s still work. Harris dining hall had it usual thanksgiving dinner on Thursday and it was delicious as always. They even brought out the fancy tablecloths so the entire team could dine in class.

            Personally, I am extremely excited for the rest of the season. It seems as if everyone on the team is working towards a central goal and coming together as a team. We are doing what needs to be done and everyone is focused on doing what will most help the team. We are very close as a team, which helps us have each other’s backs both in the pool and out.  This allows for some pretty inspiring performances when we are able to compete with our teammates and push each other to the next level.

           

            Make sure to check in every week for what’s going on with the team as we get closer and closer to our conference meet.

Miami University Men's Swimming and Diving

Hey!  My name is Darin Smith, and I am a senior mathematics major on the Miami Men’s Swimming & Diving Team from Bossier City, LA.  I swim distance freestyle, IM, and backstroke. 

When we started this blog, I was wondering what I would write about.  Would I focus on my previous years here at Miami?  Would I discuss the reasons I came to Oxford? Or would I simply write about my favorite memories since I have been a student-athlete here? But then, I decided to listen to my coach’s favorite adage, and that is to “always stay in the present.”  So, let me write about the team at the present time: our latest meet, our current training, and various other factoids while possibly drawing in a few details from my time here at Miami.

Last weekend, we swam the University at Buffalo, our first conference dual meet.  Coming into the meet, we knew that it would be stiff competition, and that we would need to come in with a certain focus to accomplish our goals.  In a sentence, the team swam well.  We did what we needed to do, but we also realize that we have a far way to come.  The meet got a lot of the guys excited for conference meet this year, and it was also a great opportunity for some of the younger guys to see some of the competition they will be facing over the next few years.  And this upcoming weekend, we will carry the motivation and the lessons we learned about ourselves in that meet into Columbus and Gambier as we face Ohio State and Kenyon College.

Knowing we still have room for improvement, we were back in the water Monday morning for practices, “for more fun and excitement.”  Week in and week out, the team is training hard with a certain focus and determination to improve.  This week has been fairly challenging in the water and at the weight room. Today, we did a stand-up set, which we like to use as benchmarks throughout the season. The team did very well on it, and hopefully we will be rewarded with some jumps off the 10m to celebrate.

Aside from activities at the REC, the team has been up to its usual shenanigans around Oxford: from hanging out at the swimmer houses to catching a few rounds of bowling at Oxford Lanes.  Some of the popular and frequent activities the team enjoys doing are: catching a hockey game at Goggin, playing COD/Mario Kart/Super Smash Bros./etc., and trying to find out where Scott Usher lives. 

Concluding, I can tell you that I have loved every moment that I have spent on this campus and with this team.  It’s a great group of guys, we like to have fun, but we are also focused on what we need to be doing in the water and classroom. We have a big weekend ahead of us, as we close out our Fall semester dual meet schedule, and prepare for the final practices before kids head home for Thanksgiving. 

Keep checking out the blog, as each week a new teammate will write about the weekly happenings here in Oxford, Ohio!