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!