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Swimming and Diving Team Blog

Alma vs. Albion

Overall, the Albion meet went really well. I think that we had a lot of really good swims and that our team was very energetic! During the first half we weren't all there mentally, but after Coach's little speech, we all pulled together and finished the meet as a team and as a family. There were some outstanding performances, and I cannot wait to see what happens when we get back from Christmas break.  GO SCOTS!

~ J-town (a.k.a. Jordan Bryde)

Albion was a big meet for us. It was going to be an "uphill battle" as I recall coach saying. I just remember coming out onto that pool deck and having everyone be in great moods. Swimming is such a mental sport that you have to arrive at the meet with your mind on your races and ready to swim. The first half went by really slowly, I don't know if we needed to get pumped up or what, but by the second half of the meet we were definitely climbing to the top! I remember Andrew's 200 fly and how he busted it out! That was the type of swimming we needed to push the team to overcome any obstacles of pain or tiredness. In the end it was a great meet and swimming at home is always fun when you get to look up into the stands and see a whole crowd cheering for ALMA!

 ~ Shaina Buhl


The meet went great this weekend!  Lots of fast swims...still have DePauw coming up too.  Then we'll be swimming down in Fort Pierce, Florida!!!

~ Andrew Brunner

 
The Albion meet went really well.  Personally, I had all season best times so I was really happy with my races!  Spencer's 100-yard freestyle was amazing, he swam a 48.87!  I thought the team did a really great job cheering each other on and getting excited for everyone's races.  The meet started off kind of slow but we all stepped it up for the second half and got pumped up. The divers dove GREAT, especially Steve, who lost only by ONE point.  Overall, even though the scores may not show it, I thought the meet went really well and everyone did a great job. It was exciting to have a lot of family and friends in the stands cheering us on!
~ Christine Vicari

 
So the meet went decent, it would have better if we would have won. I kind of liked swimming in the medley relay right before the 1000, because it helped to get in the race mode. The food at Saga is just so good that I accidently ate too much before the meet. As a result, my 1000 was not the best, pretty much the same time as the Findlay meet. The 200-yard fly went better, my fly is not that good, but from swimming distance I have more endurance then some others and was able to come from behind and finish second behind Brunner for my first time swimming the event. My 500 wasn't that bad, I had a really bad turn at the 150 that I was just not able to recover from. Right now the season is going pretty good, and I like the way things are going. I'm excited to get a lot of yards in the next few weeks to prepare for a good taper at Depauw.  
~ Ryan Tobin


The Albion meet had to be one of the best meets of the year so far personally - due to the two personal bests I swam in the 50 and 100 free. Other than the fact that we had no morning practice the day of the meet, and could sleep in and have a proper breakfast, the rest training that we did the week of the meet really showed in my events. However, I was disappointed in the lack of energy at the beginning of the meet. Having scored this meet out on paper, I convinced myself that this would be a close meet and that I, as well as everyone else on the team, needed to perform well to beat Albion. It was our turn to finally win an MIAA dual meet and that vision was slowly taken away as we lost several of the first events. But the second half proved to be better as we saw more interesting and exciting races. The next week and a half is gonna SUCK!

~ Spencer T. Johnson


This meet was so much better than my last meet! I got a personal best on 1-meter (200.00) - which was also one of my season goals. I was unable to compete 3-meter because of my knee. I've been have constant problems with it throughout the semester. I was really glad I pushed through and dove 1-meter because if I hadn't I wouldn't have PR'ed and accomplished a season goal. The rest of the meet was FANTASTIC! Our team had a lot of good races also a lot of close ones! I'm so glad that our team is so supporting of one another because if we only cared about ourselves we wouldn't have the team we have and I love every single one of them! GO SCOTS!!!

~ Dustin Conlin
Overall I think the meet went rather well. Most people that I saw swam and dove excellent. There were divers along with swimmers that had a lifetime best and you can't beat that. I moved up a place to 5th on Alma's all-time 1meter 6dives list, but am slightly upset that I lost by .8pt...not to mention to the same guy who beat me by 1.3pt at conference for the bronze. We gave what we had on that day and that's all you can ask from an athlete. Congrats to those who performed well and the team in general.

~ Steve Rose



 



 

Posted: Sat, November 15th, 2008 at 3:43PM

 

Alma College is one of the best colleges fostering social responsibility and public service, according to The Princeton Review and Campus Compact. It is one of 81 institutions in 33 states — and the only private college in Michigan — that The Princeton Review commends and features in its book, Colleges With a Conscience: 81 Great Schools with Outstanding Community Involvement.

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Coach Profile

Chris Hamstra

Chris Hamstra

Coach Hamstra graduated from Hope College in 2004 with a B.A. in Accounting. During his time at Hope, Hamstra was a four year student-athlete, received All-MIAA honors and was also named to the All-American team. Hamstra was also a member of MIAA Championship teams and brings that winning attitude and work ethic to his new position.

After graduation, Hamstra served as an assistant coach for Hope’s Swimming and Diving Program under Dr. John Patnott. Hamstra credits Dr. Patnott with helping him to understand the science of swimming and also the importance of season long work out plans. “As an assistant in his program, I was given the freedom to implement my own workouts into the system, providing me with insight into what it takes to develop season long plans.”

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