The men's swim team is training hard for its first meet of the season, scheduled for Saturday at Miami of Ohio.
This season the Bulls' roster is comprised mostly of upperclassmen. The maturity and experience of the veteran swimmers has the Bulls optimistic about the season.
"I think we are going to have our best season since I have been here, mostly because of our maturity as a team. Most of us are juniors and seniors and experience alone is so valuable," said junior swimmer Kurt Bessel.
"That means that there is a lot more experience on the team and there is a better understanding of our program and what needs to get done day in and day out," added senior Erick Schwarz.
Buffalo has been training since August and the Bulls are determined to have a successful season. The Bulls know that doing well in Mid-American Conference men's swimming takes hard work and determination. They are also aware of the fact that they need to stay focused for the whole season.
"The swim season is so long that it can be easy to just take the easy way out and slack off a day here or a day there. It takes a lot to keep focused from August, when we start training, through March," said Schwarz. "The only way you're going to be able to have a lot of success at the end of the year though is to work hard all year long, to keep improving each dual meet, and then add in some extra resting and mental preparation right before the MAC season and there isn't much that can stop you."
Last season the Bulls realized that rest and mental preparation are not the only components in having a successful season. Another key aspect in terms of swimming success will be pacing themselves through the season as well as staying motivated through the season. The lack of motivation towards the end of last season resulted in more than a few of the Bulls' losses during the final stretch of the season.
"I think as a group we learned that even if we start out the season swimming really fast like we did last year, we can't let up at all and have to keep digging throughout the winter break and into the second semester," said senior Dustin Hui.
"We also lost a few close dual meets towards the end of the season that can mostly be attributed to a mental breakdown that we all know better than to let happen again," added Bessel.
This season the Bulls will compete against teams including local rival St. Bonaventure. The Bonnies have beaten UB the last three years and the Bulls are going to have to give it their all against their local rival.
Over the past three years, the Bulls have only graduated three swimmers and one diver. There are only two new swimmers this year. The majority of the team is already familiar with the level of competition in the MAC and they know what they need to compete in the conference.
"We have to pretty much swim our strongest against every team that we compete against, but if I were to single out a certain meet, I'd say that St. Bonaventure, because they are a local rival," said Hui.
The Bulls have several home meets, giving them an advantage to swim in their own comfort zone. This also allows the team to train more without losing time traveling to other schools.
"Last year, most of our meets were on the road. This year, we have one conference road meet, and one non-conference road meet. Traveling can be tiring, especially some of the longer road trips, such as Ball State." said Hui. "Traveling usually also takes away at least one day of hard training, so staying at home should help us in both the dual meets, and in preparing for the championships at the end of the season."
UB hopes to improve on last season's finish, and they will try to stay strong over the course of the 2004-2005 season. The Bulls' first meet is scheduled to take place this Saturday at Miami of Ohio.
UB will open the home portion of its schedule on Saturday, Nov. 13 in the Alumni Arena Natatorium.
