NU swim teams fair well at New England competition

By Lizz Gregory
Norwich University Guidon Writer

Senior Kris Thayer, a 28-year-old English major from Alexandria, Virginia, was only three meters away from performing his last dive of his Norwich career. Thayer, one of the co-captains of the men's swimming and diving team has been busy training for the three-meter diving competition since qualifying in the state meet.

Three days a week and approximately six hours a day, Thayer would make the hour and a half drive to Middlebury College, where he was given an opportunity to practice on a three-meter board for his upcoming competition.

"This is going to be the last meet for all of the seniors, and it is good to know that going into the competition we know that we have a good shot at winning," said Thayer.

On Thursday, the 15 of February, members of the men's and women's swimming and diving team were on their way to Bentley college for a meet that they had been preparing for since September. Upon their arrival, they were introduced to eight other men's teams and 17 women's teams that would be competing against them. That same afternoon, "we had a light practice and then shaved down to be ready for the first day of competition," said senior co-captain Nate Boudreau, a 22-year-old criminal justice major from Forestdale, Mass.

Preparation before the New Englands involved a light practice session every day but with less force on the body. Members of the team would taper down, swim less, in order to rest the body but still be prepared for the competition.

"I tried to sleep a lot, rest up, and to continue stretching out whenever I got the chance," said junior Erik Edmonds, a 20-year-old computer science major from Crystal River, Fla. Edmonds swam the 50 fly, 100 fly, 50 free and four relays.

The overall performance of the team depended on each performance. The competition was close, and the team was counting on each member to perform his or her best in order to come out on top.

It was only the top 12 men and the top 18 women that made it to the finals. "If one of the races didn't win, we wouldn't have come in second place," said Thayer. It was the work of the whole team that put them at the top, said Edmonds.

For Thayer, performing 11 dives is the requirement for the three-meter competition. At his last meet, Thayer broke the record with a final score of 368.00. Thayer only held the record for about 30 seconds, because the competitor who performed after him took the record from him.

"Coaches from other schools even complimented me on my difficulty and performance as a whole," said Thayer. Those long drives and grueling practices really paid off for Thayer, because he came in 3rd in both the one- and three-meter competition.

"We were all happy with our performances, and I really appreciate all the support from the team and I look forward to seeing them get first next year," said Thayer. The men's team finished in second place with a score of 462.5, while the women's team came in fifth with a score of 445.

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