A Day in the Life.....Blue vs. Gold

This week Sophomore Kira Alger talks about the Aquabears' Blue vs. Gold Intersquad meet; from Monument, Colorado, Kira swims Sprint and Mid-Distance Freestyle for the Bears.

Sophomore Kira Alger

 Today feels like any other day. First thing in the morning I wake up at 5:30 a.m. to go pump some iron with the team. Our weight trainer, Emily, pushes us to the limit. If I think I can’t go any lower on squats she tells me to go a little lower. If I think I can’t lift anymore weight she tells me to add five more pounds. It’s hard to believe that I have to swim in a meet later this afternoon. I was a little nervous as to how well I was actually going to do with all this working out we were doing prior to the meet.

            I go back to my apartment and take a quick nap before my first class. I find it a little sad that I am already taking a nap at 7:30 a.m., but I have to prepare myself for the afternoon. I wake up at 8:00 a.m. to start my day with a pleasant walk to my first class with my good friend Kaitlin Sorenson, who also happens to be on the swim team. We talk about anything and everything; it’s nice to talk to someone who is going through the same obstacles of being a student-athlete. I walk quickly from Kepner to Michener Library for my next class, psychology. Even with my long, fast strides I still don’t make it to class on time! I always have to sneak into the back of the classroom so that I don’t distract people from the professor. Today’s lecture is on sleep deprivation and talking about sleep made me sleepy. Next is Anthropology, I sit in the very front so that I can take good notes and pay close attention to the teacher, it’s so interesting!

            It’s almost noon and I have some time to wind down. I eat lunch and relax until 2:30 p.m. Today is the Blue and Gold meet, my first meet since Conference. I wasn’t sure what to expect or know how fast my times would be, but I knew one thing, I had to sprint my heart out. I swam the 50 free, 100 free, and anchored in the 400 free relay. Overall, I went a little faster than I did last year at this same point. I already see improvement and it’s so early in the season! The coach was very happy with me.

            Afterwards we had a team dinner. It was delicious! I loved it. My roommate, Jamie Byrne, and I stayed at the team dinner until the end. Patience is a virtue. When everyone left we stuck around long enough so that we got to bring some of the delicious chicken home with us. We had food for the rest of the month! I figured that was a good way to ended my day.  

A Day in the Life.....Camping!

This week, sophomore Emily Essig-Peppard gives us a glimpse into the AquaBear's annual camping trip in her "A Day in the Life."

Sophomore Emily Essig-Peppard

Tents?  Check. Sleeping pads?  Check. Sleeping bags?  Check. Jersey (Coach Kelly’s dog)? Check. Food, layers of clothes, and more food?  Check, check, and check.

This past weekend the UNC Swim and Dive Team took a trip to Carter Lake for some team bonding out in the wilderness...well, I wouldn’t really call it “wilderness;” we went camping at a campground with "bathrooms" that would make you want to just use the wilderness instead (and be thankful for all those underwater sets).

Once we got there we went straight to work; getting all our tent mates together, putting up the tents quickly and easily(as we are all expert campers, of course), and unpacked the wide array of food from everyone. We then started our ‘oh so famous’ campfire (this is a very important part of our whole trip); after we finally got it raging, everyone settled down in a cozy circle around the fire to start the fun.

 We started off our activities with every girl (and Kevin) reading aloud their list of favorite things, so to speak (which included drinks, foods, restaurants, hobbies, etc.); this way everyone knew that extra something about their teammates and coaches. We then ate our self-provided dinners, where almost everyone cooked over the fire or ate their “gourmet to go” meals from Holmes Dining Hall on campus (which meant each girl eating around eight hot dogs for dinner, and no way of ordering pizza). After we had finished stuffing our faces, we sat back down to follow up on our “Getting to Know You list.” Coach Kelly read off one sheet at a time and would call upon a girl (or Kevin) to see if we could remember the favorite thing of our teammates.  Because we are so attentive to detail and payed very close attention, we were all able to guess the right person every time without much hesitation; as you can tell, we are great at this team bonding thing. Then it was time for each team member to share their life's greatest adversity, and accomplishment; while this may seem easy, trust us, it is not easy by any stretch of the imagination. This activity brings us mostly to tears, with the occasional laugh here or there, but the most important thing about this activity is that it brings us closer together. Once everyone has gone, it was time for us to hug it out and move on to the best part of the night, SMORES! We ended the night on a positive note and then headed to our very luxurious and comfortable tents for a good night’s sleep.

The next morning, we enjoyed our breakfast with the Women’s Basketball team from UNC; we shared laughs by throwing a mini concert full of lip singing and dancing, and even some funny talents we had (like the b-ball girl’s armpit farting). Not only were all of us watching, but some young kids from the next campsite over also enjoyed our treat and were dancing along to our songs playing so quietly (which really means blasting). After watching everyone's astounding talents, we said goodbye to our fellow athletes and gathered for one last meeting on the trip.

For the last time we sat down around the campfire to discuss our team goals. As a team we decide what we want to achieve throughout the season (from breaking records, to Team GPA, and to Life Skills). We also come up with steps on how we are going to achieve these goals as a team. After our “Team Goal Meeting,” we headed our separate ways to pack up the tents and clean up our campsite. Once we were finished, we ended the trip with a short hike to the top of a hill, to sit on top of the rocks and look down on Carter Lake. Here, we took time to reflect on the weekend and the gorgeous view in front of us. Now, we have come back to campus with a new outlook and are greatly looking forward to a great season with a team composed of new girls and returnees, ready to charge ahead and bring many wins to UNC Aquabears!

A Day in the Life........

This week's A Day in the Life is written by Katy Rysemus who is a Sophomore from Tacoma, WA swimming the Fly, Breast and IM events for the AquaBears.


Sophomore Katy Rysemus



5:30am. The dreaded sound of my alarm clock wakes me up for the new day ahead.  Leaving the warmth of my bed is probably the most difficult thing I will have to do all day.  Once I’m up and moving around I find my weight clothes, grab something to eat and am out the door to go pump some iron for an hour. I had not ever really lifted weights before I came here to UNC, but doing so has made a deep impact on my swimming career and I remind myself of this if I ever struggle with a new lift or a greater amount of weight. Knowing that this will make me better turns the pain into purpose.

     After an hour of lifting, I head off to the dining hall for breakfast so I can obtain some sustenance so I will be able to stay awake in my classes. My favorite meal is scrambled eggs, fruit, and a bowl of cereal or if I’m really hungry a Belgian waffle…yum! Once my stomach is happy, I’m off to start my day of classes. I have a break after my first class so I make the trek back to my apartment for a quick nap or I complete any unfinished homework (but naps are preferred). I make something, usually a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and a granola bar, for lunch and am out the door once again for the remainder of my classes.

     Once my last class is over I quickly head over to Butler-Hancock for afternoon practice.  After we have done about umpteen million mini-jacks and what seems like hours of jogging in place, we jump in the pool for our daily dose of chlorine. Practice is pretty hard most days, both mentally and physically but being surrounded by your teammates who are going through the pain with you makes it a little easier to accomplish. Words of encouragement can often be heard echoing off of the pool walls and this is part of what makes our swim and dive team not just a team, but a family. We support each other in every endeavor. Once practice is over, it’s time for either an ice bath (brrrrrrrrrr) or ice bags that make us look like deformed creatures, but we wear them proudly.

     Next is dinner and homework. The best dinners are when the entire team takes up a table at the dining hall and everyone can tell who we are because of the overwhelming aroma of chlorine and the loud chatter. After dinner it’s time to hit the books. Since I am an English Secondary-Education major with a History minor, I typically have more reading than anything. Nothing like some Emerson or Thoreau to end the night (an easy put you to sleep)! As the night grows later and later, I can hear my bed softly calling my name, wishing for me to let all my worries go so I can start the next day fresh and happy.

A Day in the Life.....

This week's A Day in the Life comes from Sophomore Jamie Byrne who is from Parker, CO and majoring in Sport and Exercise Science. 

Jamie gives us a glimpse of her everyday life now that classes and practices have started.




Sophomore Jamie Byrne



5:30 AM my alarm goes off.....or not. Five minutes until practices starts and I am running around my room like a chicken with my head cut off, I can’t find my shoes or sports bra. It’s funny how things disappear when you need them most. Good thing we have been trained to work under pressure. Summer is over now and it is time to get back into the swing of things. No more lifeguarding in the warm sun and eating watermelon, instead I transition into having intense practices and protein shakes. Swimming, weights, and school is now the routine.

After weights I go home to eat a quick bowl of cereal before I head to class; unfortunately, my roommate Kira has drank all the milk again so I guess I will go with a bagel. Dang, I miss the dining hall days. My first class is American Sign Language which is one of my favorite classes so far. My teacher doesn’t speak throughout the entire class instead he acts out all the signs and spells them out for us. I sure wish he’ll be on my team if we ever play a game of charades. Next is my Exercise Physiology class. It’s a hard class but it’s nice to be out of the general education courses and into a class that is actually a part of my major. Last for the day is Introduction to Music. Good thing this class is last because this is usually about the time I start to crash. It is impossible to fall asleep while listening to African music and “feeling” for the beats by dancing and stomping.

Time to eat again, alright! I have a little break to relax now before I go to swim practice. Practice is tough. It consists of butterfly and endurance sets in order for us to get back into shape as fast as possible. We can then start focusing on what really matters, our dual meets and conference. I finish off the night with some homework and a sit down dinner with the roommates. It’s nice to be back in Greeley with the team and getting to know all the new freshmen. We are working hard together and staying positive. I can tell we are going to become a stronger team this year!

The Cap is Back!

The Flower Cap has reappeared to help celebrate the birthdays of our athletes!  Practice has started for the 2011-2012 season which is a perfect time to celebrate summer birthdays.  This week both, Sammy Leonard and Alicen Fair, who have birthdays in June were honored at practice.  Happy Birthday girls!

Senior Sammy Leonard is ready to go!



Junior Alicen Fair ready for her swim!



A Day in the Life......Summer

This week's summer version of A Day in the Life of an Aquabear comes from Sophomore Gina Riggle.  Gina lives just north of Greeley in Eaton, CO and gives us some insight to her day which is filled with summer league coaching, teaching swim lessons and practice.

Sophomore Gina Riggle

5:30 AM…. Coffee.  That’s usually the first thing that comes to my mind that early in the morning. The next thing that comes to mind: coaching. After waking up this early, I get ready and drive to morning practice to coach the coolest kids ever. Ages 6 to 18, there is never a dull moment at that pool in the morning. Today, they are learning dives. I know that at the age of 6 years old I never was able to dive, let alone leave the sight of my mom for more than 5 minutes.  After being behind the blocks for the 8 and under practice and showing them how far to jump and how to enter hands first, I’m soaked.  At this point, it’s time to get in the water and teach my level one and level two swim lessons. Getting their hair wet and blowing bubbles (aka, talking to Jeffery the fish that lives in the deep end) is the lesson for today. My day wouldn’t be complete without seeing the swimmers on my team and seeing the kids in my lesson… It makes you realize how much an 8 year old can brighten up your day.

At about noon it’s time to go home. Now I enjoy naps as much as the next person… but I enjoy those two to three hour naps. I don’t get them often in the school year, so I take advantage of the summer snoozing opportunities as much as possible. Once I finally wake up, I head over to my old high school pool to get in a swim workout and a small dry land session.  There are no mini jacks included in this, but there are some squats and planks. After practice, I go home and either make some dinner or devour my mom’s cooking.

After the work, and the naps, and the exercise, it’s time for that summer fun.  Going to concerts is probably one of my favorite summer activities. Tonight is Blues Traveler at Red Rocks, and then later on in the week I’ll head up to the mountains for a Reggae Fest on the Poudre River. This summer has by far, been one of the bests. But, I can’t wait to come back to good old Butler-Hancock, and see all the great girls on the team.  With all the hard work in the pool and the weight room, the Bears will definitely shine this year.   

A Day in the Life....SUMMER!!

As the school year is just around the corner AquaBears will begin to give us glimpses of their summer days back at home.  This week's A Day in the Life comes from incoming Sophomore Christina Gregory of Papillion, NE who gives us a view of her summer day back at home.



Sophomore Christina Gregory



My alarm goes off at 5:30 A.M. every morning, and every morning I wake up in a panic wondering “huh? what’s going on?”.  Oh, time to go to swim practice, that’s right. I am currently training for my sophomore year of college swimming. But today is no ordinary day, it’s Friday, and that means there is a possibility we will play a game in practice today. 

Looking forward to this possibility I drive my butt to the outdoor pool we, Sarpy County Seawolves, practice in during the summer. It rained last night, so there’s probably unwanted foliage and debris in the pool. Great. I usually get some of this stuck in my mouth during warm up. Whatever. 

So I get to practice and look at the work out sheet. Yes. We have a nice sprint set and then we are playing Death Cross. This is my favorite game. Ever. It is played in the diving well, and we are split up into four teams. Each team goes to one of the corners in the diving well, and when our coach yells “Go!” we race to the opposite corner. Who ever is last to their corner is out. Oh yeah, you can grab people from other teams and drag them back to your corner so as to get them out. Naturally, I excel at this game. :D

After practice is over I have just enough time to grab breakfast before I have to go to work. I get to the country club where I lifeguard at and start cleaning the pool and checking the skimmers. And then I find a baby garden snake. He is freaking adorable and I name him Little Todd. I contemplated keeping him. Instead I let him free into the garden. I miss Little Todd. 

Once work is over I hurry over to the gym to meet up with my lifting partner. My sister is my favorite person to lift with. We start out by catching up and gossiping a little, and then we start our work out. We lift heavy things and it is fun.

We finish our lifting and then go home for some dinner. Yum. And then I get ready to go out to get frozen yogurt with some of the girls. Yay!

As the summer is coming to an end I am a little relieved to know that I will be back with my fellow Bears soon. Sophomore year will be an exciting one, I have definitely learned things from this past year that I’ll do differently. Like when we go on bus rides, I will now bring two full water bottles to ensure I don’t go crazy from thirst.