Duquesne v. St. Francis v. CCSU

We dropped a pair of decisions at St. Francis Saturday afternoon, falling to the host Red Flash and to Central Connecticut State.

Meghan Smith again led the way for the Lady Dukes, finishing first in the 200-yard individual medley with a time of 2:10.34. Meghan also had a third place showing in the 200 free in 1:55.89, good enough for 9th on the All-Time Top 10 and finished fourth in the 500 free in 5:16.40. Morgan Claycomb captured first in the 100 backstroke in 59.47 and also grabbed a third place finish in the 200 back in 2:10.34.

Miriam McGeath took home second place finishes in the 200 butterfly in 2:09.57 and the 200 breaststroke in 2:27.56.  Kim Schade placed fourth in the 50 free in 25.60, Caitlin Zajko finished fourth in the 100 breaststroke in 1:09.30 and Hannah Kondrotas took fourth in the 200 butterfly in 2:13.41 and the 1,000 free in 10:58.65.

Overall it was a solid meet. Although we did not swim as fast as the other two teams, the effort was there. The fast swimming will come but we just need to stick to our plan and be patient. It's a long season....the ladies are swimming hard now but will swim fast in February!



Fri. Oct 29

Sprinters

3 Minute Jog
Suicides
Full Court Sprints

Abs

Thurs. Oct 28

3 Rounds of each group:
30 seconds on/20 off

Complete 3 rounds of one exercise before you switch

Group 1:
Jump Squats w/ DB
Tricep Kickbacks
Back Extensions
Incline abs w/ plate
Lat Pull Downs
Bench

Group 2:
Right Leg Squat
Left Leg Squat
Right Arm KB Swing
Left Arm KB Swing
Box Jumps
Front Raises

St. Francis and CCSU

This weekend we are off to Loretto, PA to take on defending NEC Champions, St. Francis and NEC runners-up, Central Connecticut State University for another tough challenge and another gauge for our team. St. Francis has made great strides in my 10 years at Duquesne as Coach Pat Gallagher has taken a program from mediocrity to championship status.  St. Francis is swimming very fast and with a lot of confidence. This is also a conference meet for the top two teams in the NEC so I am hoping the ladies will feed off the competitive atmosphere at the Stokes Center.    Hope to see you there.

See you around the pool,

Dave

Tues. Oct 26

Part 1: AMRAP 12 minutes
10 One arm swim pulls (each arm)
10 Lateral raises
7 Push ups
4 Pull ups - NO band
25 Abs choice

Part 2: 3 x 8  Heavy weights
Thrusters
Deadlift
Upright Row

Part 3: AMRAP 12 minutes
Run 2 laps
6 Burpees
8 Tuck jumps
10 Broad jumps

Mon. Oct 25

Sprinters

Dynamic Warm up 7-10 min
5 laps jog

2 half court sprints
2 half court sprints - no breath
1 full court sprint
1 full court sprint - no breath

Reaction Drills

8 x 25 abs
1 x 25 "back" abs

Day 2 recap

As we travel back from JMU I wanted to give everyone an update on today's meet. We swam much better today with the women taking their races out a little stronger and working on finishes. A couple highlights for today were the swims of Meghan Smith and the enthusiasm of the team. Meghan was our lone winner, dominating the 200 IM with a time of 2:08.19; Good enough for 4th on the all-time top 10. From a team standpoint the women continued their enthusiasm from Friday, constantly cheering for their teammates in the water. Each week I can see the team becoming closer and more comfortable with their new situation.

Next week we will travel to St.Francis and take on defending NEC Champions St. Francis and NEC Runner-up Central Conneticut State University. It should be another tough one. Hope to see you there.

See you around the pool,
Dave

Day one recap

Although this was the first competition of the season it begins to lay the groundwork for the rest of the year.  We now have a benchmark to compare the upcoming weeks.  For us, the meet started a little slow and sluggish, however with each passing event the ladies started to swim with a little more confidence.  Freshmen Meghan Smith led the way for the Lady Dukes finishing third in the 200 free and winning the 200 fly with a time of 2:05.54.  Sophomore Miriam McGeath also swam well, finishing second in the 400 IM with a time of 4:37.19.  Overall, I was pleased with the enthusiasm and look forward to swimming faster tomorrow.

See you around the pool,

Dave

Thurs. Oct 21

Recovery Week

2 min Arena Stairs run
Walking Lunges to other end
10 Burpees w/ push up
2 Min Arena Stairs run

Flutter Kicks
30 sec on/30 sec off
40 on/ 20 off
50 on/10 off
1 minute on

Finally, time to race!

It seems like only yesterday we were on the deck at ECC for the conference championships and now a new season is upon us. With the new season comes many changes. Changes in staff, changes in the faces we see on deck everyday and changes in attitude. As this young season has progressed I have witnessed a program going from trying to find an identity to each week becoming closer and closer as a team. The team today is much different then the team I was working with in September and I am certain we will continue to evolve and develop in the months to come.

With the new season comes the first dual meet and it is finally upon us as we travel to Harrisonburg, VA on Friday to take on JMU and Richmond in a two day competition. Everyone is getting very excited and we are all aware of what lies ahead. Both programs are very talented and the competition will give all of our swimmers a great opportunity to get up and race. You will be able to follow the results here on the blog, our facebook page as well as the Duquesne University Athletics page.

See you around the pool,
Dave

Tues. Oct 19

Recovery Week

Part 1:
12-10-8
15#-20#-25# Fly Pulls
40#-45#-50# Lat Pull downs
40#-45#-50# Machine Row

Part 2:
12-10-8
45#-55#-65# Back Squat
BW-2.5#-5# Right leg Squat – hold plates
BW-2.5#-5# Left leg Squat – hold plates

Part 3:
12-10-8
Dips
Push ups
5#-7#-10# Bicep Curls

Part 4: 2.5# plates
12-10-8
Front Raises
Lateral Raises
Butterflys

Mon. Oct 18

Sprinters - Recovery Week

Arena
3 Rounds
Run – Stairs only 2x through
10 Box Jumps
30 Jump Rope

Sat. Oct 16

Stabilizers: 30 seconds on/10 off (~6 min)
- 2 Front
- 2 Right
- 2 Left
- 2 Front: alternate lifting feet off ground (straight legs) - hold 3-5 sec then switch

Supermans: squeeze should blades, tighten back muscles (3 min)
- Round 1: up for 10 second count, down for 5 second count - 4x
- Round 2: up for 20 sec, down for 10 - 4x

16 T Push ups (~2 min)
- 2 sets of 8

Elbows to Knees in Plank - 6 x (3 min)
- 20 sec on/10 sec off
- Start in Plank Position, rotate upper body, touch left elbow to right knee and vice versa
- Tighten core to keep balance

10 pike up (sit ups)
10 alternating pike ups (~2 min)

10 Sit up-get ups (~1 min)
- Execute a regular sit up, but stand up at the end without using your hands

Fri. Oct 15

Sprinters

Warm up:
Jog 2 laps
Jumping jacks
Lunge-twists
Leg swings

3 Rounds of
-8 Streamline jumps
-2 Half sprints w/ breathing
-2 Sprints – whole gym, no breath, on 1 min rest


Abs
-50 Legs 90 degrees
-50 Toe Touch
-60 Right
-60 Left
-70 Regular Crunches
-70 Reverse

Thurs. Oct 14

20 walking lunges, 12 wall ball, 12 push ups
20 walking lunges, 9 wall ball, 9 push ups
20 walking lunges, 6 wall ball, 6 push ups
20 walking lunges, 3 wall ball, 3 push ups

1 min rest

20 row, 3 pull ups, 3 overhead squats
20 row, 6 pull ups, 6 overhead squats
20 row, 9 pull ups, 9 overhead squats
20 row, 12 pull ups, 12 overhead squats

1 min rest

15 back ext, 15 power wheels, 15 streamline sit ups
15 back ext, 15 power wheels, 15 streamline sit ups
15 back ext, 15 power wheels, 15 streamline sit ups
15 back ext, 15 power wheels, 15 streamline sit ups

Weights to Use:
Wall ball: 10 lb med ball or higher
Row: 60 lbs or higher
Overhead squat: 35 lb plate or higher
Back extensions: 25 lb plate or higher

Tues. Oct 12

Run 4 laps
10 Dips
10 Split Squats
10 Mountain Climbers
10 Sit ups

Run 3 laps
20 Dips
20 Split Squats
20 Mountain Climbers
20 Sit ups

Run 2 laps
30 Dips
30 Split Squats
30 Mountain Climbers
30 Sit ups

Sprint 1 lap

Mon. Oct 11

Sprinters

Warm up: 2 x
20 Jumping jacks
10 Lunges


6 stations: 20 sec on/ 10 off x 3
Frog Hops
Jumps – right, left
Power wheels
Jump rope
Jump squats – touch wall w/ both hands

Rxn Drills

Fri. Oct 8

Sprinters

3 min Indian Run
4-8-12 Tuck Jumps
4-8-12 Burpees – no push up

Abs: plyo balls

5K run and pentathlon

front row: L-R: Kirstie Shumaker, Kim Schade, Tara VanNatta, Bri Mangis, DeAnn Pertz

back row: L-R: Heather Cloud, Lori Yeaman, Amanda McClelland, Erin Cawley, Brianna Dombosky

It was a beautiful day in Pittsburgh today as some of the team members and their parents (Mandy Shumaker and Karen Mangis) of Duquesne Swimming participated in the Katie Westbrook Memorial 5K while the remainder of the team (mostly non-runners) completed a two hour practice. The run was in memory of a former law student with all proceeds going directly to a scholarship in her name. It was great to see so many of the ladies on the team step and take part in the run. Congratulations to Junior swimmer DeAnn Pertz who was the overall winner of the race. Following the race, the team met up in Towers for a team brunch prior to the First Annual Pentathlon.
The pentathlon was a great challenge for the women as they competed in all four stroke events (100 fly, 100 back, 100 breast, 100 free) and the 100 IM. Each event was swum on a 10 minute interval which gave minimal time for recovery but maximal time to test mental toughness. Freshmen Meghan Smith was the overall event winner with 93 points. She was followed by Senior Kirstie Shumaker, Sophomore Miriam McGeath and Juniors Hannah Kondrotas, Erin Cawley and Senior Erin Sykes locked in a tie for fourth. Each swimmer participating scored points. Overall I was very pleased with the results. As we wrap up another week of training I consider this past week the best effort so far and continue to look forward to the coming weeks.

See you around the pool,

Dave

Thurs. Oct 7

4 Rounds

10 Burpees – w/ push up
10 KB/DB Bicep Curls
10 KB/DB Triceps
10 KB/DB Squats
10 KB/DB Calf Raises
15 KB/DB Sit ups – hold KB/DB above head
1 Arena Lap

Tues. Oct 5

Part 1:
AMRAP 10 minutes
5 pull ups
10 push ups
15 med ball sit ups

Part 2:
AMRAP 10 minutes
15 KB/DB thrusters
20 KB/DB swings
25 regular sit ups

Part 3:
AMRAP 10 minutes
25 crunches
30 lunges w/ wt (total)
1 arena lap w/ bleachers

Mon. Oct 4

Sprinters

4 Rounds: As fast as you can
-Round 1: each exercise is on 1 minute
-Round 2: on 50 seconds
-Round 3: on 40 seconds
-Round 4: on 30 seconds

Broad jumps
10 Push ups
Sprint
20 Crunches
Sprint
10 Streamline jumps

Fri. Oct 1

Sprinters

4 Rounds of:

1 minute jump rope
1 minute sit ups
10 Jump squats
20 Box jumps
20 Split squats
Sprint to other end of Palumbo
2 minutes rest

Rxn Drills