Open Water Swim and Cook-out

The teams took to the water today for our sixth annual open water swim and team cook-out. The swim was once again at Lake Arthur in Moraine State Park. Not only does this open water swim serve as the official start of our season, but it gives the team a great opportunity to get away from campus for a few hours to take in the beauty of the park, enjoy some nice open water swimming and have a great cook-out as a team at Coach Bocci's ranch located just outside of Butler.

The day started with Coach Bocci and me heading out to the lake to chart out the course and take in a little fishing with our sons, David and Ben. The water temperature was perfect and the area was slightly foggy but began to clear as the teams pulled up in the vans. Once getting changed and given a few instructions from me, the swimmers took to the water in a highly contested event. Sophomore Roman Becicka, who was forced to start from the back, once again took first place for the men's team and sophomore Amanda McClelland took home top honors for the women. After our last two sprinters exited the water, we headed over to Coach Bocci's for the team cook-out.

The weather was perfect and the swimmers were able to take in a few games of volleyball while Coach Bocci and I cooked the burgers and dogs. All-in-all it was great day and a perfect way to get the season rolling. I am sure some of the alumni have some great memories from our open-water swims or cook-outs. Mine was the capture the flag tournament we held back in 2004. Hopefully some of the alumni will share theirs.

See you around the pool,
Dave

Alumni Meet

Alumni, Friends and Family of Duquesne Swimming,

Has it been that long?!!?! We are in the process of putting together plans for an Alumni Swim Meet Homecoming Weekend. The meet will take place on Friday, October 2 in the evening around 6 PM. We wanted to make it as late as possible so many of the out-of-towners can make it. No worries though, the meet will only consist of 25's, 50's and possibly some 100's. Following the meet, we would like to have a get-together at the Red Ring. This will be a great opportunity to catch-up with some long-lost teammates, relive some old memories and make some new ones. If you are interested, shoot me an email so we can begin our list. Katie McHugh will also be sending out some information.

See you around the pool,
Dave

A new season begins!!

Today was our first official day of weights and water work. The strength coach gave a lot of praise to the team regarding their intensity in the weight room this morning. Following morning weights the student-atheltes attended classes until our PM swimming sessions. The afternoon was pretty easy, getting the fundraiser stuff together and spending some time on freestyle drills. The team begins the dry land phase tomorrow..........looking forward to it!

See you around the pool,
Dave

Sweeeeeet Friday :)

Hello!

Today went by extremely fast. I had four classes in the morning and received zero homework in all but one! Tonight's gonna be a good night.

I just got back from a girls team dinner at Annie's. We ate pasta, bonded and told embarrassing stories! The girls are all very nice and I feel like I am part of the team already. Although I am still very excited for practice to start. I can't wait to get back in the water.

Earlier this afternoon I got a call from the Offramp Duquesne catering service. They left a message on my phone about a care birthday package that was perishable. I couldn't believe it! I was actually getting mail that I could eat! I walked over to Offramp to find a giant cookie cake with Happy Birthday Caitie written on it! Under the cake was a card signed by my parents, Justin, and puppy Jackpot. This brought a huge smile to my face:) Thank you!

As for now, we're all walking down to south side!

Caitie


I'm sorry that I didn't get my post up in time last night! But anyways, yesterday was very exciting. I only had 2 classes in the morning and then a class at 4:30 that was optional but I went just to see what it was like. I got most of my homework done yesterday afternoon, so I don't have any this weekend YAY!

I got mail yesterday from my mom and Thiago. I was so excited when I opened my mail box and there were TWO letters! Thanks guys!

The senior girls invited all the girls to their house to have a pasta dinner. It was so good to have a home cooked meal. I miss my mom's cooking so much. After we ate, we went around the room tell things about us like what our major is, what we swim, where we are from, and a random fact. After we got through the introductions, we went around the room and told the our most embarrassing story. It was a lot of fun and I can't wait to start the season.

Thanks for letting Caitie and I blog for the first week of college. It was fun and I'm so glad I got to do it!

Miriam

The city is pretty

6:15 came way too early. This morning the swimming and cross country teams had a compliance meeting. Afterwards I decided to take a swim. I completed Coach Sheets' workout and decided to do a little extra. Normally I would have a class @ 925 but my professor had another obligation and cancelled! It kind of felt like a 2 hour delay or a snow day. I'm not complaining!

I only had two classes today. And both of them were in Fisher Hall. For those of you who don't know where Fisher Hall is in reference to the dorms, you're in for a bit of a surprise. It was about a ten minute walk each way to and from St. Ann's. These classes are definitely the easiest of my course load by far. University 101 helps student athletes make the transition from high school to college. It focuses on the balance between school work and athletics. About an hour later I walked back to Fisher for my Technology class. Let me just say that you are definitely getting a good workout here. I feel like I am constantly on the go. I'm always running! As my Dad would say, it's free exercise.

Later on, I studied some theology and philosophy and then decided to meet my friend Lauren for dinner. As I walked outside of the dorm, I really got a good look at the city of Pittsburgh. It truly is the best city in the U.S. The sun was setting behind the skyline. It looked like a scene from a movie. Most people would probably argue that cities are not typically pretty. However, Pittsburgh is pretty. It's pretty in it's own way. And I pretty much love it.


Tomorrow's friday!
Caitie