Spring Break
Old rivals come to Storrs
Dan Agabiti
Issue date: 11/13/09 Section: Sports
This Saturday the Huskies take on Université Laval and Brown University at the Wolff Zackin Natatorium. The meet is another three-way match with all of the regular events found in an NCAA dual meet.
UConn hasn't faced Brown for quite some time, and it is the first time in school history that they face Laval, so expectations are high for the meet.
Laval was looking for an opponent on the East Coast and decided to challenge UConn, so it is unclear how this event is going to count toward the Huskies' record. Laval boasts one of the top programs in Canada, and always finds themselves near the top of their conference. Brown has been struggling in the past few years but is improving.
Last week, the women took care of business against Army as expected, and came away with an easy 209-94 win.
But the men, however, came just 20 points short and lost 140-160. Coach Bob Goldberg had the team been on top of their game, they could have come away with a victory, coach said.
"We just looked flat during some races and were not performing as well as I know we could have," Goldberg said. "Twenty points is not that large of a swing one way or another. So, had we done as well as we could, I know it would have been a different outcome. Army simply came to the match more fired up, swam better and came away with a victory."
Because Laval is in Canada and thus not affiliated with the NCAA, the match against them may not even count. Despite this, Goldberg is putting his best swimmers in their best events. He thinks that more swimming in a competitive atmosphere is an effective method of preparation for the upcoming Terrapin Cup in Maryland.
"In some of our tougher dual meets and the Terrapin Cup, it is very important to be ready to race against the best," Goldberg said. "If this meet does nothing else, it will be a good race for us to sharpen our racing skills and help this young team to focus more during races for a better result."
UConn has eight Canadian swimmers, some of whom know a few athletes swimming for Laval. Their rivalries go back quite a few years to the Canadian equivalent of middle school.
The athletes see the importance of this race as an opportunity to get into sharper race form and to improve their focus, but some also view it as a fun challenge against some old foes.
UConn hasn't faced Brown for quite some time, and it is the first time in school history that they face Laval, so expectations are high for the meet.
Laval was looking for an opponent on the East Coast and decided to challenge UConn, so it is unclear how this event is going to count toward the Huskies' record. Laval boasts one of the top programs in Canada, and always finds themselves near the top of their conference. Brown has been struggling in the past few years but is improving.
Last week, the women took care of business against Army as expected, and came away with an easy 209-94 win.
But the men, however, came just 20 points short and lost 140-160. Coach Bob Goldberg had the team been on top of their game, they could have come away with a victory, coach said.
"We just looked flat during some races and were not performing as well as I know we could have," Goldberg said. "Twenty points is not that large of a swing one way or another. So, had we done as well as we could, I know it would have been a different outcome. Army simply came to the match more fired up, swam better and came away with a victory."
Because Laval is in Canada and thus not affiliated with the NCAA, the match against them may not even count. Despite this, Goldberg is putting his best swimmers in their best events. He thinks that more swimming in a competitive atmosphere is an effective method of preparation for the upcoming Terrapin Cup in Maryland.
"In some of our tougher dual meets and the Terrapin Cup, it is very important to be ready to race against the best," Goldberg said. "If this meet does nothing else, it will be a good race for us to sharpen our racing skills and help this young team to focus more during races for a better result."
UConn has eight Canadian swimmers, some of whom know a few athletes swimming for Laval. Their rivalries go back quite a few years to the Canadian equivalent of middle school.
The athletes see the importance of this race as an opportunity to get into sharper race form and to improve their focus, but some also view it as a fun challenge against some old foes.
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