Aus 2013

If you would have asked me at age 18 when I first step foot on UNB campus what it was going to be like I would have likely told you scary..

Forward 5 years (just for perspective - that is half a decade). I just want to express to the readers of this blog the meaning of being on a varsity team. It is so much more than the practice schedule, competitions and best times. Being part of UNB Swimming is so much more - it transforms you. 

Being a varsity athlete and part of UNB Swimming is so important. We are truly an elite group of athletes, and human beings, as are all the VREDS. Being part of the VREDs community not only improved my swimming times from age group swimming but improved who I am as a person. I can honestly say without this program and institution I am not sure I would be who I am today.

Each person who is involved with the VREDS changes with their time there. The environment fosters greatness and instills it into younger children through the awesome volunteer programs we run such as Reading with the Reds and Heads Up with the Reds. That is what is so special about being a VRED - being the best you can be and supporting your community.

As I finish my last AUS Championships I can say the wisdom I learned from my university career is far greater than ever expected. Be who you want to be in this world, and give wholesomely to those around you. I will always have a place in my heart for my team, and the lessons I learned along the way. VREDS Pride is something that never dies. I ask that each person on my team considers the greatness they achieve in and out of the pool. 

With that in mind AUS Championships were last weekend. We had a ton of season best and lifetime best times. We had people show their heart and pride - not even a blizzard could stop us. This was the end of the season for most of us but I wish Cuba Garcelon and Danielle Losier the best of luck at CIS Championships next weekend. 

For all AUS results please go to: http://www.gopanthersgo.ca/notice/2013/02/subway-aus-swimming-championship-live-results 

Also a very special congratulations to graduating swimmers Shauna Manning, Danielle Losier, Monica MacDonald, Ryan Steeves and, myself Melissa Hilchey. 

Just to show our pride here's a little picture to show you the banner we made for this year!

AUS Invitational Jan. 19-20th

Hello Everyone!

This past weekend UNB Varsity Reds Swimming traveled to Halifax for the AUS Invitational. This swim meet is a training meet which means we trained very hard right up until the day we left for the meet. We all got to practice the strategies we wanted to use in 3 weeks at AUS Championships at UPEI Feb. 8-10th. 

Cuba Garcelon qualified for CIS Championships in Calgary in 50 m Breaststroke with a time of 29.74. His perseverance throughout the weekend is a fine example for all athletes. The men's team had multiple strong performances including some top five placings: 

Top 5 for men:
Chris Garcelon- 1^st- 50 breast, 3^rd – 50 fly, 4^th- 50 back
Brandon Warren- 2^nd- 1500 free, 4^th- 400 free
Dylan McLeod- 5^th- 200 back

On the women's side there were quite a few season best times, lifetime best times and top 5 finishes. Special congratulations to Jordana Stanford who went a three second lifetime best in her 200 Backstroke. 

Top 5 performances for women:
Danielle Losier- 1^st- 50 fly, 2^nd- 100 back, 3^rd- 50, 100 & 200 breaststroke
Kaitlyn Young- 1^st- 100 fly
Monica MacDonald- 2^nd- 50 fly
Amanda Greene- 3^rd-100 back
Juliana Vantellingen-3^rd- 800 free
Jessica LeBlanc- 3^rd- 400 IM, 5^th- 100 free &200 free
Kate Lantz- 4^th- 200 fly, 5^th- 100 fly
Melissa Hilchey- 5^th- 200 fly
Jordana Stanford- 5^th- 50 back
Relays- 2^nd- 200 Medley, 400 free; 3^rd 400 medley


We had many great performances which make me excited for our upcoming championship season at AUS and CIS in February. 

So for the next three weeks the swim team will be on shaving ban, and coming into taper. For those who don't know taper is when we do less meters but more quality swimming. It is many swimmers favorite time of year. 

Until then!

"For myself, losing is not coming second. It's getting out of the water knowing you could have done better. For myself, I have won every race I've been in".
Ian Thorpe

Bahamas Training Camp 2012-2013

Hi All!!

Wednesday, December 26th three team mates and I packed up (very tightly) into my Honda Civic and headed from Nova Scotia back to Fredericton to meet up with our coach begin our adventure to Portland Maine, and then onto Nassau, Bahamas for training camp.

This was my fifth time going to camp as a part of the UNB Varsity Reds Swim Team. 3 times to Florida, one to Puerto Rico and now Bahamas.

Some of our team mates had some crazy stories about getting there. Ian Smith, one of our 1st year male swimmers had one of the funnier stories. Ian was one of the team mates that drove from Halifax to Fredericton with me. We all made it to Portland together but he had a later flight than ours. It was a typical cold, snowy day on the 27th when we were supposed to fly out. All of us said farewell to Ian and took off on time at 9 am. For Ian it was a little different - his first flight to Philadelphia was cancelled. Ian, being the dedicated and outgoing individual that he is, met a friend at the airport. He then proceeded to travel in a car with this person who was supposed to be on that flight to Philadelphia. He managed to make his connection flight. He plans to send his new friend some good ol Canadian maple syrup to say thanks. I am sure this first training camp experience is one that he will always remember.

We all arrived at different times and began training on December 28th. When we go to training camp it is by no means a vacation - 2 two hour in the water practices a day, plus good ol Trevor dryland. This year in 6 days we swam between 71 and 77 km plus a special practice on our last day.

We break up into sprinters, mid distance and distance groups at camp to assure that we are doing the training that will best help us with our best events. One set that defines our team was our last set of 2012. December 31st 2012 we did the 100x100 set. We did this set in a small cold pool and everyone really stepped up and excelled during this swim. Each swimmer had so many things to be proud of during this training camp I could never begin to explain them all.

It is hard to believe that it was a week ago we did our last practice in Bahamas. The sun was rising and the air was warm for our 7:30 am practice in the ocean. We would swim along the buoys and run back along the beach. Little did we know of the manta rays, crabs and fish we were along side. We were all just doing what we loved to do at the same time - swim. It was a peaceful end to an intensive week of training.

Friendships were strengthened, team spirit may be the strongest I have seen. This camp defined what it is to be a VRED. Strong, dedicated, determined and proud.

AUS Invite

Hello UNB Swimming Enthusiasts!

As a fifth year athlete I cannot express how happy I am that I came back to compete this year. What a strong, diverse team on the 2012-2013 roster!!

UNB Swimming stepped up nicely at the beginning of November when we traveled to Acadia for a quick three session swim meet. Quick swim meets mean more races in a short period of time - good for building mental strength in racing! Our team was very tough which translated VERY well this past weekend at the AUS Invite at DAL.

On Friday morning we got dressed up, got on the bus and headed to beautiful Halifax. I suppose I should step back and tell you the difference between this meet and the other two we attended earlier in the season.

1) We tapered for this meet which means that we did less meters but higher quality swimming the week going into the competition. This made us more rested and ready to race.
2) We wore racing suits. For people who do not know what these swim suits are like I will give you a little description - TIGHT. I am talking like 30-40 minutes to slowly inch it up your body.
AND last but not least
3) WE SHAVED. Yes folks, we had been saving our facial hair (men) and leg hair (women) for this fine event. It is a glorious moment when a swimmer gets to shave after many weeks or months of not doing so.

SO these factors combined helped UNB explode onto the scene this weekend. I could pick out individual swimmers who had high points, good standings or were close to CIS standards but I think it is important to focus on the fact that our team did so well as a whole. Every single person on our team contributed something this weekend: best times, fast racing, confidence, cheering and support.

This weekend was something to truly be proud of for the Men and Women of UNB Swimming!! Amazing work VREDS!

Amby Results 2012

Amby Leger 2012 was a success for UNB Swimming. We had some best times, great placings and racing opportunities. Our team was the loudest on the pool deck and the support from team mates was electrifying. YEAH V-REDS!

Overall as a team we learned lots from our first races of the year. In two weeks we will travel to Acadia University for our next competition.

As of this weekend Danielle Losier is ranked #1 in the country for 100 I.M. and 3rd in the country for 50 Breast. Losier won the 100 I.M. and broke her own university record. She also qualified for CIS Championships that will be held in Calgary in February  2013.

This was the last home competition for swimmers Danielle Losier, Monica MacDonald, Shauna Manning, Ryan Steeves and Melissa Hilchey.

UNB Swimmers MP Chasse, Melissa Hilchey, Holly Wright, Brittany Harvey,
Monica MacDonald, Juliana Vantelligen, Sarah Lynch, Jacqueline Murchison
and Michaela D'Intino at the Amby Leger Invitational this past weekend.

Below are some of the top finishes UNB had this weekend:

50 Meter Free
2^nd Chris Garcelon            :24.36

200 Meter IM
2^nd Danielle Losier            2:29.49
100 Meter Butterfly
1^ST Kaitlyn Young              1:07.76
200 Free Relay (women)
2^nd UNB                                                1:50.69
200 Free Relay (men)
3^rd UNB                                                1:42.50
100 Meter Free
2^nd Jessica Leblanc           1:01.06
50 Meter Backstroke
2^nd Chris Garcelon            :29.33
100 Meter Breaststroke
1^st Danielle Losier             1:15.53
200 Meter Butterfly
2^nd Katelyn Young            2:27.36
200 Medley Relay (women)
2^ND UNB                               2:03.51
200 Meter Breastroke
2^nd Danielle Losier            2:45.58
50 Meter Butterfly
2^nd Monica MacDonald  :30.99
400 Medley Relay (women)
2^nd UNB                                                4:34.18
100 Meter IM
1^ST Danielle Losier            1:06.83
3^rd Jessica Leblanc            1:10.21
4^th Kaitlyn Young               1:10.48
50 Meter Breaststroke
1^st Danielle Losier             :33.59
4^th Gabrielle Doiron         :37.18
50 Meter Breaststroke
1^st Chris Garcelon             :30.72
800 Meter Free
1^st Juliana Vantellingen  9:40.41
1500 Meter Free
4^th Brandon Warren        17:56.24
Mixed 400 Meter Free Relay
3^rd UNB                                                3:33.41

Combined Team Scores
1. Dalhousie University Swim Team 507.5
2. UNB Varsity Reds 233
3. Mount Allison Mounties 200.5
4. Acadia University 164
5. UPEI Panthers Swim Team 30

Women - Team Rankings
1. Dalhousie University Swim Team 262.5
2. UNB Varsity Reds 162
3. Mount Allison Mounties 68.5
4. Acadia University 38
5. UPEI Panthers Swim Team 14

Men - Team Rankings
1. Dalhousie University Swim Team 227
2. Mount Allison Mounties 122
3. Acadia University 120
4. UNB Varsity Reds 63
5. UPEI Panthers Swim Team 12

Starting Off Strong

Hello!

My name is Melissa Hilchey and this is my 5th year swimming for the UNB Varsity Reds. I finished my undergrad and came back to do my Master's at UNB because of the fantastic atmosphere on my team, as well as the V-Reds community as a whole.

This season we have a new assistant coach Mel Melanson and our head coach Robin Ferdinand is back in action for the 2012-2013 season! We have many returning swimmers and 7 new additions to the team (5 female and 2 male). It is exciting to see UNB Swimming growing. My first year there was about 11 women and we are proudly up to 21 women this season. The men's team is also growing which is nice to see.

Swimming is a little bit different than other sports because it is co-ed. We all train together, travel together, and compete at the same competitions.

Training has been going well. There is a competitive atmosphere at the pool and we are all pushing each other to improve. We have been having really hard practices which is a good way to start the season off strongly. Our first meet of the year is here, so we will have to save the traveling together until November.

NEXT weekend (Oct. 19-21st) is our very own meet held at the Sir Max Aitken pool. Friday evening starts at 6:30 pm, Saturday am at 10, Saturday evening at 630 pm, and Sunday morning at 10 am.

We hope to see you all out to support us at our ONLY home competition of the year!

PS. 11/18 Girls on our team were Academic All Canadians last season! Good job ladies!

CIS Championships

Hi everyone!

Just wanted to drop a quick post on here about the CIS swim championships.
Competition is underway in Montreal, with day 1 already complete!

We have 5 athletes at CIS... Danielle Losier (3 time qualifier), Kaitlyn Young, Juliana Vantellingen, Cuba Garcelon and Jessica Leblanc (to top off our women's relay). The Brunswickan did a little article about the squad, here's the link!

http://thebruns.ca/articles/51697

I encourage you to check out the live results to see how the VReds are faring against the rest of the country! Live results can be found here http://resultats.carabins.umontreal.ca/index_us.html

Also, for your viewing pleasure, there is live video feed! http://www.ssncanada.ca/game/3975/

So, good luck to our swimmers at CIS!!! We're behind you 100%! While these swimmers are at the swim meet, the rest of the team has their eyes glued to our laptop screens waiting on results and catching live feed!

That's all for now, have a fantastic weekend everyone!

Natalie