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This “Scream from the Stands” post is Emma MayFreshman swimmer at UConn.
Well, it was the longest week of my life and the fastest at the same time. But it was one of the best and most memorable weeks of my life. I'm living that dream. I am so grateful for the opportunity and privilege to swim at UConn and the BIG EAST Conference.
I attended this conference as a freshman knowing quite a few people. When I entered the venue, all those people were very excited. I had heard nothing but incredible things about the conference championship, the atmosphere, the electricity, the energy, all of the above. Therefore, it is no exaggeration to say that I went into this tournament with high expectations. BIG EAST won't disappoint.
I have never been in a group of people with such energy, passion for racing and respect for others. The energy wasn't just present in the finals like in a typical tournament. In the preliminaries, everyone stepped up and made the pool deck loud and proud. The team wasn't just rooting for their teammates, they were rooting for former teammates, friends they made along the way, and people who had great races. Games went back and forth between her UConn women and Villanova women throughout the weekend, bringing even more energy to the tournament. On Saturday night, the pool deck was cheering on a group of Seton Hall swimmers. They competed in an incredible 1650 races and won gold medals for both men and women. The entire crowd was proudly cheering on the swimmers. The freshmen achieved the NCAA “B” standard and everyone in the conference was very proud of those athletes. This conference is bigger than just your team.
In the diving section, all the swimmers were huddled around the diving well observing the divers in action. Both the boys and girls were very impressive and there was some great competition. Just like swimming, everyone cheers when a diver makes a beautiful dive. Especially for swimmers, diving is a very different world from ours and many of us are in awe when we watch them do their job.
Being quite an extrovert myself, I discussed it with countless people on deck over the course of a week. Some I have known for a long time, some I have met recently, and some have made me realize how small the world of swimming really is. When people found out I was a freshman, regardless of the team, they were excited and welcomed me to my first conference meeting. Last week, a good friendship was born thanks to a cold bath. No one had anything bad to say about the conference or the championship in general. The kindness and welcoming spirit was truly amazing and I know it will be something special to this conference. The connections I have with others are also amazing. In this world of swimming, you are sure to find friends of friends. I found several in just 2 days.
As the meets continued and we saw the same people throughout the week, we remembered the other person swimming and cheered them on as they raced. I received support from several athletes from other teams during the daytime mile and again when I swam the 200m chest final. Every swimmer has experienced a dirty double at least once, but having support from people outside of your team is uplifting and fun to watch.
After BIG EAST ended and before the awards ceremony started, all the teams started a little dance party on the decks with just a DJ playing music. Coaches, swimmers and divers celebrated the end of the competition in style. UConn and Seton Hall came together for a joint dance party. Core memories were made this past week, to say the least. As you have told me before, this conference is truly special and I am honored to be a part of it as a UConn swimmer.
Congratulations to everyone who competed this weekend! We can't wait to come back next year!
Let's go to the Huskies!
