The swim and dive team competed in their first meet of the season at Redlands Oct. 10. Several Occidental swimmers posted top 20 times in a pool with over 100 D3 competitors.
Reid Lalli (junior) had Occidental’s top finish in the 100-yard butterfly, clocking in at 53.35 seconds to secure eighth place. Lalli said he was proud of his upbeat mentality despite the intensity of the meet.
“It was a quick turn-around because we all had five events in a day, which was a lot, especially for sprinting,” Lalli said. “My main goal was to keep a positive attitude the whole time and not to get in my head, and I did a really good job with those two things.”
Lalli said he has had a clearheaded approach toward this swim season after feeling disappointed with last season, and he is pleased with his performance so far.
“I had a very poor last season due to injury and illness, but I’m going into this season starting fresh [and] swimming different events,” Lalli said. “So far I feel like the season has been very good for me […] I just hope I can bring that forward coming into our next few meets.”
Katherine Munoz (senior) placed 11th in the women’s 100-yard butterfly with a time of 1:01.73. After taking a break last year to focus on her academics, Munoz said she felt nervous returning to the competitive swim scene.
“I haven’t competed in a year, so it was nerve-wracking,” Munoz said. “I try to have a positive mentality […] It was a bit stressful and hard, but I had a lot of fun.”
Munoz said she has various ways of centering herself before races.
“I have pre-race rituals that I always do that calm me down,” Munoz said. “I try to listen to music that keeps the adrenaline going or calming music if I’m way too nervous. It depends on the event. I also do some stretches [and] get my cardio up.”
Swim and dive head coach Haley Meryl said the first meet of the season provides a valuable reference point to measure athletes’ progression.
“[The team’s] efforts were really good, and that’s really all that matters at this meet,” Meryl said. “It’s nice because we do [this meet] every year, so with the returners you can see what they [swam] in previous years. If they went faster, great. If they didn’t, it doesn’t necessarily mean they didn’t swim well, but there is some kind of baseline.”
Lalli said he maintained his fitness over the summer so that he was ready to return to the intensive training demanded by the swim team.
“I was always doing something to work out, whether it was swim, track, Pilates [or] lifting weights,” Lalli said. “When we got back to [Occidental] I started swimming again six days a week.”
According to Lalli, his coaches have helped him improve his performance in the pool this season.
“Our coaches have done an amazing job splitting [practices] between aerobic work […] and specialized workouts, whether it’s working on your main [swimming] events, doing more sprint work or anything to get that good feel in the water,” Lalli said.
Meryl said the collective drive of the team is admirable.
“The biggest asset is to motivate each other,” Meryl said. “We always get complimented at meets that our energy and enthusiasm is good. For me that’s a really big compliment.”
According to Munoz, team bonding during intense training for championship events is something she looks forward to.
“I’m excited for [the] SCIAC season and winter training because we get closer as a team,” Munoz said. “SCIAC is really hard, but it’s really fun. Everyone has a blast. If we do [well] or not, it’s fine. We’re all there to push each other, and we’re all there having a great time.”
Lalli said he is excited to see the mounting energy of the team produce standout performances in the pool.
“I’m mostly looking forward to having that amazing team culture that our team has had in the past and having that energy to create super fast swims,” Lalli said.
Meryl said the team dynamic is important to maintain both ambition and responsibility.
“That’s been my biggest journey in the eight years I’ve coached here,” Meryl said. “Making sure that we are conscious of having good team culture. Being respectful and supportive, but also being competitive and finding that balance between being encouraging and holding people accountable.”
Lalli said he has big goals he wants to achieve this season.
“Ideally, this year I [will] make a championship final in any of my three events,” Lalli said. “My guess is it will either be the 100 fly or the 200 fly. [An] NCAA cut would be the dream, but I have a lot to work for.”
According to Lalli, his mindset for competing this season is simple.
“Racing is racing,” Lalli said. “It’s just you, the water and that’s it.”
Contact Ashley Koontz at akoontz@oxy.edu
