Relay teams anchor women's swimming lineup

Swim. Train. Tan. That used to be the winter break schedule for the women's swimming team, if its grades were up to the coach's standards.

But under first-year coach Seth Johnson's command, the Bonnies achieved only two of the three tasks, stayed on campus and avoided the sunny Florida weather.

"It stunk, and I was really bummed in the beginning of the year," junior backstroke specialist Katie Valentine said. "Hopefully this semester, we'll make sure our grades are OK. If I don't go to Florida my senior year, I'll be really sad because it's nice being tanned at the beginning of the semester."

Johnson said staying on the Bonaventure campus gave the team an opportunity to train harder and become cohesive.

"We've got a small team this year, and I think it's actually been good," Johnson said about the team's chemistry. "And I think us staying here over break for training, instead of going down to Florida this year, really brought them closer because we can do a lot of team things."

One of the most improved areas is the relays - the only team-swimming events in the Atlantic 10 Conference.

With the relay team of Valentine, sophomore breaststroke specialist Kayla Cobb, senior butterfly specialist Taylor Merena and senior freestyle specialist Allison Smith, the Bonnies placed first in the 400-yard medley relay against Niagara Jan. 30.

The Bonnies also placed first in the same event with a lineup of Valentine, Cobb, Merena and sophomore freestyle specialist Lanae Petty against Binghamton Jan. 16.

"Everything this year has been really different than last year, but not in a bad way," Valentine said. "It's a lot longer practices than what we were used to in my first two years, but I think it's been really beneficial so far. I think it'll show in the A-10's."

The team of Valentine, Cobb, Merena and Petty set the school record in the 200-yard medley relay (1:45.01) last year in the A-10 championships.

"It's a pretty big honor," Merena said of being on a relay team. "You're the fastest in whatever stroke or event that is."

Johnson said that one of the Valentine's best characteristics is her ability to swim in back-to-back events if needed, and Merena is one of the leaders of the team.

He also mentioned positive characteristics of the other relay swimmers.

"Kayla (Cobb) has been swimming breaststroke for us and done a good job," Johnson said. "I still think we can work on a couple technical things as we get down the stretch here that'll improve her in the A-10s."

Despite Petty setting a school record on a relay team last year, Johnson said he has been mixing up the lineup to see what would be the best fit for A-10s.

"Allison Smith has consistently been our fastest sprint freestyler this year," he said. "She actually hasn't swam much of 200-medley so far, but we can basically put her in wherever."

Johnson, who holds a Bonaventure record in the 50-yard freestyle (20.45) set in 2001, said academics come first for his program over setting new records.

He added the current team GPA is above a 3.0, and he hopes the players and the incoming recruits will continue to set the bar high.

"When we bring girls on campus on recruiting trips," Johnson said, "we show them the academic buildings before the athletics buildings."

The Bonnies will go on the road and swim at Michigan State today at 3 p.m. in East Lansing, Mich.

The A-10 Championships, held in Flickinger Athletic Center at Buffalo's Erie Community College, start Feb. 17.

e-mail: leetd09@sbu.edu