Alaska Rilfe Live Blog: NCAA Championships Day 1

Follow the NCAA Rifle Championships

Don't miss the live coverage of the 2010 Men's and Women's Rifle Championships - hosted by Texas Christian University:

http://gofrogs.cstv.com/sports/c-rifle/spec-rel/tcu-10-ncaa-rifle-championships.html

Follow Alaska Nanook seniors Patrik Sartz, Jace Bures, Billy Galligan, junior Cody Rutter and freshman Dustin Chesebro as they seek to capture the program's 11th NCAA Championship title!

GO NOOKS!

Preparing for Northern Michigan

The Blue and Gold took to the ice for practice today only one day away from competing in the second round of the CCHA Playoffs. Here are some images from practice. Enjoy and check back for more hockey info and more info about our other spots at championships.

The Berry Sports Complex is a beautiful place. The setup for this place is legit and doesn't look to be a bad seat in the house. There are actually some box seating, not sure for who, but they look nice. Talking with a member of the NMU staff and they say it should be pretty full tomorrow night and that the student section can get pretty rowdy:





The LED board at the arena has this displayed non-stop.


The flags beside the LED board. As you can see we have the American and Canadian flag (standard) and the Swedish flag (not so standard). Do I have any idea why the Sweden flag is there? Sure, they are fans of Henrik Lundqvist (I think).


And here are some images from actual practice today:













Go Nooks.

Team standings through two days

We're in 20th place (out of 33 teams who have scored at least 1 point) with a team total of 15 points. With two more events for Mariya and Felina's best event coming up on Saturday, we look to add to this total.

Message From the Chancellor

This comment was just posted to our Facebook page by UAF Chancellor Brian Rogers:

"It was great to watch our four skiers compete today in the NCAA championships - skiing classical cross-country. I am impressed with their ability to handle the change in elevation -- Steamboat Springs is at 7,000 feet above sea level! On to Saturday's freestyle competition!"

Go NOOKS!

Mariya Pavlovskaya's 2nd All-American swim

Junior Mariya Pavlovskaya once again achieved Honorable Mention All-American status by winning the consolation heat of the 400 yard IM finishing in 9th place overall. She dropped over 3 seconds off her prelim swim which was already her best time this season. After her 11th place finish in the 200 IM, a 9th place finish in the 400 IM makes her two-for-two in events in which she's scoring points for the Nanooks.

"Nationals are a very important competition and it's really exciting for me as an athlete to be a part of such an anticipated and great event. It takes a lot of commitment, endurance, support and motivation to actually make it through the entire season and get here. Nationals are like a summary statement that provides a conclusion to everything you did throughout the year. As a team we started in September and worked all the way through to the end and we had some amazing victories both in the pool and in school. My teammates' achievements and attitude helped me significantly to reach where I am right now. Every day they would prove their highest ambitions and their powerful will. I'm thankful to be a part of such an amazing team.

This year Nationals take place in Canton, Ohio. It's pretty peaceful out here - no huge shiny buildings as in Houston, Texas, where nationals were held last year. This year our national team has been reduced to only two of us - Felina and me. Scott is the only coach who came here so it makes three of us from the University of Alaska Fairbanks. People here are not as friendly as in Fairbanks which makes me miss our campus a little. We got here on Sunday afternoon and settled down in one of the hotels which is close to the pool and the mall and all different kinds of restaurants.

On Monday and Tuesday we swam four times which was nice and relaxing after the plane ride and helped us to get a feel for the water. I was surprised that the water temperature was the same as in our pool at home because usually the pools we compete in are much warmer. The pool is pretty good, not counting that the showers are ice cold and there are no locks on the bathroom doors so you have to hold the door when you go in. It brings some challenges to the settled routine we're used to once we're at the pool.

There are many teams here and it's really challenging to get bleacher space. However, we are few and we managed to get a good spot and not get in anybody's way. Warming up in the main pool takes a lot of skill because it's overcrowded with swimmers who try to kick, sprint and do drills all at the same time.

On the first day of the meet I swam my 200 IM and I consider that swim as one of my best races this year. I felt really smooth and relaxed. It was a good start to the championships.

Today was my 400 IM and in the morning it felt harder than I expected. I was a bit disappointed that I didn't get into the "big" finals finishing prelims in 10th place. In the afternoon, however, I felt much better and I didn't even feel tired afterwards. So far nationals are going pretty well for me: I swam my best times this season and I'm very excited for the two races that I have coming up.

Felina's thoughts going into her last event

This season has been a lot of fun. I was nervous at the beginning of the season: I wasn't sure how hard it would be for me to come back into the swimming scene after taking three years off. The girls on the team were very supportive in helping me get back into shape and get used to the demanding schedule. I'm surprised at how fast everything seemed to fall into place.

My best meet of the season so far was the Toshiba Classic, a big invitational held in Long Beach, California, every November. This is where I made my national cuts in the 50, 100 and 200 freestyles. Thanks to that meet I'm able to enjoy the full experience of being a national level collegiate athlete. I was really excited coming into nationals for two reasons: the obvious reason is because it's nationals! but also because it's my last meet before I retire for a second time.

Our journey to nationals started with a very long flight from Fairbanks to Canton, Ohio. Mariya, Scott and I all managed to get stuck in middle seats on the three and a half hour flight to Seattle. Of course we all got "trapped" next to interesting characters . . . The next two flights from Seattle to Chicago and Chicago to Canton, though long, weren't nearly as bad because I was able to sit next to Mariya and Scott sat in the emergency exit row most of the way. To make a long story short, we left Fairbanks a one o'clock in the morning and arrived in Ohio at close to five in the afternoon after traveling through four time zones.

Monday and Tuesday we found ourselves at the pool both morning and afternoon to get used to the facility and work off the jet lag. The pool is a pretty nice 50-meter pool, separated by bulkheads with an attached diving well. On Monday we were able to stretch out and enjoy fairly empty lanes but when we arrived at the pool on Tuesday morning you'd have sworn the meet was just about to start! There were teams everywhere and it was a struggle to find calm water.
Nonetheless, we accomplished what we needed to do and Mariya and I were both sprinting very well and feeling ready for the meet to start.

Wednesday was the first day of the meet and I swam the 50 free. I was excited going into the 50 because this is the first time I've ever trained as a sprinter and I was feeling confident that I was going to have a fast swim. Unfortunately, I think my nerves got a hold of me. I pulled down in an awkward position on the start, which caused my shoulder to pop and consequently my start was delayed and my breakout suffered. In a 50 there just isn't enough time to make up for such a costly mistake. Even so, I was able to pull off a 24.24, a time just two tenths of a second off my lifetime best. Two tenths of a second doesn't sound like much to complain about but in a 50 it makes a world of difference, especially considering I had my heart set on breaking in to the 23s.

Today I was hoping to turn things around. The 200 free was my favorite event all through high school and I was a high school All American my junior year. I've been focusing mostly on my 100 free this season but with all the work I put in training at altitude over the break, I felt that I would have a very successful 200 as well. Once again, I was a little disappointed in how things turned out. I felt confident and relaxed in the moments leading up to the race. Sadly, after about 125 yards, I felt like my body hit a wall and I struggled to finish the race.

Thankfully I have Friday to recover from my last two events before I compete in the event I've been focusing on - the 100 free. I'm ranked very high going into the race and I'd love to make it into the championship final. It'll be a challenge, but it's a challenge I'm looking forward to conquering. Only after I achieve this goal can I look forward to my second retirement and starting a whole new chapter in my life.