Wave makers. Team Ateneo - cutting through the water. Photo by Migi C. Soriano.
On average, swimmers thread through 3000 meters of water each day in practice. They don’t complain; they put their heads down, stare at the black line, and glide—stroke after stroke—until they hit the wall and turn.
Though the humdrum of such a routine may bore less disciplined individuals, the Blue and Lady Tankers wouldn’t have it any other way.
Forever young
The Blue Tankers have yet to taste gold. Their best finish came in Season 72, when they finished runners-up to archrival La Salle. Last year, they settled for a hard-earned bronze standing.
This year, however, youth is the team’s edge and, conveniently, also its long-term investment. Beyond the age aspect, youth in this respect signals a hunger and willingness to learn. With only two tankers leaving the team after the season, Ateneo will have on its side a bevy of experience come Season 75.
Compared to the 2009 rookie batch of high school MVPs Adel Barlisan and Sean Tan, this year’s rookies aren’t exactly blue chip recruits. What can be expected from them, however, is an uncanny work ethic, which will surely translate into better competitive results.
Even though they lost their top guns in reigning MVP Evan Uy and former Team Captain Mike Contreras, current Team Captain Barlisan has no shortage of confidence in his young team. Hungry himself from a lack of championships in the college ranks; Barlisan’s mindset drives the team’s desire. Expect the youthful Blue Tankers to go all out with the thirst for victory and to only get better with time.
For now it’s dual meets and G-League competitions, but come September, the stage will be different. That will be the big league—the UAAP—and, only after then will they know if all the training, discipline and passion was enough to get that gold medal.
Lady Tankers: Down an MVP
Third time’s the charm? After two years of finishing second best, the Lady Tankers are back and unwilling to settle for second best.
“We want the Ateneo community to know that we can make it happen, that we’ll find a way to win,” says Team Captain Maysheen Tiu in Filipino.
The Lady Tankers are reinforced with five top caliber rookies,aiming to literally and figuratively make waves in the UAAP. Training sessions have already intensified as they are roughly just weeks away from battling for aquatic supremacy at the Rizal Memorial Sports Complex Swimming Pool.
A full fledged daily training regime has been implemented, including required gym sessions and land training once a week, running drills aimed to work on muscle endurance and overall strength—which ultimately supplement in-pool training.
“Daily training is a big thing. If you train hard, you’ll really get faster,” says Tiu.
The captain’s statement reaffirms the very nature of competitive swimming, wherein the competition begins during training. The actual competition itself is but an avenue where the fruits of labor are reaped.
For Tiu, a well-trained team is indicative of a champion caliber team. However, the loss of Season 74 MVP Jiji Cordero to academic reasons poses a greater challenge to the Lady Tankers. Cordero is arguably the top breaststroker in the country, having swept the gold medals in the 50-, 100- and 200-meter breaststroke and the 200- and 400-meter individual medley events during the past two seasons. Still, the women in blue remain positive in their championship pursuit.
Last season’s Rookie of the Year, Jasmine Ong, hopes that one of the rookies bags the title again this year. Ateneo neophytes Basille Uy, Jackie Cruz, Kim Uy, Pia Ordoño and Chriselle dela Cruz are all expected to deliver stellar performances come the end of September, as all five are very experienced in the water.
It’s amazing how big a change 12 months can make. With both squads sporting a fresh new lineup, this year’s championships will be that much more exciting.
