This weekend the University of Louisville men's and women's swimming and diving teams defeated the University of Kentucky in Lexington, KY. The men have beaten Kentucky for three straight years; the women only twice. Both meets were not won by close margins as the Cardinals dominated the Wildcats from the start. The men swept the 200 breaststroke and the 200 freestyle, touching the wall in the first four spots. They finished the 100 breaststroke with the top three spots.
I personally performed alright against Kentucky. The divers competed before the start of the rest of the meet. They combined the men and women on the one meter event, making for a total of 13 divers. I finished in second place to Kentucky's Greg Ferrucci. The other Cardinal divers finished in fourth and fifth place. In the three meter event, I struggled to find a rhythm. With only five men diving, the event went extremely quickly. As soon as you went, you had to dry off and get back up the stairs for your next turn. I ended up placing fourth, and was the second highest UofL finisher.
Virginia Tech and Indiana visit Ralph Wright Natatorium this Friday as the Cards celebrate Senior Day. The meet will be the last one of the season before the Cards host the Big East Championship beginning February 10. The tri-meet should be a good warm-up for Big East competition as the Hokies and Hoosiers have two of the best dive teams in the country.
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
Thursday, January 20, 2011
David Zamkov in a Nutshell
I was born in Washington D.C. on December 14, 1989. My family left Western Africa to have me, and after five weeks we departed back to Africa where we spent the next four years in the Central African Republic, Senegal, and Benin. After a short stint in Williamsburg, Virginia, we moved to Potomac, Maryland where I spent the majority of my childhood. On the first day of fourth grade, when I was just eight years old, my father passed away from Leukemia, which tormented him for much of my early life. I grew from the loss, and after some time moved on.
My father was a smart, athletic, Polish immigrant. He attended Princeton University after just four years in the United States, and played soccer for the university. I cannot say I am as smart as him, but I would say I inherited his athletic ability. I played every sport growing up and eventually found my first real passion in skateboarding. It was the only activity I had tried that was challenging on every effort. Progression was arduous and frustrating, and developed a passion within me. These are the same traits that got me into diving.
Diving is the hardest sport I have ever tried and the challenge drew me in. I was good compared to your average person, but I did not want average; I wanted to excel. In 11th grade I began taking diving seriously and committed to three hours of daily practice where a Kazakh and a Bulgarian tortured flexibility and discipline into me. Every day I would leave the pool with new bruises or aches from smacking the water. I prided myself on courage and being so far behind the learning curve of kids my age, I often attempted things I had no business trying. I got whooped in my first three national level meets. I got dead last numerous times, once getting two last places in one day. However my drive never faltered and getting beaten drove me to work harder still. I developed just in time for the recruitment process to begin. I wanted to leave Maryland and looked south.
In Louisville I saw a diamond in the rough. A university on the rise alongside a large metropolitan called my name. Louisville had just gone to the Final Four, and was en route to the Orange Bowl during my recruitment process, and still nobody from my high school of over 2,000 had ever even applied to Louisville. I made it my mission to put Louisville on the map in Maryland. In 2006, I signed with Louisville. I have since honed my diving skills and won a Big East championship. There is another diver from my club on Louisville Diving, with many others considering it as an option. I cannot say what the future holds for me. I can say I will continue life with the same fervor and passion to succeed that has helped my diving career and my life thus far.
My father was a smart, athletic, Polish immigrant. He attended Princeton University after just four years in the United States, and played soccer for the university. I cannot say I am as smart as him, but I would say I inherited his athletic ability. I played every sport growing up and eventually found my first real passion in skateboarding. It was the only activity I had tried that was challenging on every effort. Progression was arduous and frustrating, and developed a passion within me. These are the same traits that got me into diving.
Diving is the hardest sport I have ever tried and the challenge drew me in. I was good compared to your average person, but I did not want average; I wanted to excel. In 11th grade I began taking diving seriously and committed to three hours of daily practice where a Kazakh and a Bulgarian tortured flexibility and discipline into me. Every day I would leave the pool with new bruises or aches from smacking the water. I prided myself on courage and being so far behind the learning curve of kids my age, I often attempted things I had no business trying. I got whooped in my first three national level meets. I got dead last numerous times, once getting two last places in one day. However my drive never faltered and getting beaten drove me to work harder still. I developed just in time for the recruitment process to begin. I wanted to leave Maryland and looked south.
In Louisville I saw a diamond in the rough. A university on the rise alongside a large metropolitan called my name. Louisville had just gone to the Final Four, and was en route to the Orange Bowl during my recruitment process, and still nobody from my high school of over 2,000 had ever even applied to Louisville. I made it my mission to put Louisville on the map in Maryland. In 2006, I signed with Louisville. I have since honed my diving skills and won a Big East championship. There is another diver from my club on Louisville Diving, with many others considering it as an option. I cannot say what the future holds for me. I can say I will continue life with the same fervor and passion to succeed that has helped my diving career and my life thus far.
Monday, January 17, 2011
Louisville Men's Swim & Dive Win Athlete Talent Show
The University of Louisville Men's Swimming and Diving team took home the winner's trophy on Martin Luther King Jr. Day during the first all athlete talent show hosted in the Brown and Williamson Club at Papa John's Cardinal Stadium. The competition was a blow out as the swim and dive team did a rendition of Andrea Bocelli's "Con te Partiro", with a simulated synchronized swimming routine behind a blue sheet before the crowd of just under 400 people. After the award was presented, senior and swim team captain Shane Lichtenberg was asked a few questions regarding the skit and where the idea came from. Lichtenberg answered by telling of a previous time the team was able to perform the same skit during their inter-squad meet two years previous. The event proceeds will go to the Brent Ocker Trust Fund. Ocker was diagnosed with a severe case of Botulism last Summer and spent over two months recovering, relearning how to speak and walk.
Thursday, January 13, 2011
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