Jennifer Kanetsky

Past Entries

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January 26, 2004

Upon arriving to practice last week and looking at the sheet of paper that told us our lane assignments, a jolt of excitement went through most of the team when they read the words "PRE-TAPER" at the heading. Although it is a common misconception that "pre-taper" actually means "taper," I have to admit there was a definite increase in energy and overall giddiness because we are starting to drop yards and increase speed work.

On Thursday, we had an enlightening women's team meeting in which we all discussed both our individual and team goals going into the championship season. Even though in the past I have thought this meeting can be a little long-winded, this year's meeting got me very excited for the end of the season. I honestly feel I am on a team of people who are all going to do remarkable things these next few weeks and that together we will be able to achieve something extraordinary!

Before we can really get started talking about championship season, however, there are a couple of dual meets we need to address. Last weekend we went up to Lexington, Kentucky, for a tri-meet against Transylvania and Wittenberg. The bus ride was long (about eight hours) and as usual, we watched several movies including G.I. Jane, The Wedding Singer, and Airplane.

Many people napped on the bus which meant that when we arrived at the hotel at around 11:30 p.m., some of us were not quite ready to go to sleep yet. I spent some time chatting in the hallway with two of my favorite gentlemen, Andrew Schapiro and Chris Press. After climbing up walls and comparing feet for a while, it was time for bed.

The next morning I was alarmed to find out that three of my teammates had caught a mysterious illness and had not slept well, to say the least. Sam White, Jamie Lawler, and Karyn Henderson were not well and unfortunately had to be taken out of the meet, leaving some holes in the lineup to be filled by the rest of us.

All in all, the meet went well and there were many season-best times posted and even a lifetime best by Holly Hinz in her 400 IM! I was excited to swim well in front of my parents, who had driven six hours on snow-covered roads from Cleveland to watch me in one of my last meets of my career. Other Emory parents showed up, too, and it was nice to have a cheering section at an away meet!

On the way home, the mysterious illness afflicting Sam, Jamie, and Karyn claimed other victims one by one. The sick were quarantined in the front of the bus. Meanwhile it seemed like if you had a significant other on the team you were quarantined on the back of the bus. It was sort of weird, and that is all I can really say about it.

Anyway, Jessie Burley told me that when we were driving through Lexington she saw something painted in the road at a construction site that was very appropriate. All it said was, "START TAPER." Now that we're back in Atlanta and just a couple weeks out of UAAs, we're doing just that…starting out taper and getting ready to swim insanely fast in February! It's so exciting, I can hardly sit still.

Jennifer Kanetsky is a senior from Willoughby, Ohio. She would love to answer e-mail questions from Emory recruits and fans.