Justin Hake

October 19, 2004

The season has finally started…and boy did it start with a bang.

We had our unofficial Blue/Gold intrasquad meet Oct. 9 in which the Gold team reigned supreme winning both the men and women's competitions. It was a great time with a lot of team spirit and fast swimming, but it never really feels like the season until our first dual meet.

Last weekend we traveled to North Carolina with about 100,000 other race fans; our bus was going toward Davidson College, and the other 99,994 (a couple parents decided to watch the meet instead) were heading toward the NASCAR race. Yearning for our favorite bus driver "Young Blood," the whole team learned the finer points of effectively eating Boston Market on the bus without causing a mess while watching some timeless VHS classics like "Zoolander" and " Orange County."

After a restful night in the hotel we left bright and early for the meet to make sure we had enough time to warm-up before the home team arrived. Needless to say, we had a great start to the season.

The times in the pool were fast, but I was more impressed with the team's attitude and all the support that was being given to each team member in their races. We had a great weekend and a strong start to the season…now all we have to do is carry the momentum.

Justin Hake is a junior from Red Wing, Minn. He would love to answer e-mail questions from Emory recruits and fans.