Photo courtesy of gobonnies.com
BY: SAMUEL WEILERT; STAFF WRITER
From Feb. 18-21, St. Bonaventure Bonnies Swim and Dive will travel down to Hampton, Virginia to compete in the Atlantic 10 Championships meet.
The Bonnies are coming into the tournament with high hopes of gold medals, as said by two-time A-10 Rookie of the Week freshman swimmer Kate Hill.
“This is the best the women’s team has been in a really long time,” Hill said. “There are quite a few swimmers who can win in different events.”
Hill is a part of an ever-growing community of international athletes that call St. Bonaventure University home, as she came to Olean, New York from Alberta, Canada.
“It’s been fun,” said Hill. “I grew up in a small town back home, so in general this area has the same cozy vibe, I’ve really enjoyed it so far.”
Another international athlete who has been a star on the team is sophomore diver Dhavgely Mendoza from Barquisimeto, Venezuela.
“Coming here to this little town, something so isolated, is relaxing, not going to lie,” said Mendoza. “The views are so good.”
Mendoza won Student-Athlete of the Week honors on Feb. 3, and she credits her mindset as the reason for her success.
“If I have a goal, either for points, a score, or a person, that helps me so much,” said Mendoza. “Every training is putting me a little closer to the point I want to be at.”
Senior diver Ben O’Neill believes the team’s mental strength and camaraderie will translate to success at the A-10 tournament.
“I think this is the year, I think we got it this year,” O’Neill said about the team’s chance of winning gold at the meet. “My teammates that I’m with at practice are always energetic, dancing around, and giving good vibes, which helps snowball and make practice good every day.”
O’Neill has previous experience of success in the tournament, winning two silver medals in the past two years.
Another member of the team with previous success in the A-10 tournament, looking to win Gold this time around, is sophomore swimmer Phoebe McClaren.
“Last A-10s were pretty phenomenal for me, I got a school record, which was really cool,” McClaren said in reference to her school record 16:51.49 1650-meter freestyle time she achieved in last year’s tournament.
McClaren also believes the team is destined for success next week as a result of the team’s top-to-bottom talent.
“I think we have a really good shot this year. The freshman class is phenomenal this year; they’re bringing a lot of talent,” said McClaren. “For the seniors, it’s their last hurrah; they’re going to leave it all out there.”
One of the Seniors who will be giving it his all in the pool is senior swimmer Henry Wilkes.
“I was out the first half of the season with a stress fracture in my back,” said Wilkes. “But I got to get back in December to give it one last shot.”
Wilkes has great confidence that the team will be able to reach heights that haven’t been reached since much before he came to Bonaventure his freshman year.
“We’re right up there in the conversation with the best,” said Wilkes. “This year we could do something that hasn’t been done since 2016 and win a championship, and I can’t wait.”
