Famed Greek philosopher Aristotle once said, “We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.”
If there is truth in what Aristotle said, then what is becoming an early-season habit of victory for the University of Calgary Dinos swim team– with their second win of rhe season– could be an indicator of what to expect in the weeks to come.
The Dinos men’s and women’s team dominated the invitational meet they hosted last Friday.
Cheers echoed across the pool deck Friday night, as the Dinos sped past the University of Manitoba Bisons, the University of Alberta Golden Bears and most importantly the University of British Columbia Thunderbirds, for an overall team win.
On the men’s side, the Dinos came first with 330 points, the Thunderbirds were second with 256.5, the Golden Bears came in third with 162.5, and in fourth place were the University of Manitoba Bison with 74 points.
For the women, the Dinos were also victorious, with 320 points. The Thunderbirds were second with 256, Pandas third with 140 and the Bisons fourth with 116.
Victory is always sweet and this second in-season win for the Dinos was no exception.
But head coach Mike Blondal was careful not to let his team rest on their laurels just yet.
“Both our rookies and our veterans performed admirably,” said Blondal, who led the Dinos men’s team to the national title in the 2007-08 season, “but the Canadian Interuniversity Sport championships will be a tougher meet than this and we will have to be even sharper.”
Blondal looks forward to using recent competitions like last weekend’s as tools, not only to identify strengths, but also areas that need improvement.
“This [meet] provided some good insights into our strengths and weaknesses and we can make some adjustments as we prepare for CIS championships,” he said. “It will be an exciting year.”
The early-season success the Dinos have enjoyed so far is especially exciting for the women’s team. Their goal is to make CIS history this year by ending an 11-year reign by the UBC women’s team and bring home the national championship title for the first time ever.
With the current success of the team and the addition of Olympian Erica Morningstar, Dinos domination is in full effect. Hania Kubas, fifth-year student and charismatic captain of the women’s team, believes that as far as CIS is concerned, this will be the year of the Dino.
“It’s been a long time coming, but I truly believe we can win it this year, she said. “Our women’s team has been working so well together, feeding off each other’s excitement. There isn’t one person who is not swimming well. We are succeeding as a team, which is how it needs to be.”