During a recent women's swimming and diving practice, Fredonia State head coach Arthur Wang gave his team one of those extreme aerobic workouts you see on TV.
When it was time for the practice to end, there were still seven minutes left in the TV session. Wang was ready to dismiss his team yet the women insisted on continuing.
"This group," Wang said, "finishes what it starts."
That stick to it attitude helps explain the success the current group of upperclassman have experienced. They're responsible for All-American awards, individual SUNYAC event titles, numerous school records, and a second place finish at last year's conference championship the highest placement in program history.
They are also now responsible for maintaining a legacy of success they have brought to the program. Six of the upperclassmen are seniors, and two of the seniors are team captains - Sarah Ficarro and Emily Ginty.
Jennifer Smith, a junior, is also a captain and joins her fellow captains and the other seniors in taking on leadership roles.
"Sometimes seniors are absorbed into their group of senior friends," Wang said. "Sometimes they don't take as much of an interest in the freshmen as they should. I think this group is striving to do that."
Ficarro is the most decorated of the group. Under the tutelage of Blue Devil diving coach John Crawford, Ficarro has won six All-American certificates, including a second-place finish in the 3-meter springboard competition last spring, and has been the SUNYAC Female Diver of the Year each of her first three seasons.
If not for her teammate, junior Ashley Keller might have won the SUNYAC award last season. Keller won the 1-meter competition at the conference meet and finished second in the 3-meter. She, junior Katelyn Haley (Canandaigua), junior Breena Cogliandro (Penfield), and sophomore Heather Colby (Owego) were all among the top divers in the conference and as a group accounted for 183 of the Blue Devils' 657.5 team points.
"It's unfortunate," Wang said "we can only score three of them at a (regular season) meet. We're lucky to have that sort of talent."
The swimmers have been doing their share, too. Stephanie Andrasek, a junior, joined Ficarro and Keller on the All SUNYAC team by finishing second in the 100 breaststroke and second in the 200 breaststroke. Andrasek also set school records in both those events as well as the 200 individual medley.
Ginty established a new record in the 500 freestyle which lasted mere hours. It was broken by senior Lizzie Lodinsky, a distance specialist who also holds 200-, 1,000-, and 1,650-freestyle school records.
Two other seniors, Elizabeth Schake and Courtney Schmidt, also hold school marks. Schake Is the 50 free and 100 free medalist, while Schmidt set the 400 individual medley record last year.
Junior Kristen Champoux and sophomores Breonna Henningham, Ellie Brion, Katie Donnelly, Rachel Morgano and Jamie Reidy add to the swimming depth.
The roster includes five newcomers whose work ethic - at the insistence of the upperclassmen and their coach - has been exemplary so far.
"It's something," Wang said, "I'm pretty upfront about when I recruit. You can't expect to get better in swimming if you take time off. The freshmen are doing a good job of adapting to our program. It's a program that demands a commitment."
