Despite returning from and feeling the effects of a week-long intense training trip, the State University of New York at New Paltz swimming team is eager to race conference rival SUNY Cortland at home Friday.

The meet will be the Hawks' first of just two State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) dual competitions of the season, preluding the meet against SUNY Oneonta Jan. 26. The Red Dragons are SUNY New Paltz' closest competition and biggest competitor as both teams have strong swimmers in each event. A simulated version of the meet showed the point difference between what each team can potentially secure, which was so small the victory could belong to either team. 

"The Cortland meet is kind of special because this is a SUNYAC team and we don't really get to compete against them that much," said Hawks freshman Akiva Garfield. "Unlike our earlier meets where it's just about finding our rhythm and groove and stuff, this is a meet where we're pretty close to SUNYACs. It'd be a nice comeback into the pool, especially with some fast kids from Cortland. The expectations are to do well, swim fast and beat them."

SUNY New Paltz and SUNY Cortland's rivalry runs deep after years of alternating wins and losses, but the relationship between its head coaches adds an extra element to the competition. Before becoming the Hawks' swimming's leader in 2016, Tom Eickelberg worked under Red Dragon's head coach Brian Tobin as an assistant coach from 2012-2015. The friendly rivalry between the two continues even four years after Eickelberg's departure from the SUNY Cortland program.

SUNY New Paltz faced the Red Dragons early in the season at the Second Annual Pumpkin Relays along with three other teams. SUNY Cortland triumphed, scoring first place on both the women and men's sides. The Hawks earned second with the women trailing behind by 48 points and the men by 104. The relay competition was the first of the season for both teams and provided SUNY New Paltz with the opportunity to get back into racing shape. Three months later, the Hawks are ready to show off what they have prepared for during their week long training trip.

"Training trip was really beneficial to us, I think because we had a lot of time to just focus on our training alone without the stress of school or a lot of other things," said freshman Grace Rocks. "We were able to practice as a team because we had larger pools and I think that helped with the unity and everybody kind of being involved with one another."

In the 2017-2018 season, SUNY New Paltz suffered losses to the Red Dragons on both the women's and men's sides. Despite standout performances and multiple first place finishes, the Hawks women fell, 126-162 and the men fell, 127.5-166.5. SUNY Cortland boosted its scores through its diving team, which SUNY New Paltz lacks. Despite the disadvantage, the Hawks are determined to return strong and secure a win.

"We just expect to, after coming off of really hard training, to keep that intensity with us as we go into our races and to just put our best foot forward and our best effort," said Rocks.

SUNY New Paltz will face off The Red Dragons in Elting Pool Friday at 4 p.m.

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