No False Starts: Lady Tankers aim for a flawless finish this UAAP S86
A new challenge is afoot for the De La Salle University (DLSU) Lady Tankers as they dive back into the UAAP for its 86th Season. Following their outstanding haul of medals during the first year back post-pandemic, the team has been preparing for better results this year.
Not only have they joined competitions with their respective club teams, but the Lady Tankers also combined their training sessions with team bonding exercises by playing water polo. Their preparations began in late January and have increased in difficulty as the season approaches. With longer training hours and additional sessions, the team has been pushing themselves to the max to produce the best times.
Moreover, many changes have been made to the team. Being the season after a stand-up performance, the bar is set higher for the Lady Tankers with certain standards needed to be met to make the lineup. This new strictness becomes a challenge that motivates the team to strive for improvement and set new records.
Their usual 5:00 a.m. training is now paired with a follow-up session in the afternoon for extra work and practice on their specialties in the different events of the competition. While some train for speed and others for endurance, the coaches hope that this reinforced and skills-targeted training regimen will not only win more medals but bring out the best in the Lady Tankers.
It is the second post-pandemic run of the UAAP Swimming Competition and the Lady Tankers have been giving it their all. They have been training and working hard despite the exhaustion to reach their goal of bringing home more medals in honor of the DLSU name. Team Captain Nikki Pamintuan’s goal this year is to get the best times and hopefully bag a gold medal for the Green and White.
With more pressure being the captain for her last season in the UAAP, she aims to be an example to the team beyond swimming and competing. She wants to teach them to be open about their emotions and personal struggles especially when it comes to the sport. Being the eldest member, Pamintuan also wants to teach her younger teammates that being a part of the Lady Tankers is more than simply being a team and representing the same school. She wants to show them that they are a family and each other’s support system as well.
Like a family, the Lady Tankers also have their traditions. Even before coming to DLSU, Pamintuan shared that the team has a tradition of eating in the Agno Food Compound after their morning training session. The team also has their get-togethers outside of campus, such as watching and supporting the games of other DLSU teams or meeting up at malls during their days off.
A significant pre-race ritual that the Lady Tankers follow religiously is their pre-race prayer gathering which is followed by chanting, “Animo La Salle!” This simple act is something valuable to the team as it reminds them why they compete and who they compete for. For Captain Pamintuan, an addition to the pre-race ritual is a routine of her own wherein she calls her mother to calm down the competition nerves.
From the age of 6, swimming has been Pamintuan’s sport. With the constant love and encouragement from her late grandmother, she grew up with a number one supporter who gave her the drive to keep swimming. After qualifying for the Southeast Asian (SEA) Games at only 17 years old, this opened doors for the captain and planted bigger dreams as well. Now that she is graduating, she sets her sights on the many possible futures that she is given with one goal in mind: to give back to her parents.
Coming into her last year, Pamintuan sees this season as her make-or-break year saying, “Wala nang balikan ‘to,” and using this mindset as her driving force to do her absolute best in everything that she does.
As she parts from the team, she leaves them with a message and a lesson that she keeps in mind, diving into her daily life as a student-athlete: “Take the risk and have fun.”
She wants the Lady Tankers to remember that college will not last forever and every day is a step closer to becoming an adult in the real world. She reminds them to treasure every moment they have with one another and to remember that they can always find a family in the team.
As they suit up for this UAAP Season 86, the DLSU Lady Tankers is surely a team to look out for. With new talents ready to shine through and training regimens designed to bring out the best in every swimmer, the Lady Tankers are more than ready to lead every race and bring home the Gold for the Green and White.
Come and support the Lady Tankers as they dive back in starting today, November 23, 8:30 AM to November 25, 3 PM at the Rizal Memorial Sports Complex.
