Each Friday, the Alaska Nanooks will be publishing blog posts from one or more newcomers from each of Alaska's 10 varsity sports throughout their preseason. More sports will join the blog following their first official practice.

Swimming
By: Erika Kakazu (Fr. | Aiea, Hawaii)

"I have always loved the water. Born and raised in Hawaii on the beautiful little island of Oahu, I have literally been surrounded by water my whole life. I started swimming seven years ago because my older sister wanted to try something new and I decided to join her. Way back then, I never would have dreamed I'd be swimming at a NCAA Division II school one day, let alone one in Alaska. Last year, after some careful thought and consideration I made the decision to leave my warm, sandy beaches to start a new adventure in Alaska where I could learn a lot and continue my swimming career.

Swimming in Alaska has definitely been different and challenging for me. Adapting to the new routine and lifestyle has only been possible because of the help and support from my coaches and teammates.

Last Friday was our intersquad meet, the very first meet of the season. The team was split into two different teams: Blue and Gold. We raced each other in five events: 100-yard butterfly, 100-yard backstroke, 100-yard breaststroke, 100-yard freestyle and the 100-yard individual medley. With only five minutes between each race, it was a very exhausting hour but with the support of friends, families and other athletes, we all finished strong.

As much fun as I have with my teammates, practices are very long and tiring. Getting up at 6:00 am every morning, doing thousands of yards each day with the addition of weight training, some days can be very overwhelming. I know my effort will pay off in the end. Even though I am miles away from home and missing my family daily, I am so happy to be a part of a supportive team and I'm very excited to see where this season will take me!"

Hockey
By: Max Newton (Fr. | Vancouver, B.C.)

"What's going on #NanookNation!? I'm back to let you guys know about our past week and what to expect coming up. We had our Blue vs. gold game last weekend with Gold (my team) coming out with a big 4-2 win. The game was really fun and we appreciated all the fans coming out and supporting us. Halfway through the game, we had a skills competition and, to start off, I'm going to give a shoutout to fellow freshman Brennan Blaszczak coming in second place to senior Austin Vieth. Kyle Froese winning the hardest shot with an impressive 104mph slapshot. Overall, we had a really fun time and again, appreciate everyone coming out.

This week, we have our first game against another team. We play an exhibition game Friday against Simon Fraser University. This will be our team's first game at the Carlson Center this season. We've had another tough week of practices and are ready and excited for Friday's game. Make sure you guys come out and support us just like you did last weekend, it should be fun.

I'm starting to run out of fun facts about myself but I will give it a shot again this week. There may be some backlash for saying this, but I'm willing to say I'm the best ping pong at UAF. So, that is a challenge to anyone out there who wants to test me. Come find me and challenge me to a game and see who the champ really is.

This week's freshman feature is on #11 Steven Jandric. Steven is from Prince George, British Columbia. Steven has a younger brother Chris, who is also committed to UAF for next season so look out for the Jandric brothers next year! He also had a full year of living in Montreal and enjoying the eastern part of Canada.

Thanks for reading this week and looking forward to seeing you all at our game vs. Simon Fraser University. "

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