Women's team still here, kicking and swimming
By Britton Dove, Staff Writer
January 26, 2008 | 10 p.m.
Mounted in the Ohio Aquatic Center are pictures of all the men’s and women’s swimming teams. The center will lack a men's photo for the first time in 2008, but that won't stop the women from succeeding in the pool.
Starting with the 1935-1936 season, there is a black-and-white photo of 18 men dressed in full-piece swimsuits and vintage Ohio T-shirts. Unfortunately the photos end with the 2006-2007 men’s color portrait of 28 men in black jumpsuits because of the budget cuts issued by the Ohio Athletic Department. Last season was the finale for the Ohio men’s varsity swimming and diving team (as well as men’s indoor and outdoor track and field teams and women’s lacrosse), but fortunately the women’s team is still around and kicking.
“At first I was pretty scared this year, coming in with no guys team, but we actually work together very well,” Mallory Rico, a senior freestyle and backstroke swimmer, said. “We are just as competitive with each other, not needing the guys as much. We always miss them, but it is nice that we are coming through this and getting better as a team, a girls’ team.”
Coach Greg Werner has coached at a single-gender program once before at Southern Methodist University before coming to Ohio University 12 years ago, and he feels that there are some positives in coming from a condensed team.
“We are used to having our boys and a combined program and that experience,” Werner said. “We are finding that there are some things we didn’t realize. The ladies were forced to grow together closer in the year. They always grew together as the season goes, but this year, not having the men around, they had to spend a lot more time together.”
With a 182-131 win over Marshall University on Tuesday, the Bobcats improved to 9-1 overall (4-1 in the MAC). The Bobcats have put up an impressive win streak at home, winning six in a row. Although the team is undefeated at home, Werner doesn’t keep a close eye on the wins and losses.
“It’s something we really don’t pay attention to that much, but we do take a lot of pride in it," Werner said. "To be honest, I don’t know how many meets we have won at home this year, but I just know we haven’t been beaten at home.”
Although Werner may not read much into the home win streak, senior Molly Kravitz finds the wins to be genuinely exciting and motivating for upcoming meets. The team has dual meets at home with Miami University on Jan. 26 and at Xavier University and Ball State University before the MAC Championships in Buffalo, N.Y., Feb. 20-23.
The team’s goals have remained the same by getting better each and every competition and to learn from their experiences, Werner said. His goals have always been the same: to have the players reach their peak performances at the time of the championships. To prepare for the upcoming tournaments, Werner has the team working on speed and pacing. They are doing a lot of short rest drills and focusing on the small details.
This year will mark the first year in a long while that the men’s team won’t be joining Werner’s crew to the MAC Tournament and that saddens them in a way, despite a great season.
“Make no bones about it, we want our boys back,” Werner said. “We would trade it all to have our boys back.”
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