Sports
Swimming And Diving Looks To Claw Out Win Over Akron
By: Abigail Carnivale
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Ohio Swimming and Diving will begin its Mid-American Conference competition on Jan. 25 in Geneva, Ohio, in the midst of a successful season. The ‘Cats are 4-1 in nonconference play, their only defeat being against Ohio State 193.5- 106.5.
After a training trip to Fort Lauderdale, Fla., over winter break and a record-breaking victory over Denison, the Bobcats return to the pool against the Akron Zips.
“At this point in the year, it’s really about maintaining our fitness and becoming sharper at all of our skills,” interim head coach Derick Roe said. “The transition of practice kind of moves from continuing to build endurance and build strength to maintaining it and sharpening it.”
The team is diving into a very meet-heavy part of their season as it makes the switch from a meet around every two weeks to having three within a week. The final one in the series is a dual meet against both West Virginia and Iowa State.
“They [swimmers] are thriving at this point in the year. Physically, they’re in such good shape; they’re conditioned for this kind of schedule,” Roe said.
The ‘Cats are looking to start out the home-stretch of their season with a win and senior Rachel Stearns wants to make a mark in her final season
“I don’t want to put more pressure on myself because it’s my last one but it’s definitely more meaningful just because it is the last one,” Stearns said. “Motivation is key. You want to try and stay motivated every day in practice and you want to have a good attitude.”
Unlike Ohio, Akron began their MAC play almost three months ago, on Oct. 26, against Miami. This matchup acted as their season-opener as well, and started them out with a 187.5-109.5 loss. They then traveled to Ypsilanti, Mich., to continue their season with a 169-129 loss against MAC opponent Eastern Michigan.
The Zips recovered from their start of their season in several meets and their own Zippy Invitational and have most recently come out with a win against Youngstown State on Jan. 17.
Akron looks to continue its streak as it welcomes the Bobcats to the SPIRE at 1 p.m. This matchup hasn’t taken place since the 2010-2011 season, where the green and white came away with the win at 172.5- 116.5. Ohio has been a participant in the 2011 and 2012 Zippy Invitational, where they took first and second place, respectively.