Ohio coach Greg Werner has a list of goals for the 2012-2013 swimming season pinned above his desk in his small office, in which every one of his athletes has promised with their signature that they want to win every single dual meet this year.
With the Bobcats being 2-2, they won’t be able to fulfill this goal anymore; but with a win against West Virginia on Saturday afternoon, they can make it up by staying undefeated
in 2013.
After coming off an easy 167-116 win against Marshall this past Tuesday, the Bobcats will face a tougher opponent in
the Mountaineers.
“We are definitely the underdogs going into this meet,” Werner said.
At first glance, West Virginia might not look as strong as Werner suggested. The Mountaineers hold a 3-3 in dual meets all season long, with wins against Villanova, James Madison and Cincinnati. The losses came against No. 14 Penn State and most recently against Pittsburgh and Texas Christian.
Moreover, despite the Mountaineers calling their last year the best swimming season in a long time, the Bobcats defeated them 178.5-119.5.
Werner, though, doesn’t want to rest on the success of last year.
“They are a much different team than last year,” Werner said.
Taking a closer look at West Virginia, it is very reasonable that Werner doesn’t want to rest on his success. The Mountaineers are ranked higher in 14 out of 16 events and return last year’s biggest talents.
Mountaineer senior Rachael Burnett, a long-distance swimmer, will compete against Ohio’s standout distance swimmer Laurin Williams this weekend. Burnett was 11th in the 1650-yard NCAA championship race last year, 12 positions better than Williams. Burnett’s recent times in the 500-yard and 1,000-yard freestyle are both at least five seconds better than those of Williams.
She would have to swim a seasonal best Saturday to bring home a win.
Senior Mandie Nugent, who swam a Big East record in the 200-yard butterfly this past season, has another All-American who could cause Ohio some headaches. If Nugent is able to get anywhere near to her 53.14-second personal record in the 100-yard butterfly, Ohio won’t be able to keep up.
“They are good in all areas,” Werner said. “They are very balanced out and don’t have any weaknesses.”
West Virginia’s diving team is included in that statement. By posting scores around 280 and 316 in the 1-meter and 3-meter diving competition, respectively, Haily VandePoel is scoring the same amount of points that Ohio’s divers score.
“Haily had two exceptional weeks of diving. But our divers know that,” Werner said.
What might be the key for Ohio to win this meet is the depth. The Bobcats boast four divers similar in caliber to VandePoel. If Ohio is not able to claim the top spots, it still should be able to win the meet by filling in the second and third spots.
“We want to go against the best,” Werner said. “That prepares us for the championships.”
The league championship was another goal on his list.
am794811@ohiou.edu
