After falling just short in the past two meets, Ohio looks to finish its season on a high note against Miami.
After spending its previous eight meets on the road, Ohio will play host to Miami in the final meet of the regular season.
The Bobcats will take on the RedHawks Saturday, in the team’s first home meet since October 25, when the season began with a 206-92 defeat to the hands of Ohio State.
This season has had the lowest amount of home meets in over ten years. In years past, the Bobcats used to see as many as five to six home meets throughout the course of their short season.
Life on the road has helped develop this Bobcat team, one that has been just a few finishes away from picking up two wins in each of its past two meets. Ohio has only lost its past two meets by a combined score of 16 points and picked up its second win of the season in the beginning of the month, against Denison. The Bobcats have also been able to keep meets tightly-contest while only having one diver — freshman Karrisa Conner — competing for the team.
The Bobcats will be able to use a full week of work and preparation for this week’s meet, instead of accommodating for travel — which they hope will be able to aid them in developing a certain mindset needed to defeat Miami.
The Redhawks are currently on a hot streak, winning their previous four meets, all by at least 70 points — two of which coming within Mid-American Conference play. Last year they defeated the Bobcats 186-111 in the only meeting between the two teams, which took place in Oxford.
Ohio will look to continue its early-meet success with the consistent relay team that has helped pace the team throughout the year. Although, it has seen some changes throughout the year — as coach Rachel Komisarz-Baugh anticipated — the medley relay has constantly been one of the Bobcats’ strongest events. The quartet of junior Addison Ferguson, senior Tori Bagan, sophomore Laura Dawson and freshman Liz Murphy have been on top of the podium in nearly every medley relay event this season. The quad’s 400-yard medley relay time was faster than Miami’s time during the teams’ most previous meet last season.
The Bobcats have faced many challenges and difficulties this season, such as a schedule that finds them primarily on the road, while dealing with changes that come with a full season under a new coach. But, they have shown tremendous growth in the second half of the season.
With Ohio finally at home, and becoming more and more together as one team each week, the Bobcats will look to generate some momentum and energy for the final meet of the season as well as for the MAC championships that take place later this month.
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