Ohio heads to Columbus to compete with Bowling Green and Ohio State this weekend.
If you say it out loud, it doesn’t sound too promising.
Ohio is picked to finish sixth in the Mid-American Conference and will be taking on the 22nd ranked team in the country — a team picked to finish ahead of it in their conference.
Yes, Ohio State is the No. 22 team in the country, but Ohio coach Rachel Komisarz-Baugh plans on being a surprisingly feisty team this weekend in Columbus.
“Ohio State is a great team, and we are still in the rebuilding process at this point,” Komisarz-Baugh said. "But, I think we’re gonna come out and surprise them. Can we win? I don’t know. But we’re going to give it our darnedest try and we’re gonna fight.”
Ohio came out firing last year against Ohio State, winning the three-meter dive. But eventually the Buckeyes' depth was too much for the Bobcats, as the they won 222-95.
As for Bowling Green, the Falcons and the Bobcats are evenly matched.
Bowling Green is predicted to finish fifth in the MAC, one spot above Ohio. Both teams are adapting with new coaches (the Falcons' coach Matt Ense is in his first year, Komisarz-Baugh is in her second). Both teams have many freshmen (Bowling Green has 10, Ohio has seven). The last time these two teams met in 2014, the Falcons won the meet by a narrow margin of 155-138.
Laura Dawson, junior and returning first team All-MAC swimmer, said facing Ohio State is a big deal, but Ohio is not overlooking Bowling Green.
“It’s not just OSU, Bowling Green has a good team as well,” Dawson said. “They’ve got a deep team. I’ve been looking at some of the times they did in their intersquad meet, and it isn’t going to be easy, but it isn’t going to be easy to beat us, either.”
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The biggest difference from last season to this season for Ohio is the increase in team depth, which is largely attributed to the strong freshman class, Komisarz-Baugh said.
Komisarz-Baugh said the freshmen can have an immediate impact on the team, and Dawson added that “they are 18-year-olds that train like upperclassmen."
The diving team has two divers listed on its roster this season, and new coach Chelsea Ale said as long as they do their best this weekend, she will be satisfied. Both divers are dealing with foot injuries, and Karrisa Conner was in a walking boot just four days ago.
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