The Bobcats got their first win of the season Friday night, giving them confidence moving forward.
Heading into its duel meet with Marshall, Ohio had not won any meets. That changed Friday night.
Ohio made sure Marshall didn’t beat it for the second-straight year, or keep it out of the win column, as it won the meet 197.5-107.5, giving the Bobcats some confidence heading into next week's Louisville Invitational.
“It feels really good,” Ohio coach Rachel Komsarz-Baugh said. “The 0-3 is not very appealing, so having that one there and having the first win, especially since Marshall did beat us last year. It shows just how quickly we’ve been able to turn around this program and the hard work that the girls have been doing to make it work. The pride that they are now showing when they’re competing says a lot and I’m very proud of them today.”
After stumbling out of the blocks and only scoring more than 140 points just once during their first three duel meets, the Bobcats dominated the Thundering Herd Friday, sweeping the podium in two events (the 100-yard backstroke and the 100-yard freestyle) and placing two swimmers on the podium in five different events.
After starting the season off with no first place finishes in the diving department, the Bobcats righted their woes in a big way against Marshall, picking up two wins by redshirt senior Haleigh Bartlett. Bartlett finished first in both the one-meter and three-meter dives for her first wins of the season.
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The Bobcats will travel to Louisville, Kentucky next week for the Louisville Invitational. Komisarz-Baugh said she thinks the win against Marshall will help the Bobcats compete well, not only at the invite, but in the long run.
“Not only the win, but the individual swims and the diving as well," Komisarz-Baugh said. "(Ohio) fought hard and they looked good. It does give us confidence because we have another week of rest and hopefully have some really good swims.”
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