Swimming & diving
Because a number of you have expressed concern about the sudden firing of former Ohio swimming and diving coach Greg Werner on this page, we would like to direct you to page 3 of today’s newspaper for a reflection on the past season from interim coach Derick Roe and a couple student-athletes.
For the first time in several months, we have been able to speak candidly with some of Ohio’s swimmers and divers to get their views on the tumultuous transition in leadership, among other more routine topics.
Although we didn’t get all the information we’ve sought — we still don’t have the cause of Werner’s dismissal — the student-athletes shed some light on how the transition from one coach to the next affected their season.
“I think it’s incredible that (Roe) could hold this team together,” sophomore Addison Ferguson said.
“In terms of coaching, everyone bashed him when it really wasn’t his fault, I think it was very mature how he handled it all.”
The “it” she refers to is the disappointing season Ohio endured, having placed sixth in the Mid-American Conference Championships — its worst finish in more than three decades.
In Roe’s words, he was “thrown into the fire” before the Bobcats’ first meet of the season, assuming interim coaching duties from his recently-dismissed boss.
“I’ve had to work within the confines of the program that was established prior to me taking over,” Roe said.
Neither take explains Werner’s dismissal, but one thing has become clear over the last week: Ohio is looking to put this season — and the dicey coaching change — in its past as quickly as possible.
Director of Athletics Jim Schaus introduced Rachel Komisarz-Baugh, fresh off five years as a Louisville assistant coach, as Ohio’s next head coach before one of the Bobcats’ swimmers had even wrapped up her season at the NCAA Championships this month.
Komisarz-Baugh is the Bobcats’ third coach in six months, and we wish her all the best over the coming seasons.
We also hope Roe can ride the waves created this season to gainful coaching employment, whether in Athens or elsewhere.
Spring Break
As week 10 draws to a close, we can’t shake that sneaking feeling that this week really should have been spring break.
Maybe it’s because our internal clocks are still set to the quarter system (and still trying to kick that lingering “Bobcat Time” habit), but it seems like it’s around this time in the term that students start running out of steam.
The logic of having spring break in the middle of the semester, we’re assuming, is to give students time to prepare for midterms. Part of the problem there is that professors haven’t quite reached a consensus on midterm season, which seems to span anywhere between weeks six and 10, depending on the course.
A mid-to-late-March break would be more useful as a nice refresher ahead of finals and an apt homage to quarters (not to mention the weather would stand a better chance of being warmer and more, you know, spring-y.)
The university implemented Reading Day in response to faculty concerns about student fatigue in Fall Semester, and we think pushing back spring break could also be a worthy tweak to the semester system that would better accommodate students.
Right now, we don’t think it’s in the sweet spot.
