The swimming team looks to use the same strategy it has been all season this weekend against Toledo.
Some coaches like to strategically plan ahead for conference competition, but Ohio’s Rachel Komisarz-Baugh says that she wants to wait and save her strategy for later in the season — when it will have more of an impact — despite facing a Mid-American Conference competitor this weekend.
“I can’t change the training right now or else I am going to influence the taper later -- and that’s really more important,” Komisarz-Baugh said.
The taper, as she referred to it, takes place in a couple of weeks. During the taper period, the team reduces its yardage and rests a little bit to increase the power and speed component of the team.
As a result, training for Saturday’s meet against Toledo has been the same it has all season. Komisarz-Baugh, however, does want to see the best from her squad come time for the meet.
Saturday’s meet, which starts at 1 p.m., will be Ohio’s second head-to-head meet against a MAC team.
Earlier in the season, Ohio fell to Eastern Michigan in Ypsilanti, Michigan, 195-103. Ohio is coming off a win at Denison during its most recent meet over winter break.
The win at Denison was a significant for Ohio. Not only was it the Bobcats’ first win of the new year, but also a much needed win.
Komisarz-Baugh said that the team’s latest win was good for morale. She saw the Bobcats grow closer to each other through winter training and the meet at Denison.
“I’ve seen some emotional change since the winter training,” Komisarz-Baugh said. “Their mentality is a lot different then I have seen in the past and all of that will help them moving into this weekend and the MAC Championships.”
Since competing on Jan. 9 against Denison, Ohio had almost two weeks to prepare for Toledo and junior Addison Ferguson had a neutral attitude toward the time off.
“I don’t think it has a big difference,” Ferguson said. “Whenever you have a race, you get into the race mindset no matter if it’s been two weeks or one, it is still a meet day.”
Junior Haley Clark also has not done any special training in advance of this weekend. She likes to stick with one routine and not veer away from it.
“I don’t like to change it (the routine) up,” Clark said. “(If I do) it gets me nervous.”
She said that her perception of this meet would not change whether they were facing a power conference school or a smaller division school.
Ferguson and Clark were part of the 400-medley relay team that took first place with a time of 3:47.52 last meet.
The Bobcats look to take the same momentum last time out and use it to their advantage come Saturday.
“I don’t think I need to put head-to-head matches up,” Komisarz-Baugh said. “I want all the girls to step up and swim the best they can.”
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