Swim team wins at home despite injury
Nick Tabor
Issue date: 11/15/07 Section: Sports
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Co-captain Anne Verhoef, a junior, said the team had a morale boost when they saw the size of their audience.
"It's so much more fun to swim at home, because all of your friends can come," she said.
Verhoef said Ohio Northern's team was comparable to Findlay in level of competition. Hillsdale defeated Findlay 145-82 Nov. 3. They also conquered Ohio Northern last season.
Verhoef took first place in the 100 and 200-yard freestyle events.
Freshman Alicia LeDuc won the 200 backstroke; sophomore Meredith Scott won the 100 breaststroke and the 200 medley; and sophomore Cassie Nielsen won the 200 medley and 200 breaststroke.
Hillsdale won first and third place in both the 400 freestyle and 400 medley relays.
Kirner said the team would have won by a larger margin if Charlotte Wolfe, their diver, had competed.
Wolfe injured her shoulder during practice Nov. 7. She learned from a doctor this past Monday she tore a ligament.
"One of the true tests of a team is when they don't have a diver," Kirner said.
He said his swimmers can usually substitute for one another, but only trained divers can handle the diving events.
"[Ohio Northern] had two divers, so they could just jump off the block and score points," LeDuc said.
Wolfe said her doctor advised her to wait until January to resume diving.
"It's sore and it's weak, but it hasn't really been a problem," she said. "[But] I've gotta be careful. I don't want to severely injure it."
Kirner said he hopes she'll be back to full strength around the season's midway point, after Christmas break.
"I thought we all stepped up very nicely to it," LeDuc said of competing without Wolfe.
Verhoef said Saturday's victory also gave Kirner a boost in his training strategies.
Kirner encourages the swimmers to focus on effort and "quality of performance" instead of results, Verhoef said.
"I think when you win a meet with that attitude going in, it really confirms that it works," she said.
The team will compete against Northern Michigan University this Saturday in Marquette, Mich.
Hillsdale College Collegian, 2007
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