Swim Preview
Phillip Morgan
Issue date: 2/4/10 Section: Sports
The Lady Chargers are knocking down their work loads to rest and mentally prepare for the fast approaching Great Lakes Intercollegiate Conference Championship meet, at Wayne State University in Detroit.
The team started doing what is known as tapering or cutting down the yardage that they swim at practice. According to senior Stephanie Sobey, the sprinters and strokers on the team are swimming 4,000 yards per day while the long distance swimmers are doing about 5,000. The team is also practicing just once per day compared to their usual weeks consisting of multiple two-a-days.
"We've been a doing a lot more sprinting and shorter distance stuff," said freshman Lauren Burt.
The stakes are high for the Chargers at this year's GLIAC meet with four swimmers taking their last shot at swimming a national qualifying time. The 400-yard medley relay team, consisting of junior Alicia LeDuc, senior Meredith Scott, freshman Sarah Leitner and sophomore Linda Okonkowski, was roughly three seconds from qualifying for the national meet in Houston, Tex., earlier in the season.
"We're going to have to have good relay exchanges," said Leitner. "Individually we are going to have swim our best times."
As a team, the girls will be looking to outdo last year's fourth-place finish and put at least one player in the finals in every event.
"We have a lot of depth," said Leitner. "We're trying to get as many people into finals as we can."
According to Jobey competing with the top teams, specifically Wayne State and Grand Valley State University, will be challenging.
"We're a solid middle-of-the-road team," Sobey said. "We have a hard time competing with bigger schools."
Over the course of a season that started nearly six months ago, always getting along has been challenging, some of the swimmers said.
"There are always some rough times because you're together so much," said Sobey.
"You're tired, you're working real hard but we haven't had any real problems. Everyone gets along real good."
With less the a week left to go the team will continue dropping yardage, resting and trying to remain focused.
"Toward the end of the season people start getting stressed," Burt said. "I think we'll be able to pull together as a team for GLIACs."
The team started doing what is known as tapering or cutting down the yardage that they swim at practice. According to senior Stephanie Sobey, the sprinters and strokers on the team are swimming 4,000 yards per day while the long distance swimmers are doing about 5,000. The team is also practicing just once per day compared to their usual weeks consisting of multiple two-a-days.
"We've been a doing a lot more sprinting and shorter distance stuff," said freshman Lauren Burt.
The stakes are high for the Chargers at this year's GLIAC meet with four swimmers taking their last shot at swimming a national qualifying time. The 400-yard medley relay team, consisting of junior Alicia LeDuc, senior Meredith Scott, freshman Sarah Leitner and sophomore Linda Okonkowski, was roughly three seconds from qualifying for the national meet in Houston, Tex., earlier in the season.
"We're going to have to have good relay exchanges," said Leitner. "Individually we are going to have swim our best times."
As a team, the girls will be looking to outdo last year's fourth-place finish and put at least one player in the finals in every event.
"We have a lot of depth," said Leitner. "We're trying to get as many people into finals as we can."
According to Jobey competing with the top teams, specifically Wayne State and Grand Valley State University, will be challenging.
"We're a solid middle-of-the-road team," Sobey said. "We have a hard time competing with bigger schools."
Over the course of a season that started nearly six months ago, always getting along has been challenging, some of the swimmers said.
"There are always some rough times because you're together so much," said Sobey.
"You're tired, you're working real hard but we haven't had any real problems. Everyone gets along real good."
With less the a week left to go the team will continue dropping yardage, resting and trying to remain focused.
"Toward the end of the season people start getting stressed," Burt said. "I think we'll be able to pull together as a team for GLIACs."
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Skylar Walker
posted 2/08/10 @ 2:21 PM EST
NCAA D2 Championships are being held at the C.T. Branin Natatorium in Canton, Ohio this year. Last year was Houston.
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