After coming into the season as the defending Mid-American Conference champions, coach Greg Werner didn't expect his team to drop its first two dual meets.
It was a tough pill to swallow
he said. We're used to winning so when we don't win it catches us a little off guard.
But since opening the season with losses to Buffalo and Akron back in early November, the Bobcats (4-2, 2-2 MAC) have rebounded for four straight victories and a first-place finish in Akron's Zippy Invitational.
Werner pointed out that Ohio usually starts coming together during winter break when the team has hours and hours of extra practice time to gear up for the rest of the season.
Usually we have the luxury of December
but after the first two losses
we realized we couldn't just rely on that
Werner said. We realized we had to make some changes.
With that realization, senior captain Ashley Marion and the rest of the team started with the mental side of the sport.
Our attitudes got much better after those beginning losses
Marion said. We knew we had to get better in the water
and since then
we've improved every meet.
With the increased training during Ohio's long winter break and key swimmers like sophomore Stacey Huber recovering from injury, the Bobcats are in full gear heading into the second half of their season.
Werner said that the team's 171-121 win over Denison on Jan. 9 shows how the Bobcats should swim when they put it all together.
The losses have had their benefits, sophomore Rachel Heim said.
We decided things had to change
she said. And they have. Our attitudes have changed and I'd definitely say we're stronger.
Ohio will try to extend its winning streak tonight against Conference USA's Marshall Thundering Herd (4-3) and keep the momentum going with the final half of the season just around the corner.
We took those first losses as learning experiences
Werner said. We learned to not repeat our mistakes since usually we learn more from our mistakes than our successes.
