Ohio traveled north by northwest this weekend for a pair of meets against Mid-American Conference rivals. Unfortunately, it turned into a horror story even Hitchcock would have been proud of.
The Bobcats lost dual meets in Bowling Green (1-3, 1-3 in MAC) and Toledo(8-1, 4-0 in MAC), albeit in very different ways.
Ohio (2-2, 2-2 in MAC) started slowly Friday in Bowling Green, trailing 85-46 after winning only one of the first seven events. But, like last Saturday against Buffalo, they staged an inspired comeback by winning seven of the last eight events to lead 142-135 going into the concluding 400-yard freestyle relay.
Unlike last Saturday, Ohio came up just short of a win, as the Falcons took first and third in the relay to eke out the narrowest of victories, 148-146.
We ran into a team that was ready to go
said coach Greg Werner. We had a great second half of the meet but just dug ourselves a little too deep of a hole.
Werner said the team's sluggish start could have had a little to do with traveling on Friday, but refused to make it an excuse as Ohio will need to win away from home throughout the season.
There was still time for the Bobcats to salvage a weekend split Saturday, but Toledo ended any hopes early by taking a commanding 68-25 lead after five events. The Rockets went on to place first in 10 of 16 events.
Overall, Toledo took the top three positions in four races and the top two in four more, culminating in a dominant 180-118 victory.
We just got our pants whooped Werner said. Besides the diving and Rachel Heim
we got beat across the board.
Heim, a junior, was the only Bobcat swimmer to win an individual race on the day, placing first in the 100 freestyle, 100 backstroke and 100 butterfly.
Another bright spot for Ohio was the diving pair senior Lindsay Hamilton and freshman MaryRose Hillstrom, who together swept the diving events in both meets.
For the second straight weekend, Hamilton set a school record, this time in the 1-meter with a score of 286.43 Friday, breaking her own mark of 284.10 set in 2007.
I'm just really excited that I'm diving so well at the beginning of the season
Hamilton said. Last year was really up and down for me so it's great to be consistent early on.
And despite the pair of losses, Werner remained upbeat.
We know we're better than what we showed today
and we know we have to work hard and find a way to grow from this as a team and as individuals
he said.
My positive will be seeing how the team responds.
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Sports
Cameron Dunbar
