After suffering its second loss in two days over the weekend, the Northwestern women’s swimming team has only one opportunity left this season to bump its record above .500.
The No. 16 Wildcats swam Thursday in South Bend, Ind., took a short rest and then traveled to Michigan, where they lost 134-106 to the No. 17 Wolverines.
The pair of late-season losses left the Cats with a 4-4-1 record heading into the Big Ten championships later this month.
“Friday wasn’t great, but compared to Thursday, it was better,” NU’s Erin Swenson said. “We were pretty even with (Michigan) when it comes to swimming.”
While the Cats’ score improved Friday, NU was no match for the defending-Big Ten champions. Michigan finished the meet with first-place finishes in nine of the 13 events, leaving NU with one relay win and three individual wins.
NU head coach Jimmy Tierney said the team raced better and looked sharper on Friday.
“I don’t discredit (us) in (our) preparation,” Tierney said. “I thought the girls raced pretty well, but we just weren’t sharp enough to make a difference.”
The sophomore Swenson took home the first of the Cats’ wins in the 200-yard freestyle, with teammate Katie Simmons touching in second. Swenson said she was satisfied with her 200 times, but added that her shorter races left room for improvement.
Junior Carmen Cosgrove finished first in the 200 butterfly and swam the first leg of NU’s winning 200 free relay. Simmons, the Cats’ only other individual event winner, beat the Wolverines to the finish in the 200 breaststroke.
Simmons attributed NU’s disappointing weekend performance in part to the recent tapering for the Big Tens that initially makes swimmers feel “awkward.”
“The are just times within those last few weeks where it’s hard to predict how their bodies will perform,” Tierney said. “We’ve had this experience in past years on this weekend, so it didn’t really shock me.”
Swenson said the Cats also struggled against Michigan because they swam two days in a row, but added that the faster times on Friday showed mental toughness.
“This was good for us to let us know where we were mentally and prepare for that,” Swenson said. “Not everyone is going to be perfect mentally.”
Tierney said the team’s strategy in the upcoming weeks is to rest and work on speed and race pace. He said they will continue to taper and work on technique to prepare for the last team meet of the season.
In addition, the Cats are swimming shorter yardage during practice and are replacing some water time with additional stretching and mental preparation.
“We get a few more mornings to sleep in, ’cause that can do wonders,” Swenson said.
Feb. 21-23, the Cats return to Ann Arbor, Mich., for the Big Ten championships. Swenson said Friday’s dual will lead to positive results at the championships.
“Just going there and knowing that we can compete well – I think it’s good knowing that we had that,” Swenson said.
Simmons said the team will benefit because it can visualize the pool at Michigan’s Canham Natatorium as it prepares for the meet, and Tierney said he has no doubt the Cats will be more relaxed and more comfortable the second time around.
“Big Tens is Big Tens, and we’re obviously going to be ready for it,” Simmons said. “There is no doubt that we will have our ‘A-game’ ready for Big Tens.”
