Before this weekend’s meets against Michigan State and Eastern Michigan, the Wildcats hadn’t been in a pool against college competition since November. And the rust showed in their performances.
“We got our heads handed to us,” NU men’s swimming coach Bob Groseth said. “We ran into two teams that were ready to beat us, and we lost. It’s really as simple as that.”
Against Michigan State on Friday, the Cats (2-6) were defeated 131-91. It was the Spartans first win over a Big Ten opponent since 1999. The next day — facing Mid-American Conference opponent Eastern Michigan — the swimmers lost 133-108.
Although he felt his team was stronger than both opponents, Groseth said his swimmers simply were not psychologically ready to return to the pool.
“I was disappointed that our kids couldn’t match the effort and emotion that Michigan State and Eastern Michigan put in,” he said.
Nonetheless, the team knows that during the course of the season, dual meets are merely a warm-up for the Big Ten Championships. And the swimmers still believe they can be ready by then.
“The year by no means is lost,” junior Mark Hamming said. “(The first) two-thirds of the season is just a precursor to the championship meets.”
But it might be more difficult this year. After finishing 19th in the NCAA Championships last year, Groseth said his team now commands more respect than in the past. With that respect comes an added incentive to beat the Cats.
“Teams like Michigan State and Eastern Michigan are going to use this (victory) like a feather in their cap,” Groseth said. “We’re not used to that.”
Still, the Cats believe they can build on the weekend’s disappointing show and finish strong.
“You can definitely find the positive experience,” Hamming said. “It’s really a wake-up call for us.”
Although NU performed poorly, some swimmers and NU’s lone diver had strong weekends.
Senior Kellan O’Connor — an All-American last year — won the 200-yard individual medley against Michigan State and the 200-yard butterfly against Eastern Michigan. Hamming had a first-place finish in the 100-yard butterfly against against the Spartans and won the 200-yard free style at Eastern Michigan.
Also against Eastern Michigan, freshman Mike Oxman won the 1-meter diving competition. But Oxman was disappointed that he did not perform as well as he had hoped in the 3-meter version. He blamed poor lighting — an important factor for divers — for his difficulties.
“I thought I did pretty well considering I didn’t like both of the pools,” he said. “I’m accustomed to better lighting.”
On Friday, Oxman and his teammates will return to the familiarly lit Norris Aquatics Center when they take on Illinois-Chicago. Groseth said he hopes his swimmers will return to action with more energy than they showed this weekend.
Because swimming win-loss records don’t matter much, the Cats should be able to put the weekend’s losses behind them and continue to prepare for the Big Ten championships.
“We’re ready physically,” senior co-captain Dave Hersh said. “We’re ready mentally. It was a temporary lapse.”
