After losing two meets they expected to win last weekend, the Northwestern men’s swimming squad has a new plan for rest of this season.
“Nobody is going to be taking any team from now on lightly,” junior Mark Hamming said.
The Wildcats will be able to try out their new approach at 6 p.m. tonight against Illinois-Chicago at the Norris Aquatics Center. The Flames haven’t competed in a collegiate meet since the end of November.
While the Cats aren’t guaranteeing a victory against their Horizon League opponents, they promise to swim with more emotion and speed than they did last week.
“We’re going to come out with a lot of energy,” senior co-captain Dave Hersh said. “It’s unfortunate for UIC.”
Despite NU’s slow start, Illinois-Chicago expects to face a focused NU squad Friday.
“I think (they have) one of the strongest teams they’ve ever had,” Flames head coach Paul Moniak said. “It’s certainly a formidable task to compete against Northwestern.”
Such a sizable feat, in fact, that Moniak isn’t sure that his team can beat the Cats. His swimmers’ previous times this season simply don’t match NU’s. But that won’t stop them from trying to upset their cross-town rivals.
“Obviously we’re a sizable underdog,” he said.
And just because no NU swimmer openly predicts victory doesn’t mean that the team has lost its swagger. The swimmers still have a lot of confidence in their abilities.
“Without a doubt, we’re still one of the best teams in the Big Ten,” Hersh said.
The Cats will have a chance to show their prowess as they take on an Illinois-Chicago team led by nine freshman. Moniak said he has been most pleased by the performances of first-year freestylers Ari Bernstein and Leroy Stevens.
As usual, the Cats should be led by seniors Kellan O’Connor, Dave Hersh, and Mike Shue. Not only will they need to provide top performances in the pool, but they’ll also need to bring some emotion to a team that has seemed flat, according to its coach.
During last weekend’s disappointing showing at Eastern Michigan, coach Bob Groseth took his captains aside and spoke to them about the intensity he hoped to see. Tonight Groseth will see if the squad has understood the message.
“I think we need to put (in) some passion, some heart, some enthusiasm,” said Groseth. “Hopefully we’ll see more fire (tonight).”
While he was disappointed in his swimmers last weekend, Groseth is confident that his team will be able to regain their passion and finish strong at the Big Ten and NCAA Championships.
“That’s why they pay me the big bucks,” he said.
Illinois-Chicago at NU
6 p.m., Today
Norris Aquatic Center
