Buckeyes Ready for Some Racing/Diving – Ohio State Buckeyes
11/17/2009 12:00:00 AM | Women's Swim & Dive
COLUMBUS, Ohio – The Ohio State women’s swimming and diving team will jump start a busy six weeks of racing this Friday through Sunday at the Purdue Invitational in West Lafayette, Ind. The three-day affair will be run in championship meet format and will feature teams from Michigan, Louisville, Arkansas and Missouri State, in addition to the Ohio State and Purdue teams.
Starting times are 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. Sunday.
Ohio State swimming coach Bill Dorenkott likes the championship meet structure and he likes the fact his team will have an opportunity to race after just one meet – a win over Kenyon Oct. 30 – so far.
“The championship format is very important,” Dorenkott said. “The goal is to transform from a good training team to a great racing team. Part of this evolution is creating opportunities. We’ll have three championship format meets in the next month. These will be the first opportunities for our freshmen to experience what the Big Ten and NCAA championships are going to be like.”
The other championship-format meets Dorenkott refers to are the Ohio State Invitational Dec. 4-6 at McCorkle Aquatic Pavilion and the Chesapeake Energy Elite Pro-Am in Oklahoma City, Okla., Dec. 17-20.
The Experience is Essential Dorenkott said the coaches can talk about what the student-athletes will experience in the championship format, but the swimmers have to experience it to truly realize what it is all about.
“The swimmers have to know about packing, planning meals, race strategies, warm-ups and all the preparation that goes into the performance, and the only way to learn this is to experience it first hand,” Dorenkott said.
Dorenkott Likes Championship Format/Process Dorenkott knows how to coach a team through the three-day championship format. Look no further than three Big Ten championships on his resume in 11 seasons as a Big Ten Conference coach.
“I personally enjoy preparing for the championship format meet,” Dorenkott said. “It allows for [strategic] adjustments from prelims to finals and from Day 1 to Day 3. Championship format meets reward process-oriented athletes. Whereas dual meets are about the outcome, championship meets are about embracing, respecting and working the process. This week will be an opportunity to help our swimmers experience this process.”
What to Expect from Ohio State Dorenkott believes his swimmers will get better with each session. Most of the teams competing have already competed in a handful or more dual meets, so this will be a challenge for the Buckeyes, who will experience just their second opportunity to race this season.
Fab Four Divers Open This Week The Ohio State divers, under the direction of Vince Panzano, will open their competitive season this weekend at the Purdue Invitational. Panzano’s team features four divers who have all earned All-America honors: seniors Chelsea Davis (2008 NCAA champion on the 3-meter springboard) and Katie Bell (2009 U.S. Diving national champion on the 10-meter platform), junior Kristin Asman and sophomore Bianca Alvarez.
Finishing Touches The Buckeyes are finishing up their weight room maximum strength phase of training. They are lifting weights three times a week under the direction of Hannah Sackett. The goal: begin (and continue through the rest of the season) fine tuning the strength work and convert it into useable form on a stroke-by-stroke basis.
Spinning Into Control Team members have reduced their spinning workouts from four times per week (at 60 minutes per session) in September to three in October to now twice a week in November. The team will revisit spinning after the Ohio State Invitational and continue through the beginning of February.
“Get Out” Swim The swmmers had an abbreviated practice on a recent Friday and were able to enjoy a 70-degree afternoon on campus. Dorenkott asked four swimmers – Samantha Cheverton, Catherine Eitel, Shannon Draves and Megan Detro – to reach a certain time in the 200 medley relay and if they did, the team would “get out” of practice. The quartet swam the relay fast…real fast! They broke – unofficially – the school record in the event.
“The team was very excited because we’ve never done a ‘get out’ swim,” Dorenkott said. “But more importantly, that relay swim built confidence in the team that what we are doing is heading us in the right direction.”
Up Next The team returns home to the McCorkle Aquatic Pavilion for a double dual, coed meet with the Ohio State men against Cleveland State University. Starting time is 5 p.m. and admission is free.
Click on the “Order of Events” link at the top of the page for a list of events and start times each day at the Purdue Invitational.
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