By Harrison Leone
Staff Writer
The women’s swimming and diving team is back in the pool today as they travel to Akron, Ohio to participate in the Zippy Invitational. Last year, the team finished 12th of 14 participating schools. The invitational is the first competition for the Bonnies since their home loss to Cleveland State on Nov.10.
“Going into this meet, we’ll make sure we’re not too sore, but we’re not going to rest, either,” Coach Seth Johnson said. “We’ll make sure we’re ready to race,”
The amount of time between the Cleveland State meet and the Akron Invitational was the longest hiatus the Bonnies have had all season. Johnson said he’s not concerned about the time off.
“We had five weeks of competition in a row to start the year, so I think we were about due for a break,” Johnson said. “I don’t think our performance will be affected. Everyone being home for break made it a little difficult, but I think we’ll show up for Akron.”
Sophomore Nikki Gagen, an Atlanta native, said the preparation for Akron went well.
“It’s been pretty good so far,” Gagen said. “We’re mostly trying to get back into things after Thanksgiving, but I think we’re in a good place.”
Freshman Adelyn Graf, a Wilton, Conn. native, said she’s confident about the team’s chances.
“I think we’ll do really well,” Graef said. “We’re just coming off break, and it was very nice to be able to recharge for a little bit.”
The Akron meet comes two weeks after collegeswimming.com issued its first mid-major rankings of the season. St. Bonaventure was one of six Atlantic 10 schools to receive votes in the poll, along with Massachusetts, Fordham, La Salle, Xavier and Duquesne.
“Honestly, at this point in the season, I would not put too much stock in it,” Johnson said. What we really want to see is where we stand at the end of the year,”
With only three months to go until the A-10 Championships, the final race of the season is in sight for the Bonnies. “As you get closer to that race, you can really start to get excited,” said sophomore Aly Paz. “Training’s been a lot harder than it was last season, and I think this year we’re more prepared. I think our hard work will really show at A-10s.”
Paz also commented on the youth of the team, featuring 16 freshmen swimmers.
“They’ve blended really well with the team,” Paz said. “We have a great freshman class, and they’ll really be able to help out.”
Graf said the transition to college athletics is going well for her and her fellow freshmen.
“Swimming at the college level is definitely tougher than high school, but the freshman class has really helped each other out,” Graf said.
With the fall semester coming to a close, Coach Johnson said it’s important to go into the break strong.
“This is one of the most critical times of the year for us,” Johnson said. “We want to set ourselves up to be successful for the rest of the year.”
