Women’s swim team preps for conference championships

The University of Northern Iowa women’s swim team concludes its regular season competition today at the University of Iowa. The meet begins at 6 p.m.

Following the meet, the Panthers will turn their attention to the Missouri Valley Conference Championships at Southern Illinois University in Carbondale, Ill.

Closing off the season, the upcoming meet at Iowa will gauge the performance of the swimmers and form the lineup for the conference meet, starting Feb. 11.

Without the pressure of turning in time entries, the swimmers do not want to overexert themselves at Iowa in hopes of being in top physical shape throughout the three-day competition.

Ultimately, head coach Stacey Simmer said that their goal for the following weekend will be to perform beyond the previous times, individually and as a team. UNI placed fourth at the MVC Championships last season. 

“The conference this year will be a lot closer than it has been in the years past, so it is hard to tell right now what the other teams will do,” said Simmer. 

The meet at Iowa will not have the same swim routine for the girls. Coach Simmer will take this opportunity to view the performances of the swimmers at Friday’s meet to compose the lineup for the conference meet. 

At the dual meet at Iowa, which will have a smaller lineup, the team will swim 50s of all the strokes and 200 and 500 relays.

What might affect some on the team is the fact that Ashley Mangrich had her appendix removed during Christmas break. Simmer said Mangrich has been back with the team since the surgery for about a week and one-half now but will see how it goes Friday.

“The girls themselves have a very active role in their training because it is such an individual sport. They let me know how their bodies are feeling, and how they feel in the water so that they can be at their peak form at the conference the following Friday,” said Simmer.

The season’s best times were hit in November, and Simmer said the have been getting faster and faster since then.

She also said spring semester meets are more about getting ready for conference and less about the times. The focus in the spring semester is more on the competition aspect. 

“We do a lot of positive self talk, mind-clearing activities, focus activities and mental preparedness. Any time at practice, this is part of the training, so they are always preparing for something,” said Simmer.

 

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