Truman State’s swim teams completed their regular season schedules Saturday. Despite the men’s and women’s defeats at Washington University in St. Louis, 143-77 and 138-93 respectively, the Truman swim teams will spend the next week preparing for the GLVC Championship meet Wednesday, Feb. 10.
Senior Taylor Voelker, women’s team co-captain, says she thinks keeping up form is going to be key for championship preparation. Voelker says the team will work hard on its practice routines and will use every second it can to get ready for the championships. She says it’s important to maintain good starts to each heat.
“We really need to make sure we work on our explosiveness,” Voelker says. “Getting those good starts when we dive into the water can go a long way to helping us win.”
During the loss to Wash. U, junior Evyn Spencer won the 200-meter individual medley with a time of 2:07.04. Sophomore Jasmine Roghair won the 200-meter freestyle with a time of 1:57.64. Junior Alison Strickler and sophomores Jamie Fitzpatrick and Nicki Sisson had the three fastest times in the 50-meter freestyle.
Despite the defeat, Truman swimmers have the opportunity to move on and excel during the GLVC Championship. Head Coach Ed Pretre says the two teams have done well all year. Pretre says despite the fact that Truman is not fully funded, the men have faced fully funded aquatics programs and remained competitive. The women’s team had three losses to non-conference schools — Wash U, Missouri State University and Saint Louis University.
Regardless, Pretre says he was proud of the way both teams have performed.
“They worked hard this year, and they were consistent,” Pretre says. “They come to swim, and they come to compete, and that’s why I think they’re really going to blow the doors wide open at these upcoming championships.”
The GLVC Championships will begin Wednesday, Feb. 10, and end Feb. 13 in Crawfordsville, Indiana. The winner of the conference meet will move on to the NCAA Swimming and Diving Championships Mar. 9-12 in Indianapolis, Indiana.
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