The Spartans had a very unusual meet this weekend against Ohio Northern, due to the bad weather raging across the state. Instead of the normal travel meet, the team stayed at home and had a virtual meet; in this meet, the Spartans swam in Veale, and sent their times in to the team over at Ohio Northern who also swam in its own pool.

Due to it being a “home meet” for Ohio Northern, they put the scores together. Despite them handling the numbers, though, the Spartans still triumphed on both the men and women’s sides, with both teams scoring more than 100 points over the opposing team (Men: 207-84, Women: 200.5-96.5). The meet had a considerable number of team and individual winners for the Case Western Reserve University team. It was an excellent meet, and head coach Doug Milliken had many positive comments about the season so far and what’s left to come.

Concerning the meet, despite the fact that the Spartans were not actually swimming in the same pool with their competitors, there was no significant loss in motivation to swim harder. Coach Milliken said he was “pleasantly surprised” at how well the Spartans swam considering the lack of competition; Ohio Northern is traditionally a very competitive meet—with scores being very close—but this year the Spartans dominated. They were able to have fun and be a bit more relaxed, which led to some very good swims.

As for the season so far, Milliken has been very happy overall with the way it has turned out. The attitude of the team has changed for the better, with camaraderie higher than before and the team having more fun. They have been less focused on others, and more focused on bettering themselves, which has led to more enthusiasm on the deck and in the pool both in and out of meets. When asked about notable swims and improvements on the team, Milliken said that his list was so long it was hard to narrow down.

Many Spartans have improved in a variety of ways, from better times to better work ethics and better attitudes in the pool. It’s another element to this season that makes Milliken proud of the Spartans.

There are some very fun meets coming up in the remainder of the season. Next weekend’s Baldwin Wallace usually serves two purposes: it celebrates the senior swimmers on the team (it will be their final home meet at CWRU) and gives the Spartans a last chance to touch up on their race strategy and technique before the conference meet.

After that is the UAA championship, which is the focal point of the year for the swimmers—they have been training hard for this one meet, and this is usually where the best swims come out. It’s like a final exam, but instead of being scared of it, you’re excited for it (usually). Then comes the NCAA, which so far Maggie Dillione and Sara Tillie have qualified for. Then comes the last meet of the year, the Wooster invitational, which will take place at the University of Chicago’s Myers-McLoraine Pool, a meet that is usually a memorable experience for the team.

Because the season is so close to ending, the Spartans are going to begin tapering, or in some cases have already begun to. Tapering is the time of year when yardage drops in practice; this leads to a more rested swimmer with more energy that is able to perform better at meets. It also means sleeping in, and better grades (again, usually), which not only means a more energetic swimmer, but a happier swimmer. Because if they’re happy, we’re happy.

This is the last few yards Spartans; you’re right at the flags.