HOUSTON, Texas – Mark Sowa said success at the Western Athletic Conference Championship Meet comes down to a simple equation: “Every swim, every dive has to count.”
Sowa and the Vandals begin competition in the annual event Wednesday at CRWC Natatorium at Houston, Texas, as the projected fourth-place team.
Sowa was quick to point out – anything can happen at a championship meet when intensity is running at a fever pitch and every competitor is bound to do her best.
“They'll never have a meet that is this emotionally charged,” Sowa said. “That atmosphere is ridiculous. We talk about it a lot. The nice part about what we do is we emphasize we can only focus on what we do; focus on the task at hand.”
Sowa has just three seniors on the roster and, with one injured, only two will be bringing their championship meet experience to assist a roster that is dominated by sophomores (eight) and freshmen (13). That youth, however, doesn't worry Sowa. He referenced their ability to learn from each meet over the winter.
“What I like about this group is they treat those challenges objectively,” he said. “There may be an emotional reaction first but then they are able to process – take a step back and learn from it, then translate that to what we are doing on a daily basis.”
With seniors Sami Hendricks and Emily Renzini providing the experience, Sowa said he's looking to continued excellence from Sarah Hall, Erica King, Janelle Lucas and Cara Jernigan.
“Our expectation every time we walk into a meet is to be great,” he said. “We expect to be competitive because we always talk about valuing competition. We expect to be aggressive but we also expect to be relaxed and have a lot of fun.
“I think that that most relaxed team is going to be one of the best teams there. That's where our leadership needs to step forward and talk about emotionally pacing themselves.”
The meet begins Wednesday with the finals of the 200 medley and 800 freestyle relays, and the one-meter diving and continues through Saturday. Live streaming and results are available on the WAC Swimming and Diving Championships Central website.
