Colorado State University Athletics
Photo by: Warren Roh
Preview: Rams to begin season at the Intermountain Shootout
10/4/2017 2:08:00 PM | Women's Swimming & Diving
CSU traveling to Grand Junction to compete with Air Force, BYU, Colorado Mesa
FORT COLLINS, Colo. – The Colorado State swimming & diving squad is opening its 2017-18 season by heading to Grand Junction, Colo., to compete at the Intermountain Shootout beginning Friday.
The two-day meet features women's teams from Air Force, BYU and Colorado Mesa. The event will feature dual meet scoring. The Rams will have dual meet results against BYU and Colorado Mesa, but not Air Force because CSU is visiting the Falcons for a dual meet on Jan. 26.
CSU is coming off its best Mountain West finish (fifth) since 2009, and head coach Woody Woodard likes what he's seen from his team since.
"I feel really good about the strides they've taken and made in the past month and a half," Woodard said. "They've really come together and they're really competitive. I think the strength training that we're doing both in and out of the pool is really beginning to show, so I'm very optimistic. At this point it's, 'Okay, let's see what you can do; we know what you can race against each other, let's see what you can do against actually competition from another team.'"
In recent years, Woodard and his squad have used the fall season as a "measuring stick" of sorts – a time to evaluate and prepare for the end of the season and the conference meet. The team has different expectations for this portion of the season this year.
"I think we still have to look at the season and look at it piece-by-piece, step-by-step," Woodard said. We have to ask ourselves, 'what are we doing each meet and each week to get better?' At the same time, because of what we accomplished last year, I expect the learning curve to be a lot less steep. We should be hitting right off the bat. We've got opponents that we need to beat and we need to be competitive against so, yeah, we're not going out to Mesa just to go for an event, swim as many races as we can, we're there to try to put up 'W's."
The Intermountain Shootout is a great way to begin the season, according to Woodard. The team last competed in the event in 2015-16.
"I like going out and swimming at Mesa," Woodard said. "They've got a great facility and they're really welcoming. The format that's kind of unique; we don't get a lot of two-day formats outside invitationals, which allows us to do different things with our lineup. Also, for some of [the athletes], it might be the first time they really see snow. So for me, the whole experience is a good one. It's a good way to start the year."
Fans can watch the meet live here, and follow results here.
The two-day meet features women's teams from Air Force, BYU and Colorado Mesa. The event will feature dual meet scoring. The Rams will have dual meet results against BYU and Colorado Mesa, but not Air Force because CSU is visiting the Falcons for a dual meet on Jan. 26.
CSU is coming off its best Mountain West finish (fifth) since 2009, and head coach Woody Woodard likes what he's seen from his team since.
"I feel really good about the strides they've taken and made in the past month and a half," Woodard said. "They've really come together and they're really competitive. I think the strength training that we're doing both in and out of the pool is really beginning to show, so I'm very optimistic. At this point it's, 'Okay, let's see what you can do; we know what you can race against each other, let's see what you can do against actually competition from another team.'"
In recent years, Woodard and his squad have used the fall season as a "measuring stick" of sorts – a time to evaluate and prepare for the end of the season and the conference meet. The team has different expectations for this portion of the season this year.
"I think we still have to look at the season and look at it piece-by-piece, step-by-step," Woodard said. We have to ask ourselves, 'what are we doing each meet and each week to get better?' At the same time, because of what we accomplished last year, I expect the learning curve to be a lot less steep. We should be hitting right off the bat. We've got opponents that we need to beat and we need to be competitive against so, yeah, we're not going out to Mesa just to go for an event, swim as many races as we can, we're there to try to put up 'W's."
The Intermountain Shootout is a great way to begin the season, according to Woodard. The team last competed in the event in 2015-16.
"I like going out and swimming at Mesa," Woodard said. "They've got a great facility and they're really welcoming. The format that's kind of unique; we don't get a lot of two-day formats outside invitationals, which allows us to do different things with our lineup. Also, for some of [the athletes], it might be the first time they really see snow. So for me, the whole experience is a good one. It's a good way to start the year."
Fans can watch the meet live here, and follow results here.
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