Colorado State University Athletics
Wednesday, February 19
Minneapolis, Minn. / Freeman Aquatic Center
All Day
Colorado State
vs
Mountain West Championships Day 1
Woodard's Team Poised for Championship Meet
2/17/2020 2:00:00 PM | Women's Swimming & Diving
Rams have built up confidence in second half
FORT COLLINS, Colo. – Through a four-dual winning streak to end the season, the performances have been on an uptick, through tired muscles and heavy training.
With those results as the backdrop, Colorado State's women's swimming and diving team is anxious to get the Mountain West Championships, beginning Feb. 19 and continuing through Feb. 22 at the Jean K. Freeman Aquatic Center on the University of Minnesota campus in Minneapolis.
"In the second half I've seen them be able to travel and compete tired against a conference foe," CSU head coach Christopher Woodard said. "I've seen them all rally around each other in several meets. I've seen them swim some off events against Mines and still put up some great performances, especially at altitude. And I've seen them come back against Northern Colorado and have to make changes in our lineup and be able to adapt to those changes without complaint.
"I think they've done a lot of different things. I don't know if they're all aware of that, but those are all the hallmarks of a team that's ready."
The Rams are looking to move back up the ladder after finishing seventh in 2019 after a pair of fifth-place results. This will be the fourth season where the conference has moved to a 24-place format, with the top-eight qualifiers set for the championship finals, places 9-16 in the B final and 17-24 in the C final. The opening day will present the finals of the 200-yard medley and 800 freestyle relays, as well as the preliminaries and finals of the 1-meter springboard. Diving prelims on the first day are set for 11:30 p.m. MT; finals events start at 5:30 p.m.
The final three days, preliminaries begin at 10 a.m., with finals slated for 5:30 p.m. Diving will be competed Wednesday (1-meter), Thursday (3-meter) and Saturday (platform), with prelims at 11:30 a.m. and finals part of the evening schedule. Swimmers can compete in up to three individual races, seven total.
Senior Marie Goodwyn, a four-time All-Mountain West selection, said the focus has to be on the race itself, with no outside factors being considered.
"We're most successful when we're really focusing on ourselves and our own races and having fun," she said. "Sometimes it can be overwhelming to step into the big conference pool with all the teams, but as long as we keep our focus, we can be really successful.
"My better swims were not when I was going for a specific time or a specific place, but just going out there and racing really hard."
The Rams came off the blocks slow, but have proven to be back-half performers ever since the Phil Hansell Invitational prior to the Thanksgiving break. That rise has Goodwyn as confident as ever about the team, and she feels the freshmen making their first trip will play a big role in the team's success.
Woodard enters the championships with the same enthusiasm, and he feels the entire team has approached the final stretch of training with the proper physical approach and mental makeup.
"I have the utmost confidence in them. At this point for every coach, it becomes instilling confidence in themselves," Woodard said. "Any swimmer, male or female, we have the tendency to forget the grueling workouts, the things we've done and the things we've accomplished, and we start to worry more about is this taper going to work, is this rest going to work, am I at the right point, are my workouts up to par. That's where hopefully good coaches and a good coaching staff, which I think we have here, really shore up that confidence with our athletes and make sure, yes, you're on the right path and this is what you're capable of doing. I am confident."
Based on the pre-meet psyche sheet (which can still be altered slightly by scratches), all five of the Rams' relays rank in the top eight, with both medley teams in the top six. CSU would be slated for championship swims from Julia Box in both the 100 and 200 butterflies, as well as Jennae Frederick in the 200 fly. Eleven Rams are seeded for B finals, 15 more in C finals, with all but one of the 18 swimming events represented.
The meet can be streamed at floswimming.com (for a charge), and live results and meet information will be available at the Mountain West Championships page.
With those results as the backdrop, Colorado State's women's swimming and diving team is anxious to get the Mountain West Championships, beginning Feb. 19 and continuing through Feb. 22 at the Jean K. Freeman Aquatic Center on the University of Minnesota campus in Minneapolis.
"In the second half I've seen them be able to travel and compete tired against a conference foe," CSU head coach Christopher Woodard said. "I've seen them all rally around each other in several meets. I've seen them swim some off events against Mines and still put up some great performances, especially at altitude. And I've seen them come back against Northern Colorado and have to make changes in our lineup and be able to adapt to those changes without complaint.
"I think they've done a lot of different things. I don't know if they're all aware of that, but those are all the hallmarks of a team that's ready."
The Rams are looking to move back up the ladder after finishing seventh in 2019 after a pair of fifth-place results. This will be the fourth season where the conference has moved to a 24-place format, with the top-eight qualifiers set for the championship finals, places 9-16 in the B final and 17-24 in the C final. The opening day will present the finals of the 200-yard medley and 800 freestyle relays, as well as the preliminaries and finals of the 1-meter springboard. Diving prelims on the first day are set for 11:30 p.m. MT; finals events start at 5:30 p.m.
The final three days, preliminaries begin at 10 a.m., with finals slated for 5:30 p.m. Diving will be competed Wednesday (1-meter), Thursday (3-meter) and Saturday (platform), with prelims at 11:30 a.m. and finals part of the evening schedule. Swimmers can compete in up to three individual races, seven total.
Senior Marie Goodwyn, a four-time All-Mountain West selection, said the focus has to be on the race itself, with no outside factors being considered.
"We're most successful when we're really focusing on ourselves and our own races and having fun," she said. "Sometimes it can be overwhelming to step into the big conference pool with all the teams, but as long as we keep our focus, we can be really successful.
"My better swims were not when I was going for a specific time or a specific place, but just going out there and racing really hard."
The Rams came off the blocks slow, but have proven to be back-half performers ever since the Phil Hansell Invitational prior to the Thanksgiving break. That rise has Goodwyn as confident as ever about the team, and she feels the freshmen making their first trip will play a big role in the team's success.
Woodard enters the championships with the same enthusiasm, and he feels the entire team has approached the final stretch of training with the proper physical approach and mental makeup.
"I have the utmost confidence in them. At this point for every coach, it becomes instilling confidence in themselves," Woodard said. "Any swimmer, male or female, we have the tendency to forget the grueling workouts, the things we've done and the things we've accomplished, and we start to worry more about is this taper going to work, is this rest going to work, am I at the right point, are my workouts up to par. That's where hopefully good coaches and a good coaching staff, which I think we have here, really shore up that confidence with our athletes and make sure, yes, you're on the right path and this is what you're capable of doing. I am confident."
Based on the pre-meet psyche sheet (which can still be altered slightly by scratches), all five of the Rams' relays rank in the top eight, with both medley teams in the top six. CSU would be slated for championship swims from Julia Box in both the 100 and 200 butterflies, as well as Jennae Frederick in the 200 fly. Eleven Rams are seeded for B finals, 15 more in C finals, with all but one of the 18 swimming events represented.
The meet can be streamed at floswimming.com (for a charge), and live results and meet information will be available at the Mountain West Championships page.
- CSURams.com -
Players Mentioned
FREE, FLY
/ Women's Swimming & Diving
FLY
/ Women's Swimming & Diving
FLY, IM
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