2008 Woodie Awards
A tale of two teams: Women's swim team hot, men's not
Jim Cardinal
Issue date: 1/23/08 Section: Sports
The Red Hawks have only competed in three meets over the past month and a half but have seen great strides of improvement over those meets.
Much of that improvement can be credited to the tough workout regimen that the team underwent during break.
"The yards were down this year, but the intensity was definitely up from previous years," explains sophomore Bruce Kukowski. "Winter break was tough, but it'll pay off in the end."
"We swam about 8,000 yards a day," adds sophomore Jenni Schalla. "It was definitely intense."
The Red Hawks' lone meet in December came at the beginning of the month at UW-Oshkosh. The men finished third out of six and the women finished fifth out of seven at the meet.
Leading the men was junior CJ Wagner who won the 200 yard freestyle. Wagner also came in second in the 200 yard backstroke.
The Hawks then went to work over break trying to improve. Their hard work was put to the test at Carroll Jan. 12.
Improvement was definitely seen as the women's team walked away with victories over both Beloit and Carroll in the dual meet. The men would not be able to duplicate the results, losing to both conference opponents.
Schalla led the Hawks, winning both the 200 yard breaststroke and the 200 yard individual medley. First year Megan Rice and Katie Corbett also won events for the Hawks.
The women also had two winning relay teams, coming in first in both the 200 yard medley and 200 yard freestyle relays. It was their last relay that ended up giving the Hawks the win.
Juniors Matt Stensberg and Parker Heaps both won events for the men, winning the 200 yard butterfly and the 500 yard freestyle, respectively.
Ripon got the opportunity to face Beloit and Carroll again one week later at the Beloit Triangular. This time the women came in second while the men were defeated again by both teams.
Once again, it was Rice and Schalla who led the Hawks, both winning two events. Rice won both the 50 and 100 yard freestyle while Schalla won the 100 yard breaststroke and the 400 yard individual medley. Corbett also won the 100 yard backstroke for the women. Joining Rice, Schalla, and Corbett was junior Amy Jones on the winning 400 yard medley relay.
Heaps again led the men, winning both the 100 yard freestyle and the 1650 yard freestyle. Joining Heaps with victories was junior Ryan Hendricks and first year Zach Smith. Hendricks came in first in the 400 yard individual medley while Smith won the 100 yard breaststroke.
The men will look to turn things around this Saturday while the women's team will try to continue their success as both teams head to Lawrence University. The meet starts at 10 a.m.
Much of that improvement can be credited to the tough workout regimen that the team underwent during break.
"The yards were down this year, but the intensity was definitely up from previous years," explains sophomore Bruce Kukowski. "Winter break was tough, but it'll pay off in the end."
"We swam about 8,000 yards a day," adds sophomore Jenni Schalla. "It was definitely intense."
The Red Hawks' lone meet in December came at the beginning of the month at UW-Oshkosh. The men finished third out of six and the women finished fifth out of seven at the meet.
Leading the men was junior CJ Wagner who won the 200 yard freestyle. Wagner also came in second in the 200 yard backstroke.
The Hawks then went to work over break trying to improve. Their hard work was put to the test at Carroll Jan. 12.
Improvement was definitely seen as the women's team walked away with victories over both Beloit and Carroll in the dual meet. The men would not be able to duplicate the results, losing to both conference opponents.
Schalla led the Hawks, winning both the 200 yard breaststroke and the 200 yard individual medley. First year Megan Rice and Katie Corbett also won events for the Hawks.
The women also had two winning relay teams, coming in first in both the 200 yard medley and 200 yard freestyle relays. It was their last relay that ended up giving the Hawks the win.
Juniors Matt Stensberg and Parker Heaps both won events for the men, winning the 200 yard butterfly and the 500 yard freestyle, respectively.
Ripon got the opportunity to face Beloit and Carroll again one week later at the Beloit Triangular. This time the women came in second while the men were defeated again by both teams.
Once again, it was Rice and Schalla who led the Hawks, both winning two events. Rice won both the 50 and 100 yard freestyle while Schalla won the 100 yard breaststroke and the 400 yard individual medley. Corbett also won the 100 yard backstroke for the women. Joining Rice, Schalla, and Corbett was junior Amy Jones on the winning 400 yard medley relay.
Heaps again led the men, winning both the 100 yard freestyle and the 1650 yard freestyle. Joining Heaps with victories was junior Ryan Hendricks and first year Zach Smith. Hendricks came in first in the 400 yard individual medley while Smith won the 100 yard breaststroke.
The men will look to turn things around this Saturday while the women's team will try to continue their success as both teams head to Lawrence University. The meet starts at 10 a.m.
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