On Saturday, Jan. 27, Rowan men’s swimming took another loss, this time against Swarthmore College dropping the Profs’ record to 3-4. Not all hope is lost though, since the Profs can still win the New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) Championships and qualify for the NCAA Division III Championships.
The loss is not a concern to Head Coach Brad Bowser, as he has noticed hard work from his team in preparation for NJACs. The team’s recent focus has been on their strengths and how they can make themselves stronger in the areas they’re already good at as opposed to the results of regular season races.
“Our strengths are our approach on how we’re swimming races,” Bowser said. “A majority of kids are swimming their races without dying out, preparing a little differently mentally on how to attack the race versus what we were doing against TCNJ.”
Team morale is another area Bowser isn’t concerned about. The 11-year head coach of the Profs believes that the overall team record does not reflect the team’s chances to win a title, since they still have a great chance in the NJACs and still have a chance to qualify for NCAAs.
“Swimming is not basketball, where if you lose, it really hurts you,” Bowser said. “Your season is how we prep your training cycles. We could just get caught in another training cycle of another team, and they might have a little more energy than we do. But when we travel, we’re tight.”
You typically won’t see the growth from Bowser’s swimmers within the results of the meets, but rather in the hearts of the swimmers. Freshman Darek Staniszewski feels the team is shifting into “championship mode” as they enter the most crucial part of the season.
“As a team we prepare, we do the technique and practice, and we’re just focusing on little details right now leading up to the conference championships,” Staniszewski said. “Everyone is so hype and excited to be in that type of environment.”
There have been many ups and downs throughout the course of this season, but the team has a solid foundation to the point where Bowser and his swimmers know the main goal and want to reach it, and they will not let any small setbacks stop them from achieving that goal, which is a state championship.
“It’s about how we finish the season,” Bowser said strongly.
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