The BG swimming and diving team will venture south as the only representative from the Mid-American Conference this weekend to compete in the Ohio State Swimming and Diving Invitational. This will be the Falcons’ only competition this month, and after a two-week break, they are rested and ready to show some big name schools just what they have.
The meet will begin on Friday, Dec. 2 and the final events will be held on Sunday, Dec. 4. Other schools competing include Illinois, Iowa, Michigan State, Minnesota, Penn State and Ohio State.
The divers that BG will compete against will be coming out of the Big Ten, ACC [Atlantic Coast Conference], SEC [South East Conference] and the Pac-10 programs. Divers from Kenyon College will also be competing this weekend. Along with all the schools, Kenyon will be great competition for BG. Kenyon has won 20 of the last 21 NCAA Division III championships.
“We feel that we learn more from schools that are better than us,” said head coach Keri Buff. “Swimming in a Big Ten Invitational is a great opportunity for our program. We feel honored to be the only swimming school outside of the Big Ten to have been invited.”
“We will have to swim and dive very well to make it back into finals. In order to do that, we will have to beat athletes that have posted better performances than we have so far. Our goal is to have everyone make it back to finals,” Buff added.
BG is excited for this weekend’s events and is also another stepping stone toward the MAC’s, which has been the goal since the beginning of the season.
Being the only school invited to the Invitational should give BG swimmers and divers the confidence they need to perform well at the MAC’s.
“Some of the best teams in the country will be there. This is why we work hard, to have fun by swimming fast and diving well. This is one of the two opportunities we have this year to rest and show our stuff,” said Buff.
The swimming prelims will kick off the Invitational on Friday at noon. The Invitational will be held at the Bill and Mae McCorkle Aquatic Pavilion in Columbus, Ohio.
