Mounties swimmer Ashlie Martinez, 21, rushes through the water while competing in the 50-yard backstroke during the double dual meets at the Marie T. Mills Aquatic Center on March 23. Jose De Castro / MOUNTAINEER
After defeating conference opponent East Los Angeles College, 186-83 and losing to rivals Chaffey College, 174-104 last Friday, at home, the Mt. SAC women’s swimming team will be looking to start a new winning streak.
The Mounties came into the meet against ELAC and Chaffey with an undefeated 5-0 record. “That was our last meet and we knew it would come down to this,” said Head Coach Chris Jackson. “They [Chaffey] were going into it undefeated as well and we knew that it was going to be a tough one.”
The Mounties made decent finishes to stay in the competition throughout the meet, but it was not enough to beat their conference rivals.
“We swam some good times, I don’t know if we could have [won] even looking at it on paper; we just had some holes in our lineup that we couldn’t overcome,” said Jackson. “We swam well, we couldn’t come up top on that one.”
Taking over the women’s program seven years ago, Jackson believes that they are a hard working team. “I am very proud of the way they work in the weight room and in the pool, and it is always a pleasure working with these types of athletes,” said Jackson.
Outsiders may not realize it, but the swimming regimen involves large amounts of weight lifting and other training on dry land. The women’s swimming team takes an offseason class that involves lifting for two mornings a week.
“Our workouts are a little different from the guys because guys typically [have] more muscle mass; they can maintain speeds better than girls,” Jackson said. “[The women’s team] does a little more yardage and we taper them at the end differently; we taper off the distance they’re swimming and the weight they’re lifting.”
During this time in the season, the Mounties must avoid bumps in the road in order to win the South Coast Conference title. “We have two girls with injuries [which] hurts a little,” said Jackson. “At this level you need everyone coming back.”
The next meet for the Mounties will be the Pasadena Invitational this Friday and Saturday, April 6 and 7 at Pasadena City College.
- Jose De Castro
Sports Editor
