Fresh off a Thanksgiving Break, the Ball State women’s swimming and diving team will spend three days at the IUPUI House of Champions starting Friday morning.
The team was in the water for the first time Tuesday since the break, but the team was responding well in practices, coach Kristy Castillo said.
“After the [Doug Coers Invitational], they’ve been great in practice,” she said. “They’re excited about this weekend. They’re pumped up to swim fast and swim against some new competitors they haven’t seen this year.”
Ball State has competed in the House of Champions annually, and every swimmer on the team except the freshmen have competed in the invitational before. Because of this, it will be important for the upperclassmen to keep the team’s morale high during the three-day event.
“It’ll be important to rely on the captains to keep the team positive through the three days,” Castillo said. “It’s a common thing to see the teams be up really high on the first day, but it’s easy for that to drop off by the third day.”
The format of the invitational will be similar to the Mid-American Conference Championships at the end of the season, which Castillo said she will use to help train her team for that meet.
She called it a “sneak peek” to the MAC Championships.
“It’s nice to have that experience to relay to the team,” she said. “A lot of them will be able to mimic what they’ve done in MAC Championships in the past.”
Ball State has benefitted from quick starts to its meets this season, and this weekend will be no different. The team has gotten results from its relay medley teams all season, which will be key in trying to win the House of Champions.
