MONROE - When Monroe sophomore Abby Oudinot made the switch from cross country to swimming this fall she didn't have lofty expectations.
She did so to get a jump-start on her training for track. She didn't expect to win the 50-meter freestyle like she did in a dual meet against McFarland Tuesday, Sept. 10 at the Green County YMCA.
"I'm a sprinter in track," Oudinot said. "My main sport is track. I thought swimming would be a good change. I know swimming is good for you. I just need to get in shape. I wasn't expecting things to go like this. It's a surprise."
McFarland knocked off Monroe 116.5-53.5 to win the dual meet. The Spartans swept the top two spots in six events and took the top three spots in the 200 medley relay, 100 butterfly and the 400 freestyle. With just 14 swimmers, Monroe coach Linda Moser is pointing to bigger meets down the road.
"Our focus is not to win dual meets," Moser said. "We don't have the numbers. Our focus is to improve our times and technique in the water and ignore the score so when we get to the sectional, we can get to state."
Monroe senior Angie Beaver won the 100 freestyle with a time of 1 minute, 10.45 seconds and she took second in the 100 backstroke (1:20.20). She finished about two seconds ahead of McFarland senior Kayla Eastland in the 100 freestyle.
"It feels really great," Beaver said of winning the 100 freestyle. "It boosted my confidence level. I didn't know about the 100 free. It made me feel a lot better about my back. The ending was better than I thought it would be."
Beaver is the only four-year varsity swimmer on the Cheesemakers. Moser understands why Beaver was able to excel.
"Angie has been working on the rotation on her arms and breath control," Moser said. "She is working to get more endurance and faster rotations with her arms. When it takes you 0.03 of a second to take a breath and you do it after every three arms it adds up. Her breath control was better and that was the difference."
Monroe sophomore Grace Moehn finished second in the 100 breaststroke (1:44.11) and junior teammate Monica Sefcik was third (1:46.34). Monroe sophomore Anna Meritt finished third in the 200 freestyle (2:36.17) and freshman Skylar Lassen took third in the 200 individual medley (3:00.53).
"I think McFarland will be right there in the battle for the conference," Moser said. "They have a lot of swimmers back. The girls hung in there and got some good times."
Moser is impressed with what Oudinot has been able to accomplish in just a short time in the pool.
"She's an athlete and a hard worker," Moser said of Oudinot. "That makes a big difference. When she first started I knew it would be just a matter of time before she starts to explode in the water."
She did so to get a jump-start on her training for track. She didn't expect to win the 50-meter freestyle like she did in a dual meet against McFarland Tuesday, Sept. 10 at the Green County YMCA.
"I'm a sprinter in track," Oudinot said. "My main sport is track. I thought swimming would be a good change. I know swimming is good for you. I just need to get in shape. I wasn't expecting things to go like this. It's a surprise."
McFarland knocked off Monroe 116.5-53.5 to win the dual meet. The Spartans swept the top two spots in six events and took the top three spots in the 200 medley relay, 100 butterfly and the 400 freestyle. With just 14 swimmers, Monroe coach Linda Moser is pointing to bigger meets down the road.
"Our focus is not to win dual meets," Moser said. "We don't have the numbers. Our focus is to improve our times and technique in the water and ignore the score so when we get to the sectional, we can get to state."
Monroe senior Angie Beaver won the 100 freestyle with a time of 1 minute, 10.45 seconds and she took second in the 100 backstroke (1:20.20). She finished about two seconds ahead of McFarland senior Kayla Eastland in the 100 freestyle.
"It feels really great," Beaver said of winning the 100 freestyle. "It boosted my confidence level. I didn't know about the 100 free. It made me feel a lot better about my back. The ending was better than I thought it would be."
Beaver is the only four-year varsity swimmer on the Cheesemakers. Moser understands why Beaver was able to excel.
"Angie has been working on the rotation on her arms and breath control," Moser said. "She is working to get more endurance and faster rotations with her arms. When it takes you 0.03 of a second to take a breath and you do it after every three arms it adds up. Her breath control was better and that was the difference."
Monroe sophomore Grace Moehn finished second in the 100 breaststroke (1:44.11) and junior teammate Monica Sefcik was third (1:46.34). Monroe sophomore Anna Meritt finished third in the 200 freestyle (2:36.17) and freshman Skylar Lassen took third in the 200 individual medley (3:00.53).
"I think McFarland will be right there in the battle for the conference," Moser said. "They have a lot of swimmers back. The girls hung in there and got some good times."
Moser is impressed with what Oudinot has been able to accomplish in just a short time in the pool.
"She's an athlete and a hard worker," Moser said of Oudinot. "That makes a big difference. When she first started I knew it would be just a matter of time before she starts to explode in the water."
