MONROE - As a swimmer, Monroe junior Rachel Root looks forward to swimming against the top teams in the Badger South Conference.
Root had a hand in winning three events, but the Cheesemakers lost a dual meet to Fort Atkinson 118-52 Tuesday night at the Green County YMCA. With the loss, the Cheesemakers drop to 1-2 in the Badger South.
"We wanted to have everyone get PR's," Root said. "Swimming against Fort Atkinson just makes you better. It pushes you towards your PR's. I just want to get a little faster and get better at starts and flip turns."
Root won the 100-meter backstroke (1 minute, 8.72 seconds) and the 100 butterfly (1:09.47). She teamed with senior Cat Weeden, junior Sarah Kind and sophomore Angie Beaver to win the 200 medley relay with a time of 2:16.02, which was about two seconds ahead of the Blackhawks.
"That was exciting to do that," Root said. "I think we can do even better every meet. We just need to push each other to get our goal - getting a better time."
Fort Atkinson swept the top three spots in both the 50 and 100 freestyles. The Blackhawks had 1-2 finishes in six events including the 200 freestyle, 200 individual medley, 200 freestyle relay, 400 freestyle, 100 breaststroke and 400 freestyle relay.
"Our goal was to come in and swim with our heads up," Monroe coach Linda Moser said. "If you keep up with them (Fort Atkinson) you know you can keep up with the best in the conference. I'm pretty sure we had three or four PR's. There wasn't any one race where we gave up."
Weeden finished second in the 100 breaststroke (1:30.59) and third in the 200 freestyle (2:38.47). Monroe junior Anika Nelson took third in the 200 IM (3:03.21) and third in the 400 freestyle (5:36). The Cheesemakers' 200 freestyle relay team including Root, Beaver, Weeden and Kind took third with a time of 2:00.72.
Moser was proud of Weeden's finish in the 100 breaststroke.
"It was good for Cat," Moser said of Weeden's second place finish. "She needed that. Sometimes she second guesses herself and doesn't give herself enough credit. It was a big confidence booster."
With the conference meet about a month away, Moser likes the strides Root has made.
"I don't always put Rachel in the back and fly," Moser said. "I try to mix it up a little bit. I feel it kind of helps with her nerves. She knows back is her stroke. It's getting smooth and she is keeping her head back."
Root had a hand in winning three events, but the Cheesemakers lost a dual meet to Fort Atkinson 118-52 Tuesday night at the Green County YMCA. With the loss, the Cheesemakers drop to 1-2 in the Badger South.
"We wanted to have everyone get PR's," Root said. "Swimming against Fort Atkinson just makes you better. It pushes you towards your PR's. I just want to get a little faster and get better at starts and flip turns."
Root won the 100-meter backstroke (1 minute, 8.72 seconds) and the 100 butterfly (1:09.47). She teamed with senior Cat Weeden, junior Sarah Kind and sophomore Angie Beaver to win the 200 medley relay with a time of 2:16.02, which was about two seconds ahead of the Blackhawks.
"That was exciting to do that," Root said. "I think we can do even better every meet. We just need to push each other to get our goal - getting a better time."
Fort Atkinson swept the top three spots in both the 50 and 100 freestyles. The Blackhawks had 1-2 finishes in six events including the 200 freestyle, 200 individual medley, 200 freestyle relay, 400 freestyle, 100 breaststroke and 400 freestyle relay.
"Our goal was to come in and swim with our heads up," Monroe coach Linda Moser said. "If you keep up with them (Fort Atkinson) you know you can keep up with the best in the conference. I'm pretty sure we had three or four PR's. There wasn't any one race where we gave up."
Weeden finished second in the 100 breaststroke (1:30.59) and third in the 200 freestyle (2:38.47). Monroe junior Anika Nelson took third in the 200 IM (3:03.21) and third in the 400 freestyle (5:36). The Cheesemakers' 200 freestyle relay team including Root, Beaver, Weeden and Kind took third with a time of 2:00.72.
Moser was proud of Weeden's finish in the 100 breaststroke.
"It was good for Cat," Moser said of Weeden's second place finish. "She needed that. Sometimes she second guesses herself and doesn't give herself enough credit. It was a big confidence booster."
With the conference meet about a month away, Moser likes the strides Root has made.
"I don't always put Rachel in the back and fly," Moser said. "I try to mix it up a little bit. I feel it kind of helps with her nerves. She knows back is her stroke. It's getting smooth and she is keeping her head back."
