Marshall University Athletics
Swimming and Diving Traveling to Xavier, Ashland
10/11/2007 12:00:00 AM | Women's Swimming and Diving
Oct. 11, 2007
HUNTINGTON - The Marshall women's swimming and diving team will compete in two road meets this weekend as it faces Xavier on Friday at 5 p.m. at the O'Conner Sports Center in Cincinnati and takes on Ashland Univeristy on Saturday at 1 p.m. in Ashland, Ohio.
Friday's competition will be the first meet of the season for the Musketeers, who held an intrasquad scrimmage last week. The Herd dropped its season opening meet last week at Miami Ohio.
Marshall head coach Leonard Kraus said he expects stiff competition from Xavier and third-year head coach Steve Riegler.
"Steve has done a really good job recruiting there and I expect them to be really improved from last season," Kraus said. "Hopefully this week we'll come out and compete well form the beginning rather than turning it on in the last half of the meet."
The Herd will have to deal with a quick turnaround as it faces Ashland the next day and Kraus is interested in how his team performs.
"I'm anxious to see how respond to competing on back-to-back days," Kraus said. "This is obviously the first time we've done it this season and it should say a lot about where we are physically."
Saturday's meet will be the first action of the season for Marshall's divers. The Herd returns a pair of juniors, including school-record holder Siobhan Schuurman. The group is expected to provide valuable points in the 2007-08 season.
"Siobhan and Rachel Hannum have really stepped up as leaders during pre-season training, so I am looking forward to see how they display this confidence on the boards this weekend," diving coach Lori Meierbachtol. "Our freshman divers, Haley Holmquist and Jordan Weber, have really been working hard to prepare for their first college competition, and I have confidence they will perform very well."
The Ashland meet will also be homecoming for sophomore transfer Jenny Johnsson who competed for the Eagles last season and was a two-time NCAA Qualifier. Johnsson was one of two Herd swimmers to earn a first-place individual finish last weekend against Miami, winning the 400-meter freestyle.
