Women can’t defeat rival

Interim assistant coach and former Bulldog swimmer Danielle Odenthal easily can recall her most memorable moment of the competitive rivalry between Drury University and Truman.

During her freshman season at the 2008 NCAA Championships, the national champion was decided during the final race. Truman defeated Drury by one place to clinch the national championship with a score of 461.5 to Drury's 449.

"It was amazing, an amazing meet," Odenthal said. "It came right down to the last event and we knew we had to win that relay to win the meet. We've always had an intense rivalry since Drury, winning nationals and losing nationals against them."

The rivalry between the Bulldogs and Drury Panthers has grown since 1997, with Truman and Drury each taking home the crown seven times.

The Bulldogs could not overcome the defending national champions Saturday, losing 148-57 on Senior Day in Pershing Arena.

Truman honored seven women's team seniors: Emily Buss, Anna Grinter, Julia Jones, Claire Myers, Stephanie Myers, Carina Pautz and Tanya Sylvester, all of whom have competed at the Div. II NCAA Championships for the Bulldogs.

But it was not the seniors who had the best day on the scorecard for the 'Dogs.

Junior Jessica Jenkot placed second in both the 50-yard freestyle with a time of 24.92 and the 100-yard breaststroke in 1:09.61 for the Bulldogs.

Freshman Casey Jepsen finished second in the 200-yard freestyle and freshman Beth Evanson took second in the 100-yard backstroke.

Although the team was not happy with the final score, the intensity of the meet remained high, Buss said.

"Given everything that has been going on with our team, everybody swam about where they were swimming previously, some even faster, so I think it was a pretty solid meet for us," Buss said. They're a really good team this year with a lot of talent. They went on a training trip over break and ours got taken away from us. They're just good."

In December, former head coach Mark Gole resigned, costing the team its annual training trip to California during Winter Break.

Jennifer Godlewski took over as interim head coach Jan. 6.   

"Everyone has done a phenomenal job, with everything that has happened," Buss said. "I am so proud of the way that everybody has handled the situation. Everybody still has a good attitude, working hard and ready to swim fast."

Buss said she particularly was impressed with the upperclassmen's performance Saturday.  Godlewski said the team is ready to make the adjustments necessary for the conference meet, namely speed workouts.

"We're going to be working on the finer points of things, a lot of speed," Godlewski said. "They have the aerobic base set, so now it's just a matter of holding that threshold, that speed, for an extended period of time."

Odenthal said injuries have hurt the women's team, particularly the seniors. Buss, last season's 100 and 200-yard breaststroke conference champion, probably won't be back in full force.

Luck has not been on the Bulldogs side this season as far as injuries go, but Godlewski emphasized the mental aspect of swimming, especially at this point in the season, where injuries and distractions abound.

Godlewski said the team addresses ways to deal with distractions prior to races.

"We do visualizations and calming techniques so that we are mentally ready as well as physically," said Godlewski. "At this point in the season it's 90 percent mental and 10 percent physical."