The Eastern men and women’s swim teams host Lewis University this weekend as they try and continue their success from last Saturday’s meet.

For coach Jacqueline Michalski, this is the first time, since she has been the Eastern swim coach,  that the Panthers have a dual meet against Lewis.  Usually when they swim against one another, it is during House of Champions in November.

Nevertheless, the Panthers preparation for this weekend’s meet is to continue their success while trying to improve in areas that need some adjustments.  By adjusting some of those little things, the Panthers will progressively improve as the season goes on.

“At the meet, we noticed some of our breakouts weren’t good, our turns were a little off and we will make sure that we focus on those a little more this week,” Michalski said. “The objective is to get better every day and we work on the little things.”

A Panther swimmer who has been focusing on those little things is sophomore Jaelyn Williams.  During practice, Williams has been one of those swimmers who has been improving on her breakouts.

“I have been focusing a lot on my under-waters and break-outs off of my start,” Williams said.  “Making the most of every wall will help me drop time because it will give me extra momentum after each length.”

She said her goal is to improve her times on two of her events last week, the 50-free (27.95) and 200-free (2:20.11).  For other swimmers, working on break-outs is not a main concern.

Freshman Scott House last week won the 100-free (48.71), however House is working on improving his 200-free (1:47.65) where he finished second.  Compared to Williams, House has been practicing his endurance and finishing strong.

“I’ve been working on adjusting my mindset in practice to better prepare myself for racing, like finishing sets with the same energy I start with,” House said.  “I try to focus on the small things so I can maintain my stroke.”

However, a win against Lewis is only a small portion of what the Panthers are trying to accomplish not only in the pool, but around it.

“We are doing a really good job this year of making sure there is a positive atmosphere on deck,” Michalski said.  “We truly believe in blue and are doing everything in our power to push to get better every day.”

For the Panthers to continue their success on Saturday and the rest of the season, Michalski said there has been a better mindset compared to previous years.  What has helped immensely for the Panthers has been the atmosphere between freshman and seniors.

“Our freshman have come here and given a great youth to our team and a new level of excitement,” Michalski said.  “They have helped re-motivate our seniors, which is making for a very dynamic and interesting atmosphere at practice.”

Adam Shay can be reached at581-2812 or acshay@eiu.edu