Mark Gole Quotations

We swam them earlier this year, and Rolla just annihilated us. It wasn't even close. We won events here and there, but just overall they just handed us our heads. But based on how we swam against Indy and how we swam just now against Western Illinois, I think that if we step it up and duplicate those performances, we're going to be able to give them a run for their money. It will be nail-biter. It will come down to every point.

I think when our team was firing on all cylinders was our two-day dual meet against the University of Indianapolis. Coming right out of the training trip, it just seemed like everything was just falling into place. We had great swims left and right.

It is extremely rough ... to be overshadowed that much by the girls and what they were doing. It almost took their focus away from what they were supposed to be doing because when they did get up for a race, it happened.

We only won two races, ... but we only had two events that we didn't have anybody in the top eight in. Out of 19 events, that's not bad.

We have guys that have 'B' cuts, but they can't go to the meet. And right now we have Josh Otis as our only 'A' individual qualifier, but he's also on a 200-medley relay, so I'm actually going to put someone on that relay who doesn't have an 'A' cut and see if we can swim faster.

To be honest, that's what I wanted. I didn't want to have to go into day three going, 'Is this the day we're going to come back?' I didn't want to come back. I wanted to set everything up and win it outright.

We couldn't have done any better. Our guys showed up to race. We went season's best in approximately 90 percent of the swims, which, for training as hard as we're training, is phenomenal. Usually that does not happen at this time of the year.

Every day I am on the phone, I'm trying to battle Div. I or Div. II. To be successful at the Div. II level, you need to get those athletes that are borderline Div. I.

It's really tough mentally for the swimmers who have qualified for nationals because they are still training like it's the middle of the season. They are still hurting their bodies.

I really hate excuses, but we probably had two of the most intense weeks of training the last two weeks. I was not about to sacrifice swimming fast later on just for the satisfaction of swimming fast in a dual meet. I will never do that.

Honestly, it was a disappointing meet for them. There's many factors that can go into it - I shoulder the blame for some of it. But, at the same time, the first couple of days there, I don't think their heads were in the right place.